Depot repair of point of sale (POS) - choosing a vendor: Scope – inventory and logistics
Continuing our series that highlights how you can select a leading depot repair center, this blog post explores whether there are any additional ways that potential vendors can compliment your operation.
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Further benefits can accrue when, along with repair work, the logistics and inventory management of your hardware is outsourced.
Even if inventory management and logistics are handled in other ways at present, circumstances can quickly change. It could be reassuring to know that your eventual choice of vendor has this capability, in the event that they are needed.
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Photo credit: xavi talleda
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So investigate this area further, as you need additional confidence in your supplier. They may be located hundreds of miles away and so you can not watch over them daily. Make sure the following items are agreed to beforehand:
Ask for regular (at least weekly) reports from your supplier, covering what has been repaired and what their equipment stock is.
What will the depot charge for managing your inventory? Apart from the cost of shipping equipment, the charges should not be very high. This is because many depot repair companies view inventory management as a way to add value to their relationship with customers and strive to keep costs low.
Determine how equipment is sent into the field – how does the vendor know what and where to send equipment? Who is responsible for ensuring that defective equipment is returned to the depot?
How is warranty repair work handled? Again, suppliers may be authorized to carry out repairs on a manufacturer’s behalf. Even if they do not have authorization, they may be able to process the repair at little or no cost as a way to add value to a customer.
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As a reminder, the first one on quality can be found by clicking here
