Just another screwed up day

[Sinifar]

Just another one of those weeks. Ages ago when we had the BIG trucks, we carried just about everything, in ones or twos on board. Then came 2000 and our stupid truck decided that to go 30 miles you needed to pour in 2 quarts of oil. Ford said, "Why fix it? It has 194,000 miles on it." So instead of fixing the big oil leaks, they just did a front end and brake job which I did not authorize, then held my business hostage until I paid the 2K bill. Needless to say, I ended up with an expensive piece of junk.

Next I bought a 2002 Focus Wagon. Well ages ago like back in the 70's 'Fang used one for his lock shop, so why can't we? GOOD choice when the gas went to the moon and we were getting good mileage with out little unit, ONLY -- how much stuff can you stuff into a Focus Wagon? More than you think, but not as much as I would like to. Still it got jobs done, we delivered most of the jobs on time, and as our local branch said -- "Use our warehouse as yours!" SO I did. Worked out okay until recently.

NOW I am running that 2014 Transit Connect. That is working out okay, a bit cramped in there, but I can live with it. But the inventory problem is starting to loom again. Now our local branch has a lot of empty shelves, and everything seems I need has to come from Chicago, Omaha, or Indianapolis. Worse, so I ordered the stupid locks I needed in something other an SC-4 or KW-11, and they were supposed to ship it out of Chicago. BOX comes in, and guess what is missing? AND I need it for 8:30 this morning. NOW WHAT?

1) Rummaging down here I found a cylinder in the right keyway, but wrong finish. Paint it. Done. Pin it, done. Will get stuffed in this morning.

2) Okay I am back to the old days where I need to warehouse some of this stuff again. SO the question is what do you do?

Keyways - Corbin "EH", Russwin 981, D-1, L4, Sargent LA-LC, Yale GA. Knob / lever in 26D -- Mortise 1 1/8 in 26 D and Duro (079) or something close, Rim cylinders 26D, Duro. A few of each. like 2 of each or so, maybe four of each. The rest can be covered with the "CO" or the usual SC / KW series. Does anyone know if that Ilco Medeco cylinder is Air, Sky, or something else?

Thankfully, with the TC I have the room to stuff in stock like this. If you don't have it on the road with you, it means a call back -- and -- more time spent running for stupid things you should have in the first place.

Get on site, look at the job, pull stock where needed, key, install, bill. Job done, move onto the next one.

Your thoughts?

Sinifar

[Squelchtone]

[Moved from General Chatter to Locksmith Lounge]

[billdeserthills]

The 1515 Ilco Medeco cylinders are Air keyway. Good luck finding new pins, they take a larger sized pin, not medeco pins either. I recently found a brand new
ilco 1515 pin kit on e-bay!

[jeffmoss26]

Got a link or picture of that, Bill?

[billdeserthills]

Ebay part#181729934196 looks like I got it for $20 +shipping
I found out years ago when I pinned some of the ilco cylinders, but I never did realize Ilco offered a pin kit

[globallockytoo]

Sinifar,

You cannot please all of the customers all of the time. maintaining stock holding of rarely used parts can be a real drag. You have to do inventory either every month, or every six months and especially before tax time.

You cant hope to have everything needed all the time.

I think it was Ford Motor Co that decided years ago to build to order. the client selected the model they wanted, paid their deposit and waited for the factory to build it. that way you dont need to warehouse parts, that "might not" sell for a while.

Most customers understand about parts delays.

[billdeserthills]

Sinifar,

You cannot please all of the customers all of the time. maintaining stock holding of rarely used parts can be a real drag. You have to do inventory either every month, or every six months and especially before tax time.

You cant hope to have everything needed all the time.

I think it was Ford Motor Co that decided years ago to build to order. the client selected the model they wanted, paid their deposit and waited for the factory to build it. that way you dont need to warehouse parts, that "might not" sell for a while.

Most customers understand about parts delays.

I disagree, I have several special clients that I keep special parts just for them, along with the understanding that if I were to lose that client,
I may not have a use for those special parts. I want to be their locksmith and when they call I like to be able to say "Yes, I have that top latch"
instead of, "Sure, I'll come down and chain those doors shut"

Thing about that build to order gig, Dodge Brothers done had one all ready to sell

[MatrixBlackRock]

I think it was Ford Motor Co that decided years ago to build to order. the client selected the model they wanted, paid their deposit and waited for the factory to build it. that way you dont need to warehouse parts, that "might not" sell for a while.

That's referred to just in time (JIT) and requires the synchronization of suppliers, subcontractors and shipping to run in total harmony, it is a concept that allows the planning for future looking supply requirements to meet incoming production demands.

It is a concept that is not easily leveraged into the day to day street level of customers demands, more so when a "stocking" wholesaler is running at minimal levels and relying on other branches for backup inventory.

The customer has a problem and you need to provide a quick solution and tomorrow might not be the answer the customer wishes to hear.

Wayne

[Sinifar]

I think it was Ford Motor Co that decided years ago to build to order. the client selected the model they wanted, paid their deposit and waited for the factory to build it. that way you dont need to warehouse parts, that "might not" sell for a while.

That's referred to just in time (JIT) and requires the synchronization of suppliers, subcontractors and shipping to run in total harmony, it is a concept that allows the planning for future looking supply requirements to meet incoming production demands.

It is a concept that is not easily leveraged into the day to day street level of customers demands, more so when a "stocking" wholesaler is running at minimal levels and relying on other branches for backup inventory.

The customer has a problem and you need to provide a quick solution and tomorrow might not be the answer the customer wishes to hear.

Wayne

This has been a thorny problem going back to the beginning in 1972. What does one carry? Over the years we have been hit with lots of odd ball requests, and offered to "order out the unit" -- only to lose the sale. This has happened on the road and in the shop when we had one. There is no pleasing people, ever it seems. If you don't "carry everything" they feel you aren't really in "biz", for what ever reason.

In the end, we carry most of our inventory, for what I can stuff in there, in the truck. Even in the shop era we had most of it out on the road to fill customer demand now, get the sale and move on. If it was needed in the shop, one of the guys could swing by and drop it off. An hour isn't too long to wait?? IS IT??? Don't think that instant fulfillment started with Amazon. People seem to think that if you are in this biz, you carry EVERYTHING under the sun, including the really eight ball lock / part / device, they want.

Which gets to Wayne's post, and the warehouse problem. Every walk thru your local branch? They seem to have lots on the shelf, but look again. Lots of threes / fours / fives / and sometimes not that much. Nobody wants to stock anything which just sits there and collects dust. It is money on the shelf. Cash which could be working on other more lucrative items to move. Yet, what are you going to do?

JIT works only if the whole system is geared to moving one type of item, not a whole smorgasbord of products.

Wholesalers have a cash problem too, and they don't want to have more of their cash tied up in extremely slow moving stuff. So they as well are on the order it out as the orders come in wagon. You wait usually four to six weeks to get something. AND if your client needs it yesterday. If we don't have it they will call around until they find it, or take the last guy they called and order it from them. Lost another sale.....

Which is why I invest in my own firm, and carry lots of really slow moving product which gets sold eventually, but it has made a few clients in the past. Not always, but one tries their best.

The solution we found was to have one truck stocked to the bursting with everything you could imagine in almost every finish and variant we could find. It was a large cash outlay, but then again I have a different view of cash -- you can either spend the cash today on yourself, or bank it. But rather than bank it, I bought inventory. This is investing in your own firm. When times are good, we buy like mad, and store stuff, mostly down here in the bunker today, and lately now that we have a truck again, out there. Not is profusion (deep) like before, but W I D E ... That is a few, twos, threes of a lot of stuff. This covers the quick sale usually.

When times get slow, we sell off inventory. This brings the cash back into the game, and we move forward. Nothing like the big sale with no purchase when times are slow. This is all part of cash management, and inventory management. It makes sales. It makes clients.

Not always, there are the jerks who will just buy from you because you have the product they need NOW and will go back to their regular supply chain when the crunch is off. You are being used. But at least you got a small sale out of it, and 100 bux is 100 bux, one time or now maybe, perhaps, more in the future. But don't hold your breath.

If you are using Quickbooks, you can get a feel of what you are selling and how often. Now look at the sales, and figure out what you had to order out, and what you just pulled, keyed and either sent out, or installed. How about quick repairs? If that client calls and they have a problem with something, can you just show up and pull stock and get them back in business? OR do you have to make that dreaded call back, with the second trip out, and more time lost working on a job which you should have done the first time?

Call back are the bane of this industry. More time spent chasing parts and time lost running out there and back a few times to get the thing done. What else could you be doing with that time? How many more calls could you run if you had taken care of this whole thing the first stop?

Finally, if this isn't such a good idea, then why did several of our larger competitors also follow suit, and stocked up one truck with everything? Imitation is the best reward. I must be onto something if the big boys also follow my lead.

Sinifar

[jeffmoss26]

Ebay part#181729934196 looks like I got it for $20 +shipping
I found out years ago when I pinned some of the ilco cylinders, but I never did realize Ilco offered a pin kit

Wow - interesting! The pins do not appear to have angles like Medeco OEM pins though.

[dll932]

Where I did a lot of my work in the past, there was a LOT of really old housing stock, including many "architect's specials." These were the houses of the wealthy whose builders used stuff you'll never see again or rarely see again. I had to get real good at fabricating and repairing parts and modifying parts to fit. The last 'smith I worked for had an extensive stock of old parts and locks and we made a good bit of coin out of them. Now and then we would buy a part or lock from a competitor knowing one day they would do the same from us. The last service vehicle I had was a 90 Prizm...it was amazing what I could get done out of that little car!

[jeffmoss26]

The good old days!

[cledry]

Every locale and each type of locksmith business will need differing stock depending on the amount of business, type of customer and importantly how close your suppliers are.

For example door closers we stock 12 Norton type in alu and 12 in duro, we stock 6 Yale type in alu and we stock 6 LCN type in alu. We can get more at a supplier that is 3 miles away. Grade 3 residential deadbolts we like to keep a dozen singles and doubles in Schlage and a dozen in Kwikset in US3, US5 & 26D. Grade 2 we keep a dozen in single and double but only in 26D, all in Schlage keyway but we keep plenty of cylinders that allow us to cover most commercial keyways. We keep 2 Grade 2 rim exit bars in stock. We keep 1 Grade rim exit. This supplier is about 4 miles away. We keep a couple of 1200 lb magnets in stock, 3 HES 5000, often we have other HES strikes but we can usually get them fast. We keep 8 A/R paddles, latch locks, hookbolts and deadbolts in alu and duro and all backsets. Commercial grade 2 levers we keep 24 of each in stock as well as 6 IC core in all functions. We keep Detex models all except WR in stock, same with Alarm lock including delayed egress. This just scratches the surface of course. This is only just shop materials too. The 5 service vehicles carry additional common stock.

Obviously we keep a few dozen of most styles of padlocks from Master, American and Corbin as well as loads of cam locks, pin and wafer, desk locks plus a full line of National and Timberline. We keep cores for Steelcase, HON, Meridian, Herman Miller, Knoll, Kimball etc. plus a stock of file cabinet locks.

We keep several of every storefront pivot in both colors as well as a few Rotons in each color.

One of the reasons we carry so much is because we do a lot of night and weekend work. Our suppliers despite being very close are not open then.

We do have a lot of stock that doesn't turn over quickly that we may have bought on close out or by buying out competition. We have cases of Best Grade 1 levers, cases of Dorma single sided passage levers, cases of Dorma single sided deadbolts, cases of door stops, peep holes, hinges etc. loads of rails for Von Duprin 99, Schlage mortise locks...

[jeffmoss26]

Wow...that is a lot of inventory!!

[cledry]

Wow...that is a lot of inventory!!

It might seem like it if you are a one man shop but we have 5 trucks on the road so if you divide that up it isn't that much. Time is money so for example having to make a trip to pick up a pivot because you don't have the correct one could cost you a couple of hours minimum. That two hours could pay to stock about 6 sets of pivots. Now what happens if the job is at 4:00 PM or miles from the shop or at night. The job wouldn't get done until the next day. Now you have potentially lost a job possibly a customer. It is also frustrating as a locksmith not to have stock when you need it, I know it used to frustrate me no end where I used to work.

We also are of the business model that prefers to replace than to repair. Over time we have decided that a repair will fail on occasion and then the customer will be upset, you will lose money on a return trip. New parts are less likely to fail and come with a manufacturer warranty. This also demands more stock on hand.