Klarius gives an insight into its support for customers
Here, is the first half of the questions that PMF put to Klarius’ Head of Product Development, Doug Bentley, who provides a deep insight into how the company supports its customers.
Q. What innovative solutions does Klarius offer to help motor factors optimise their inventory management and ordering processes?
A. “We provide vehicles in operation (VIO), parc data and sales pareto stock pack management, effectively guiding our customers on top selling products and expected demand in their geographic region.
“We also offer next morning delivery on orders placed before 5:30pm, allowing our customers to only hold SKUs with ‘zero hour’ expectation, ideal for local garages requiring parts the same day.
“Orders can be telephoned or emailed to our dedicated in-house customer services department, and we also use electronic data interchange (EDI) links for some of our larger customers.”
Q. Can you explain how Klarius ensures the availability of genuine and high-quality parts for motor factors and their customers?
A. “At our UK manufacturing site, we follow strict quality assurance procedures as tested to ISO9001.
“From the very beginning of product development, quality is foremost in our minds. Our own test track, combined with in-house rolling road and diagnostic facilities, allows us to benchmark our products against the OEM equivalent to meet strict requirements on noise, efficiency and emissions.
“Every product we develop is tested on the correct make and model of vehicle. This ensures that our products will perform to OEM standards or better. It also means we can offer a ‘fit first time’ guarantee, which makes a mechanic’s life much easier.
“Finally, we independently Type Approve all applicable products with the TÜV and the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA). Type Approval (TA) shows that our solutions conform to European regulations for legal use on open highways. TA is not a requirement for exhausts used on UK roads, but by meeting these standards, we can be confident that our products go above and beyond customer expectations.
“Once a product is released to the market, it joins over 100,000 units stocked in our central distribution centre. In total, we have range support for around 11,000 different applications.
“When a motor factor places an order before 5:30pm, our dedicated van fleet ensures that it receives the parts next day. Our target is 100% delivery before midday, with around 85% before 9am.”
Q. In an increasingly digital world, how does Klarius support motor factors in transitioning to ecommerce and online sales channels?
A. “We offer a bespoke cataloguing data process and automated data population; in effect, we can provide our factor customers with all the information they need to simply upload into their system. This includes system strips, digital images, and product number cross checks to OEMs and competitors.
“We also have our own Klarius WebCat, as well as publishing product information on ADS, MAM and TecDoc. With regular updates, factors can be sure they always have the latest information to hand.”
Stay tuned for part two!
