The business case for chem feed equipment bundles!
Are you a water treater? then let me ask you a question; do you formulate your chemicals for a specific combination of water quality and application? Please stop for a minute and think about it.
From the technical standpoint it makes total sense, the combination of the quality of water, the equipment that water is used in, and the process, create a unique combination that requires the engineering of a unique solution. Although this could be the best technical approach for each application, it can become cumbersome, expensive and time-consuming.
For a business to justify the commercialization of custom mixes, without the volume commitment, should charge very high prices. Custom mixes create an overload of paperwork, transaction processing time, treatment documentation, inventory planning nightmare, invoicing mistakes and big account receivable issues. For the field service personnel, it requires more training and documentation, increases the risk for mistakes, amplifies the cost of personnel rotation and, at the end of the day, increases the cost of the operation.
Most water treaters have fix formulations that will work with the most of the applications. This way there is a limited offer, which reduces the cost of the operation, and reduces the risk for mistakes in the field.
If this is well understood for the chemicals, how come the water treaters use chem feed products from different vendors, for their applications? Understanding that personal preference for a specific controller, water meter, pump and, valve drives the selection of different components of an application, we can assume that the cost for the organization is not optimized.
Although a reliable chem feed system is of paramount importance for the performance of the water treatment, why is the overall cost of procuring, installing and supporting the different products is not accounted for? Why is it that water treaters weight differently soft and hard savings when it comes to chem feed equipment?
We suggest that sourcing all your equipment needs from one source will drive reliability and cost savings in the field. Please leave personal preferences apart (they are very subjective) and look at it from the functional/business standpoint:
1. There is very little technical differentiation between suppliers. At the end of the day, the most of the suppliers provide the same technology.
2. Quality, support, and price make the difference.
3. Having to call three different vendors for the same application dilutes leverage.
4. Bundling eliminates the subjectivity and can provide the most value per $.
5. One call, one order, one support contact.
6. Personalized bundles, ordering process and support
Just think about it, all you need is a vendor that can provide high quality, very reliable and competitive priced products. The color or shape is secondary but the business impact is deep and long-termed.
Want to see what a bundle looks like? Click Here!
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