The Amazing Race: A Day in the Life of a Spare Part

A Look Inside the Replacement Part Delivery Process

The journey of a service part from order to end-user takes an interesting voyage, and one that warrants a deeper dive to capture the compelling details.

It all starts when our customer sends their service or replacement parts to one of our global Distribution Centers or Forward Stocking Locations (FSLs). A FSL is a facility – usually a warehouse, located close to their end customer. It’s important to note, our global footprint allows us to strategically place our customer’s replacement parts in various regions throughout the globe, enabling expedited delivery to their end user.

The spare part arrives, is inbounded and given a unique identifier, which we call a “Flash License Plate Number” or “FLPN”, that enables that part to be followed throughout its entire journey across the Flash network.

The mission-critical part remains ready-to-go as soon as it’s needed. Like an Olympian perched on the starting block, the mission critical part has been organized, prepared, and is now poised to save the day. When a customer’s product experiences a failure, they simply fire off an order for the replacement part, via FlashTrac, built exclusively for service parts execution, and literally the race begins!

Order requirements are entered, fields are populated, and Ps and Qs are checked in terms of the order of the spare part. Our customer can view any activity connected with their part through FlashTrac – whether it is a 2HR (2-hour), 4HR (4-hour), NBD (next business day), or NFO (next flight out) delivery.

Much like a professional athlete at the top of their game, FlashTrac keeps a close eye, making sure the spare part crosses the finish line!

Unparalleled Visibility in FlashTrac

FlashTrac, which simplifies and digitizes the service supply chain, is designed for the configurability needed to meet the unique needs of our customers in a fast-paced service parts logistics industry. Its rules-driven, directed workflow technology is designed to ensure accuracy throughout the picking, packing, and shipping process. The rules and logic utilized ensure the reliability and consistency of service. Once the part arrives on schedule, our customer fulfills their delivery timeline obligations to their client in a timely manner, and the race is won!

One of the most satisfying results is how our customer enjoyed a front row seat to view all the action through FlashTrac.