Method for sourcing replacement parts
a technology for sourcing replacement parts and parts, applied in the field of methods and equipment for locating and purchasing replacement parts, can solve the problems of inconvenient and expensive process, spare parts, and manufacturers or distributors that may not have the parts readily available for shipping or no longer service the machin
Inactive Publication Date: 2010-08-26
PARTSSOURCE LLC
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- Summary
- Abstract
- Description
- Claims
- Application Information
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Benefits of technology
Problems solved by technology
Servicing a wide range of equipment from a wide range of manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, can be a complicated and expensive process.
In many cases, machines give no warning of a breakdown and, therefore, the associated personnel have no spare parts on hand to make the repair.
Thus, under significant time constraints to make the machine operable, someone from the facility must quickly locate and secure a replacement part.
The facility may accept this premium pricing due to the urgency of its need, the lack of alternative contacts, concerns about the quality of parts from other sources, and / or the unwillingness to investigate other options.
In some instances, the manufacturer or distributor may simply not have the part readily available for shipping or may no longer service the machine, particularly if the machine is an older model.
In this case, the facility would have to investigate alternative suppliers for the part, which may take substantial time, and, may result in the selection of an alternative supplier that has poor quality service, parts, or pricing.
Permitting the machine to remain inoperable for extended periods of time is usually not an option.
In the end, facilities may incur substantially higher maintenance costs due to a lack of competitive pricing and confidence in alternative suppliers.
However, locating multiple parts vendors for each machine at a facility is extremely difficult and merely identifying a plurality of vendors and selecting the lowest cost option available may not be the best solution for a facility.
Unless the facility has a developed relationship with the various vendors, it will be unable to know whether the vendors are equal, namely whether they provide equivalently high quality parts that are readily available, are shipped in a timely manner, and are supported with good customer service.
Moreover, amongst various vendors, parts and associated warranties may not be equivalent.
All of this variation may create insecurity on the part of the facility to use any vendor other than the manufacturer or distributor.
Finally, even an informed facility can find itself overwhelmed with the number of vendors available to service a particular part.
Time may not permit contacting all of the potential vendors to determine whether a particular vendor can service a particular part at a particular moment subject to the particular circumstances facing the facility.
Method used
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[0016]One embodiment of the invention will now be described. As described below, the exemplary embodiment refers to methods and processes used in the selection and purchase of replacement parts for medical equipment. It should be understood that the reference to medical equipment is not intended to be limiting, as the invention may be applicable to the selection and purchase of replacement parts for other types of equipment. Furthermore, it should be understood that the invention is suitable for selecting and purchasing medical equipment and is not restricted simply to sourcing replacement parts for medical equipment.
[0017]Now describing at least one embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method of sourcing parts which may include the steps of preparing a part request record, accessing a sourcing database to create a list of prospective sources for supplying a part, prioritizing the list of prospective sources according to a plurality of factors, which factors are selected...
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A method of sourcing a piece of equipment or a replacement part includes preparing a part request record, providing a part source database, an access portal, searching part source records in the database according to one or more search parameters associated with the part, part requestor or part source, creating a prospective part source list, and prioritizing the part source list by one or more indexing fields, to identify sources predicted to have the part at the best combination of quality, price, and other similar factors.
Description
I. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]This application claims priority to U.S. Ser. No. 61,329,304 entitled METHOD FOR SOURCING REPLACEMENT PARTS, filed Apr. 29, 2010, and is a continuation-in-part of, and claims priority to, U.S. Ser. No. 11 / 649,518, entitled Method for Sourcing Replacement Parts, filed Jan. 3, 2007, which claims priority to U.S. Ser. No. 60 / 755,655, entitled METHOD FOR SOURCING REPLACEMENT PARTS, filed Dec. 30, 2005, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.[0002]A. Field of Invention[0003]This invention pertains to the art of methods and apparatuses for locating and purchasing replacement parts, including replacement parts for health care related equipment.[0004]B. Description of the Related Art[0005]Hospitals, health care facilities, clinics, and other similar health care service centers have access to a wide variety of medical equipment used for diagnosing and treating patients. Such equipment may include heart rate monitors, ultrasound machines, magneti...
Claims
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IPC IPC(8): G06Q30/00G06F17/30G06Q10/00
CPCG06Q10/087G06Q30/0601G06Q10/20
InventorDALTON, A. RAYBETTING, DANIEL
OwnerPARTSSOURCE LLC