Among leading service providers recently surveyed by the Aberdeen Group for a study co-sponsored by Kuehne + Nagel, 82% leveraged service parts execution and distribution solutions to achieve operational and financial excellence.

These organizations reported a 17% higher part fill rate and a 22% higher first-time fix rate than all other companies.

The study – "Managing the Last Mile – Driving Effective Service Parts Execution" – indicates best-in-class firms are twice as likely to stock spare parts on asset owner/operator sites and three times as likely to rely on third-party logistics providers to handle their service parts execution as all other companies.

Based on the research, the survey’s authors recommend that service organizations consider the following strategies to improve last-mile service parts execution:

• Replace localized parts management with a single, integrated set of best practices that touch all elements of parts fulfillment -- forecasting & procurement through logistics, storage & returns
• Position & provision spare parts according to service-level commitments
• Audit parts supply chain processes at least twice a year
• Enhance technicians' visibility to inventories and enable them to order service parts

To obtain a complimentary copy, please download the Aberdeen study.