Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/117833
Contractor Connection Now Merritt is responsible for several thousand pieces of URS equipment, from small generators to excavators and heavy mining equipment. Evaluating Dealers Any company with an equipment fleet numbering in the thousands has stories to tell about dealers that have ably served, or underserved, it. Day to day, Merritt deals less with individual dealers than he once did, but he still is a point man in URS EC conversations with equipment suppliers in the U.S. and abroad. So what, in his estimation, characterizes a good equipment dealer? ���To me,��� Merritt says, ���it is someone who is willing to engage, to take part ownership of a project, to do all he can to make sure we work together as a team and are successful.��� That does not describe every equipment dealer in his experience. While most dealers do the right thing, some create unique issues ��� and even difficulties. Quite frankly, it is difficult to imagine why a dealer would not go extra miles to nurture a working relationship with a company the size and strength of URS. Merritt says that in his experience, dealerships in the U.S. are ���a little bit more up to speed��� in partnering with customers than are their overseas counterparts, though some dealers abroad also have worked out satisfactorily. What goes wrong most often in these relationships? A key failure is a lack of openness that leads to misunderstandings, says Merritt. ���The biggest issue is making sure that we are on the same page and understand each other���s needs. Some dealers are afraid to tell us what isn���t working in a team relationship; they fail to coordinate with us. When they are doing repairs on equipment or inspecting it, for instance, we like to know everything they are doing and what���s needed. Even if we don���t do anything about it at the time, we like to know.��� There probably is not a perfect dealer ��� or a perfect equipment owner ��� but Merritt cites a dealership in the URS operators run a Komatsu excavator and haul trucks at a mining site in Canada. URS equipment is put to work at a waste storeage facility in Texas. Western United States that, in his estimation, gets it right more often than not. ���They are very agreeable about doing everything they can to help us,��� he says of the unidentified heavy equipment dealership. ���Like whenever something comes out that deals with machines we own, they let us know about it. They seem to make it a priority to satisfy us as a customer.��� Merritt isn���t looking for perfection. ���Look, there always are going to be problems with equipment. That���s the nature of machinery. It���s how you resolve those issues that���s important. It���s being able to say, ���Yow, we made a mistake, and this is how we are going to fix it.��� This dealer I mentioned is always the first to step up and say, ���This is what���s wrong and we���ll take care of it.������ The URS EC executive adds that a readiness to find solutions and truly partner with a company is not rare among dealers, with a high percentage of equipment distributors meeting every high standard set for them. There are others, however that, are problematic. Turnover Happens Maintaining an enormous fleet is not a static proposition. Merritt indicated that a fair amount of URS equipment needs replacement annually, though he declined to be specific. The exact percentage varies from year to year. Most machines are disposed of through virtual and physical auctions wherever in the world the equipment is sitting, though URS sometimes finds buyers directly for the premium-priced machines in its inventory. Disposal decisions always are made in real time, of course, reflecting what is going on out there. Equipment replacement timetables in the industry have been skewed, for example, by costs tied to the re-engineering of diesel engines to meet EPA particulate matter emissions regulations. As the various tiers have been phased in, companies sometimes have delayed equipment purchases to postpone the financial hit, or accelerated their purchases to beat the latest compliance deadline. (continued on next page) April 2013 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 27 26_Contractor_Conn_Feature_KP.indd 27 3/25/13 12:08 PM