rely heavily on the fidelity of a supply system that provides quality parts they can rely on. A robust and lean parts supply chain is more important than ever. “A strong supply chain is key to effectively


managing up-time for school bus owners and fleets,” says Dale L. Puhrmann, national sales manager of the bus segment for TRP Bus Parts (PACCAR Parts in Renton, Washington). “Understanding the needs of the marketplace is critical to ensuring the right parts are on hand. Strong customer, dealer and supplier relationships facilitate the identification of short and long term needs. Tis helps ensure customers, dealers, and distribution centers have the right parts and quantities in inventory. Open dialog and effective communications are essential to this process.” Having the right parts and quantities


is always a concern for Danny Smith, an inventory clerk for the Cherokee County School District in Canton, Georgia. He said he’s seeing an influx of truck parts vendors entering the school bus parts arena. “In one way this helps us to have more


sources to purchase parts from,” says Smith. “Te down side is that most of them do not stock very much inventory and the wait time is usually two to three days, or as much as a week.”


OUTSOURCED SERVICES Many districts, however, are beginning to contract their bus services to third-par- ty providers. Tis appears to be a growing trend as the contractors have the advan- tage of leverage in purchasing parts in higher quantities at attractive prices. Cost savings may then be passed along to the District who is usually looking for ways to operate more efficiently and prudently in an environment where school budget cuts are common. Keller Independent School District


utilized its school bus contractor to also manage fleet maintenance and parts procurement. Tis was in spite of the cited issues by the local media. But the trend of school districts contracting their bus services versus trying to handle these services themselves continues to grow. Outsourcing such services continues to offer many benefits. “Tey are seeing that many of these


contractors have stronger buying power for their whole goods and their parts,” says Tom Polzin, national accounts manager for parts at IC Bus in Lisle, Illinois. “As the tenor of the industry begins to change and school budgets continue to get cut, many of the school districts are looking for ways to cut parts spend amounts. Tey are using the internet to price-check, getting multiple price quotes, consolidating suppliers to gain better pricing and in larger districts they are buying larger quantities to drive pricing down.”


DIGITAL TOOLS Keeping the cost down, however, is often a function of having the right digital tools in place that allow parts managers to better inform their fleets. Te internet, software tools and other online catalogs are now routinely used by most parts managers and provide a conduit to source parts more efficiently and at the best price. “Contractors and school districts alike


are keeping smaller inventories to reduce carrying costs and ultimately parts obso- lescence. Tis then leads to parts supply houses, such as ours, to maintain higher inventory levels and provide, in many cas- es, overnight delivery,” says Charlie Bruce, president and CEO of Bus Parts Ware- house of Syracuse, New York, a national provider of aftermarket parts for the school bus industry. Digital ordering and procurement have


been around for decades and by now they have made their way to school bus fleet maintenance managers. Shop managers and procurement professionals embrace the efficiency they afford. Some will defer such tools to a service provider who manages their parts where applicable. “Online catalogs and ordering have become common and in many cases the preferred method of parts procurement,” he says. “Today’s shop managers and pro- curement responsible people are extremely computer literate and maintain parts schematics and repair manuals on line for easy access.” Marshall Casey of Casey’s Kustoms


consulting and the retired fleet director for the South Carolina Department of Education says more facilities are shifting to a parts model where they partner with a parts supplier whose


inventory of frequently used parts and spares resides within a school bus service facility. With calculated inventory levels, all parts


are available and on hand. Tis is financial- ly attractive for the school district that does not have to invest in an inventory they may or may not use. Rather, they only pay for what they use and the remaining inventory belongs to the partnering vendor. “Tere are many programs across the


country that do a great job of maintaining their parts supply system,” says Casey. “But it takes more than just parts procurement. Tis has to be a total maintenance program that is utilizing fleet data and a good inspection program to project parts needs. Predictive maintenance allows you to ensure that parts are on hand when needed, but not sitting on the shelf for 12 months consuming space and inventory dollars.”


STRATEGIC LOGISTICS Bill Landreth, executive director of parts


sales for Blue Bird Corporation, touts his company’s mobile services program that serves districts to fulfill their goals of having the most uptime. “Bus uptime is more im- portant than ever with fewer spare buses in the fleet,” he explains. “Many rural school districts do not have the time or manpower to drop off their bus for repair at the dealer. As a result, many Blue Bird dealers are beginning to utilize more mobile parts at service vehicles that are equipped to repair most issues at school districts locations. Tis is convenient for the school districts and they love the personal service.” For school bus operators as well as ve- hicle manufacturers, uptime is a keyword. Buses need to be ready to go every day. For vendors, this is an opportunity to hone their offerings with services like Blue Bird’s, or to build their supply chain so it logisti- cally aligns with their customer’s needs. “Fleets increasingly want to have the


required parts available as soon as possi- ble,” says Brian McCool, manager of parts marketing and specialty sales at Daimler Trucks North America. “DTNA has added two new warehouses to be closer to the customer along with overnight delivery for stock orders from the dealer. Customer ser- vice and reduced down time are the prime factors for improved logistics.” ●


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