If you’ve ever wondered what goes into your quote, read on. Negotiating deals with suppliers, open market research, OEM discussions. At the same time liaising with workshops and engineering staff. Going above and beyond is all in a day’s work for our top Quoting Experts.

Not everyone is aware of the tremendous effort that facilitates a component repair. Engineers deservedly receive praise for their skilled input, but supporting the operation with just as much energy and expertise are the buyers, chasers and account managers.

Here’s a brief insight into their roles.

Lisa Snowdon, Account Manager

 

“We always work hard for our customers and building repair quotes is a great example of this. When a component needs repair, the goal is to source replacement spares as quickly and cost-effectively as possible. Over the last few years we have invested heavily in our spares stock pool and this reflects in our TAT. However, when we don’t have an item in stock we’re required to check the market. This takes a huge amount of effort behind the scenes as we have multiple suppliers and OEMs to negotiate with.”

 

“… understanding tags and trace paperwork …”

 

“A hot topic right now is the understanding of certification tags and trace paperwork. More and more we’re hearing confusion from customers who see spare parts advertised online at unbelievably low prices. If the price looks too good to be true, it probably is! PMA is an obvious reason, but less clear are parts with unacceptable tags, 129 trace, CofC only. There’s a minefield of FAA and EASA regulations surrounding this. Our role becomes one of guidance as we steer the customer around these issues and relieve as much stress from them as possible.”

” At the end of the day, we pride ourselves on the high standard of our work. It’s how we earnt our fantastic reputation. Customers know this and trust us to make the right decisions on their behalf. We do everything possible to save costs and improve turnaround times without compromising on quality.”

 

Bryony Cronk, Senior Buyer

 

“The buying process involves a lot more research than you might think! Together with my teammate Jenni Sanderson we use an extensive network of suppliers, OEMs and websites to confirm the best possible outcome for our customers.”

 

“….always negotiate!”

 

“A typical pricing quote will go through the following stages:

    • OEM contacts – confirm manufacturer of required spares and talk to our reps there. For example, Boeing & Honeywell.
    • Online portals – get pricing and lead times directly from OEM platforms.
    • Market research – even with a good OEM response, we check open market websites such as ILS.com to see if we can improve things further.
    • Supplier network – send RFQs to our extensive supplier network.
    • Negotiation – always negotiate!”

 

“When faced with unacceptable lead times we go through a number of options:

    • Ask for improvement! Sometimes it’s that simple!
    • Source from an alternative supplier whilst keeping the price matched.
    • Request the Oakenhurst Engineering Team to investigate alternative approved part numbers in the CMM & IPL.
    • Record difficult spares to improve future orders.”

 

“Whilst this is going on, we regularly meet with suppliers to discuss volume discounts and better lead times. All to help us keep our customers happy!”

 

If you’d like more information on how the team at Oakenhurst go that extra mile please feel free to get in touch here