By Lucas Deal, Associate Editor
Creating product options for a customer is just one advantage to selling OE remanufactured components in your business, says Chip Rembert, director of OE sales for Alma Products.
“A remanufactured part allows a dealer the opportunity to provide multiple price points when making a repair for a customer,” says Rembert, whose company remanufacturers heavy-duty transmissions. “It allows you to give your customer options and they appreciate that.
“Look at it this way; if you go out to dinner, do you want to go to a restaurant that serves one item or one that serves more?”
Remanufacturing is the process of taking the core of a previously used component, stripping it down to its base and then recreating it with new components. While remanufacturing is a type of rebuilding, Henry Foxx, director – Bendix remanufacturing business unit, says OE remanufacturing creates a considerably better final product.
“There is a distinct difference between a remanufactured product from an OE and a simply rebuilt product,” he says. “OE remanufactured products meet or exceed the OE specifications for the original product.”
For a dealer who wants to provide his customers as many product options as possible, an OE remanufactured component is a must have. The reasons for that are apparent, Foxx says.
Remanufactured components are sold at a fraction of the cost of original equipment parts because it takes less energy to produce them, he says. They also can be used in all of the operations where an original OE part would be used, and can come with the same warranty, life span, guarantee and customer support as the original part, says Dave Schultz, marketing director – Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems.
“From the customer’s perspective, the economic benefit of the [remanufactured component] is real,” he says. “They allow the [dealer] to be competitive with a part that is not as expensive as a new product and has the same level of quality.”
That quality assurance comes from a variety of tests performed by the manufacturer, Schultz says. “With all the [rebuilt] options out there, you can’t test all of those products on your own. What we do is test our products to [assure quality] and try to provide that data to the dealer and the fleet. Everyone in the chain is appreciative of that.”
Adds Rembert, “An OE remanufactured part is tested to achieve the highest standards.” Customers can be sure when purchasing the product that it “was built correctly,” he says.
The economic benefit also keeps the customer in your facility, instead of looking for a third-party alternative rebuilt part online or from another facility.
“[The remanufactured part] can compete with the knockoffs and the offshore clones, and compete at that level, because of its lower price. But it’s a considerably better product than they are,” Schultz says.
“That is especially beneficial to a second- and third-time owner,” adds Foxx. “They are looking for a proven cost benefit, but they want the best part they can get. That’s what [a dealer] is able to provide with the remanufactured product.”
Remanufacturing components also are updated when they are produced, which allows you to provide your customers with the most up-to-date part on the market.
“We provide upgrades to component design when remanufacturing, thus creating a product that is [mechanically] superior to the originally installed part,” Rembert says. He says that can be a big selling point to your fleet customers. “The key there is you are providing a lower-cost unit that is high in quality and may include improvements that were not even in the vehicle before.”
Remanufactured components also can lower your warranty costs, saving your dealership and OEM money when finalizing warranty claims.
“A dealer can significantly lower its warranty cost by using a remanufactured part because it reduces their material cost,” Rembert says. The part is more affordable for everyone in the chain, which benefits not only the customer but also the dealer, he says. “Think about who pays on a warranty. That’s up to the dealer and the OE.”
Together, all of these factors should give you a reason to stock remanufactured parts at your facility.
