Klarius Products’ Sales & Operations Director James Ellison discusses the company’s latest zero-stock service approach for CATs, which aims to free up storage space and inventory cash.
Catalytic converters (CATs) are a critical part of the exhaust system, providing emissions control and ensuring legislative compliance. Like any car component though, the demands of the road can mean that periodic replacement is required. The issue for stockists and distributors is that CATs are bulky and expensive to stock on-site, and there are literally 1,000s of part numbers. Thankfully, Klarius Products seems to have it covered.
Klarius, one of the UK’s largest manufacturers of aftermarket exhausts, offers next-day UK delivery to stockists and distributors for any CAT in its range. Not only is this ideal for reducing on-site inventory and cost, it also ensures great availability for garage customers.
A warehouse full of CATs
With the emissions test an established part of any MOT, ensuring that CATs are functioning as intended is a key responsibility for vehicle owners and service garages. However, with the diverse UK car parc and its myriad of exhaust system designs, ensuring an optimum replacement part within an acceptable lead time can be a challenge.
One way to ensure an optimal replacement CAT that is delivered when required is for stockists to hold local inventory, which many do. However, this approach presents problems, as James Ellison, Sales & Operations Director at Klarius, explained: “CATs are typically expensive items due to the precious metals such as rhodium, platinum and palladium used in their manufacture. Even to stock a small selection of CATs for a few popular vehicle applications equates to a hefty investment. To stock 50 CATs can cost í5,000. Obviously, this is an inefficient use of capital if stock is slow moving, so we work with our distributor customers to reduce and optimise their on-site inventory. Our zero-stock service is made possible thanks to our market-leading delivery times, helping customers to optimize procurement and save money compared to holding CATs on-site.
“Furthermore, the space required to store 50 CATs is around 10mÇ. If multiple examples are being stored, the space requirement quickly increases. The space at a factor needs to be used efficiently, which means carefully managing stock levels on a daily basis and sending replacements quickly. We visit many UK stock locations more than once per day, so we can effectively reduce stock on-site without impacting CAT supply.
“There are several hundred part numbers for CATs, so Klarius keeps a huge stock at its central UK warehouse. This ensures that stock is ready for fast dispatch, so that stockists and distributors not only reduce inventory, but can offer a better service for a wider range of Klarius parts.
“To offer further support, we provide redistribution and stock cleansing services. This means that customers can move stock to branch locations where it will sell best and stock only the most profitable components on-site.”
Next-day UK distribution
Klarius Products offers next-day UK delivery to factors on any replacement part from its emissions control range, which covers over 11,000 applications. Working in conjunction with its dedicated logistics partner Autologistiks, Klarius can provide CATs for niche or popular vehicle applications within hours. Dynamic, demand-driven CAT manufacturing also ensures equal availability across the range.
“For orders placed with Klarius before 5pm, over 50% reach the intended destination before 9am; 60% before 10am, and 90% reach the destination before midday”, James continued. “This means we can deliver a quality component to any stockist or distributor in the UK at the optimum time for a repair. Therefore, these companies can operate a highly responsive but cost-effective supply chain while holding minimal stock.”
Quality CATs
James concluded, “Every Klarius CAT is developed in-house on vehicles of correct make, model and production year, and is tested in conjunction with the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA). As a result, all Klarius CATs provide equivalent or increased performance level over that of an OEM part. Where applicable, all Klarius products adhere to legislative standards such as type-approval. A Fit First Time guarantee and a two-year warranty is also standard on all components in the range.”
