Commentary: Behind the Scenes With a Non-OE Aftermarket Parts Maker
Denise Rondini
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Denise Rondini
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Fleets consider a variety of factors when choosing the right part for a repair. Reliability, durability, availability, reputation of the manufacturer, age of the vehicle, warranty and price all come together to lead to the best choice.
For years there has been a debate about the difference between OEM and aftermarket replacement parts, with many people thinking aftermarket parts manufacturers did not have the resources to provide the same quality, availability, and warranty as their OEM counterparts.
At least one aftermarket parts manufacturer thinks that is changing. Egan Hernandez, marketing manager for IPD, says manufacturers of branded aftermarket parts are now using validation processes for all parts “that are very similar to the OEM supplier production pre-approval process.”
He says the quality assurance program used by IPD is not just an inspection. “It includes monitoring process parameters at the supplier to ensure parts are made to specifications.”
He adds, “Lean concepts are vigorously applied to the manufacturing process to ensure 100% parts quality at each and every step of the process, in-house and at the supplier.”
Given that aftermarket replacement parts usually come at a lower price than OEM replacement parts, how is it possible for a company to make these quality investments? Egan explains that IPD focuses on lower costs by running lean processes that reduce the cost of scrap, work in process, re-work, customer return and other non-value added costs.
I asked Egan how he responds to OEMs who say parts tolerances and other specs are not the same between the OE parts and the aftermarket replacement part. “Obviously OEMs do not share their drawings with the aftermarket, so suppliers have to develop their own processes for defining specs and tolerances,” he says.
In the case of IPD, Egan says that involves “reverse engineering the OEM part by purchasing OEM samples, …Read the rest of this story
