B&T Plant Hire has switched to the new Parts.Cat.com eCommerce platform from Finning UK and Ireland
With 94 per cent of customers now conducting online research during the buying process, B&T Plant Hire is benefitting from the free, easy-to-use online portal, with access to 60,000 genuine parts 24/7.
Services offered by Parts.Cat.com include parts identification, personalised pricing, real-time Q&As with Finning’s technical support team, and training programmes for the company’s purchasing team. Also included is the option for next day delivery, integrated order tracking and a quotation tool, giving businesses such as B&T a seamless user experience.
B&T Plant Hire’s Group Service Manager, Graham Vicary, comments: “In order to achieve the high levels of uptime and availability of our Caterpillar plant equipment, we have developed a two-tier strategic approach for our repair, maintenance and service operation.
“Using the Parts.Cat.com store, our in-house team manages the availability of our less-than 8 tonne fleet, with our local Finning branch and its mobile engineering team looking after the rest.
“In practical terms, this means that no matter where our dedicated service engineers are, or our own in-house team, they can login to our online account using a smart phone, tablet or PC, and order the parts they need for the next day.
“We have a vast range of Caterpillar machines in our fleet, so for us, one of the best functions of Parts.Cat.com is the 
ability to input the details of each. This makes finding the right parts much quicker, and because we have an order history, we can just use the ‘repeat order’ function.
“Equally, for team members using the system on a daily basis, they often use the in-built parts’ identification system. This makes searching for the correct part much simpler and avoids any errors. Similarly, with parts that we order frequently, any member of the team can go direct to the ‘part’ and order without any hassle.
“As with any plant hire business, we will get periods where a lot of kit will be returning from large jobs, all at the same time. Through Parts.Cat.com, we’re now able to better plan regular servicing. For instance, by building up our parts order for each machine in advance, even if the hire is extended, we can manage all required parts in one place ahead of time. This ensures we have everything ready to go once the machines are back with us; ultimately streamlining the process and ensuring service and maintenance goes ahead as planned, and out to the next job on time.
“Generally, because members of our team pass the Finning branch on the way to our workshop facility, we opt for the click and collect service. This is very convenient for us and also gives us the chance to check on any machines that are being looked after by the team. There are, however, times when we want parts to be delivered to different locations, so having this option available has proven to be very useful as it saves on time and the logistical impacts of delivering parts.”
For further information on Finning, the sole supplier of Caterpillar equipment in the UK, click here
