A reliable supply of quality spare parts is critical for your fleet's performance. But what spare parts? Original spare parts, coming straight from your coupling supplier? Or non-original aftermarket parts from alternative suppliers? Non-original parts often come with a slightly lower purchase price — but how much are you really saving?
In the past, I've seen fleet operators struggle with maintenance and performance problems caused by non-original parts. Most of the time, they were trying to reduce their costs — but in practice, the resulting problems ended up costing much more than the slightly more expensive original parts would have.
It's easy to fall into this common trap, but it's also easy to avoid. In this article, I'll explain why parts from the original manufacturer are always the best choice, and hopefully convince you to only consider original spare parts next time you make an order.
Original parts ensure compliance with regulations
In many countries (like Germany, for example), spare parts used in products that require type approval need to come from the manufacturer of the products. Trailer couplings are subject to type approval, which means that using non-original or counterfeit spare parts could lead to legal problems.
Quality is key for spare parts
Non-original spare parts typically aren't tested in the same way as original spare parts. Often, they're simply churned out in large volumes to meet a market demand — not to meet the specific needs of the end user. These components are manufactured by suppliers without detailed knowledge of the products they are used in, increasing the risk that that they won't meet your standards in real-world applications. Unexpected equipment failures can put your fleet at a standstill, so investing in quality original spare parts often keeps your costs lower in the long run.
Original parts preserve your warranty
Your warranty gives you peace of mind and helps you solve equipment issues quickly. But warranties are never unconditional. If you modify your equipment with non-original spare parts, the supplier may see this as a breach of warranty. If something then goes wrong with your product, the process of replacing it will be much more difficult and costly. Again, the small cash savings you might make by using non-original spare parts will quickly be eaten up if any equipment issues that occur later aren't covered by your warranty.
Access to product experts
Questions on specifications, mounting and other details often crop up when you need spare parts. In these situations, it's essential to get advice from experts, and the best advice comes from the original manufacturers. Third-party spare parts manufacturers simply produce imitations of parts designed by the original manufacturers — they don't have any deeper knowledge of the products themselves or their applications. So to ensure a smooth spare parts experience, go directly to the original manufacturers and take advantage of their in-depth, expert knowledge.
Unexpected equipment failures can put your fleet at a standstill, so investing in quality original spare parts often keeps your costs lower in the long run.
Smoother sourcing
When you order original spare parts, you often deal with a supplier that already knows you. It's likely they know the details of your operation, the products you use and the specific demands of your business — and can use this knowledge to hlep you more effectively. If you go with non-original spare parts, you need to start the sourcing process all over again, dealing with suppliers you don't know and going through an unknown ordering, delivery and payment process. Remember, the cost of a coupling is more than just the sticker price — the administrative costs around the coupling make up a significant part of the TCO. So by ordering non-original parts from a new, unknown supplier, your total cost may become much higher.
Improve your spare parts operation
For a fleet operator looking to cut costs in a competitive industry, non-original spare parts are tempting. But the hidden costs of these parts often makes them more expensive than genuine parts direct from the manufacturer. What can really make a difference to the TCO of your spare parts flow isn't necessarily the price of the parts themselves, but the service quality, delivery speed and availability level you get from your parts supplier.
Get in touch if you're interested in finding out more about our approach to spare parts supply, and don't forget to subscribe to The Ringfeder Blog to get future updates delivered straight to your inbox.
