Devoted to purchasing, purchasing agents, and all things related

The various types of office equipment in a large corporation would completely amaze you if you stopped to think about it.  Off the top of your head, you can quickly mention printers, copiers, and fax machines.  Maybe you even thought of the postage meter in the mailroom.  Did you think of the specialized check printer in Accounts Payable, the automatic coin sorters and bill counters anywhere cash is involved, or the myriad of other machines specific to different industries?

Here are 7 things I learned about managing equipment repair:

1. Repair/service company names and phone numbers and instructions should be posted on the machines.  This won't eliminate calls, but it will cut down on them.

2. Maintenance contracts are almost never worth it for the first year, but many companies won't let you start one later if the item was not covered from day one.  Negotiate a year or two of free maintenance into the contract.

3. PM or Preventative Maintenance is a good thing that is never done.  Be careful that the vendor doesn't suddenly decide to do five a year on each machine.  Insist on the vendor keeping track of this service by machine serial number.

4. No matter how hard you try, you will never keep track of EVERY machine in your corporation.  Even RFID asset tags won't get you to perfection.

5. Establish criteria for when a machine is so badly broken that is should be replaced rather than repaired.  You can't always rely on the repair vendor's opinion since the vendor makes money by repairing broken machines.

6. Establish a service level agreement (SLA) with the vendor that includes emergency services because machines usually break when their absence will cause the largest crisis.

7. Make sure time and materials rates are competitive for the industry and the geographic area. 

Have you managed equipment repair during your Procurement career?  What was your favorite (or least favorite) commodity to manage?  Send your Top 7 List to PurchaseRealm@ComprehensiveAdvice.com and I will share it with my readers.