Upfront

How Can Genuine Replacement Parts Make More Money for Your Company? (Part 1)

(From The Needle's Eye, June-July 1993 — By Jim Valentine, Director of Marketing for Union Special Corporation)
This is the story of a big U.S. company that was looking for ways to reduce manufacturing costs. The accountants within the company were saying, “Why do you buy these expensive $100 parts? A cheaper $75 part will fit your sewing machine and do the same thing.” The maintenance people within the company would reply, “Those $75 parts simply don’t last as long.” The Vice-President of Manufacturing, who had been hearing this argument for years, proposed a test to determine who was right. They selected one of their 50 plants to begin a six-month test to collect some measurable data. In the designated plant they set up two identical production lines, balanced with approximately the same types and brands of machines, producing the same quantity per day. The only difference was the “Genuine” line used only genuine replacement parts and the “Generic” line used only generic parts whenever available.
After six months they compared the two lines. The report said the cost of the repair parts used on the “Genuine” line was greater than the cost of the repair parts used on the “Generic” line. The accountants said, “Just as we said, we should be using generic parts in all of our plants.” A review found the “Genuine” line had far out-produced the “Generic” line. In fact, the value of the increased production was much greater than the “savings” achieved using generic parts. The final cost of the “Genuine” line was actually lower than the “Generic” line.
As a result, the Vice President of Manufacturing made the policy decision that henceforth all repair parts purchased for all 50 plants should be genuine parts because of their reduction in manufacturing costs. The Vice President of Manufacturing, who was a very astute man, said, “Let’s see how production compared between the two lines.”
Why did the “Genuine” line get more production? Several reasons were apparent. 1. The materials used to manufacture the genuine replacement parts made the parts last longer so there were fewer production-losing stoppages to replace the parts. 2. The workmanship of the parts was superior, so parts lasted longer, again resulting in fewer production-losing stoppages. 3. The consistent, uniform, precision fit meant the mechanics made repairs in a shorter period of time, thus eliminating lost production. 4. The strict adherence to tight tolerances on each part resulted in uniform quality garment production. 5. Genuine parts eliminated skipped stitches and seam deformities that would have required repairs, thereby eliminating lost production. NE

There's More to the Replacement Parts Story (Part 2)

There is more to the story of “generic” versus “genuine” replacement parts. The example referred to in Part 1 above was a denim jeans factory with three production lines producing the same garments.
One production line used only the cheapest generic replacement parts, a second line used only genuine replacement parts, and a third line used only the most expensive, branded generic parts. While the genuine parts were more expensive, the actual overall garment production costs were lower because the genuine parts were made of better materials, lasted longer, and yielded higher production. The real costs of generic parts were not the value of the parts but were the value of lost production and unbalanced lines. After the six-month study, the jeans manufacturer decided to stay with the genuine parts. This now begs the question. Can we use “generics” today? Yes, you can, but be sure to use the more expensive generics. Your sewing machine mechanics should never be put in the position of having to be a replacement parts inspector and having to deal with the quality of the parts. They should be aware; however, of the advantages of the more expensive generic parts over cheap generic parts. Companies should hire mechanics to fix machines, not inspect replacement parts. The whole discussion of parts should come back to “quality” as the same part can be made in several countries with different quality levels. Quality industrial sewing machine parts require exceptional levels of precision manufacturing. The manufacturing of replacement parts can have up to forty operations. During the process, one tray of parts can go to forty different workstations. If a parts manufacturer’s production system is not set up properly with inspections between every operation quality will suffer. Manufacturers must have good procedures and processes in place, ISO 9001 for example. There are some very good, branded generics such as Square D, Golden, Nissan, Koban, and Hirose.
In 1993 Jim Valentine started his new company, Valentines.
For 25 years Valentines has operated in the USA and international sewn products markets selling mostly Union Special machines and parts, along with other brands of parts and machines. The emphasis has always been on the value of quality as discovered in this simple story. Valentines always recommends genuine parts unless the end-user is skilled enough to differentiate the high-quality generic parts and specifies that alternative.
In 2018 Miguel Liendo joined Valentines. He and Jim identified a factory in China capable of delivering ISO 9000-quality Valsew sewing machines. They set up three unique criteria for their products: the finest quality, the best warranty, and the lowest price
A word about the machine warranty – it is to be “free from defects in workmanship and material” for the life of the product – that is without a time limit.
The Valsew sewing machines are shipped from their warehouse in Miami directly to their customers in the U.S., Central America, South America, and the Caribbean Sea markets.
Valsew’s business is good now. In addition to the usual apparel manufacturing and other sewn product sector, Valsew is working in the laundry and clothing alterations area and is offering both rental and leasing options to customers. You can visit their website and see the Valsew product line as well as their online 800-page catalog at www.valsew.com. NE
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