Bay Networks has established a spare parts warehouse in Johannesburg with an investment of about R5-million.Bay country manager Doug Batchelor says the parts stockholding will significantly improve services to Bay`s South African channel partners and end-users of Bay networking products.
"We will soon be in a position to provide a true next-day replacement parts service. This is a strong differentiator for us and our channel, the bottom line being that network users with Bay equipment can be assured of much greater network uptime and reliability."
Batchelor added that the investment was also a measure of the Bay Networks commitment to South Africa: "We trade here because we want to, not because we have to, and we will invest dollars acordingly."
The "advanced part replacement programme" as it is known, aims to ensure that a faulty component can be replaced within 24 hours for resellers and customers signed up on the Bay Networks maintenance programme.
"The new South African warehouse is a replica of Bay`s spare parts facility in Ireland, from which we used to source spares. Now, customs hold-ups, flight problems and other delays will be things of the past."
Bay has completed an analysis of all parts returned for exchange within South Africa over the past two years in order to ensure an appropriate inventory for the warehouse, covering products from low-end hubs to ATM switches.
While the management and administration of the warehouse has been outsourced, the local staff have undergone training courses conducted by experienced personnel attached from the Bay warehouse in Ireland.
"We are confident that we can very quickly achieve a local spare parts availability of 75 to 80 percent, delivered within 24 hours of order," says Batchelor.
"This programme will also effect cost-savings for the channel and end-users. We see it as a means of establishing and maintaining a significant competitive advantage in the South African networking market."
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