As a leading manufacturer of advanced laser cutting solutions, Mazak Optonics Corp. prioritizes customer satisfaction. A recent expansion of the parts department at Mazak’s North America laser technology center in Elgin, Ill., aligns with the company’s commitment to better serve customers by increasing capacity for parts and streamlining operations.
The goal is to keep customers’ facilities always running smoothly. Part of that challenge is storing numerous parts. With new laser cutting machines consistently being added to Mazak’s product offerings, acquiring more space to support new and existing machines was necessary.
“The expansion involved doubling our size from about 5,000 sq. ft. to 10,000 sq. ft., in part because we had just run out of space,” says Ricardo Juarez, parts center manager, Mazak Optonics. “We needed more space for new parts coming in. New machines mean new parts and new equipment. We were also able to double our personnel capacity.”
Juarez has been with Mazak Optonics for 19 years and has been in the parts department since his first day. He was recently promoted to parts center manager.
Juarez and the rest of the parts department team ship out roughly 5,000 parts a week. Parts range from consumables like torch nozzles, O-rings and glass protectors to machine parts like motors and pumps.
“We house pretty much any part that goes on a Mazak laser machine,” Juarez says. “We have about $12.5 million worth of inventory, and we service machines up to 20 years old so we have parts here for those 20-year-old machines, too.”
Prompt service
With customer satisfaction at the forefront of its efforts, the parts department’s main priority is to respond to customer requests as quickly as possible with a goal of same-day shipping. In addition, emergency situations – a machine being down – are considered high priority and dealt with without delay.
“If a customer has a machine go down and they aren’t able to run it, that automatically becomes a top priority,” Juarez says. “We aim for 98.5 percent of all ordered parts to ship with same-day or next-day delivery. If it’s not in stock, we have access to all the parts departments worldwide within the Mazak organization so we’re able to see what’s in stock in any warehouse in the world. If they have it in stock, the customer will receive it in about two to three days.”
When a typical parts order comes in, the parts department fulfills the customer’s request, and they receive a confirmation of their order along with the delivery information. When a customer needs assistance – perhaps they don’t know a part number – customer service is brought in.
“For typical consumables, like torch nozzles, many customers reorder the same part,” Juarez says. “By maintaining a customer history database, our customer service team can pinpoint what the customer requires most of the time, which makes the parts order fulfillment process more efficient. For more intricate machine parts, like motors and pumps, our tech support team provides us with additional support to service the customer.”
Up-to-date tech
The parts department relies on FieldPoint field service software to keep track of customer data.
“It’s a new software we just incorporated that shows customer contact information, what machines they own, when a machine has been serviced, what parts they’ve ordered and so on,” Juarez says. “So far, the software has been pretty helpful.”
The parts department also invested in three Kardex automated storage towers about three years ago to store and retrieve consumable parts of various sizes. Other items, such as pumps and motors, are located on racks. Since their installation, the towers have transformed the parts department.
“It’s made a big difference just in time savings as well as preventing order fulfillment mistakes,” Juarez says. “We used to own a similar tower system that, due to the technology, took much more time to fulfill an order. By investing in new technology, our new tower system is more accurate and efficient. In fact, it allows us to pick multiple orders at a time compared to just one.”
He notes the towers save a lot of floor space, as well, going 32 ft. up, all the way to the ceiling.
With a commitment to keep up to date with the latest technologies, the parts department plans to implement a pick-to-light system to assist Mazak workers in picking parts for multiple orders simultaneously. Once an order is received, the worker simply scans the barcode associated with the order. From there, most of the fulfillment process is automated. Storage tower trays containing parts from the order are automatically brought down.
A laser pointer points to where parts are located in the tray. The worker places the selected items in a barcoded tote. Once all the parts from the order are picked, the tote automatically moves to the shipping area to be prepped for delivery.
“We are looking forward to implementing the point-to-light system, which we believe will make our department even more efficient at fulfilling multiple orders at a time, ultimately getting the parts in our customers’ hands faster,” Juarez says.
With customer satisfaction at the forefront of Mazak’s operations, the parts department intends to continue investing in resources to aid these efforts. Mazak guarantees lifetime parts support on every laser cutting machine sold. Whether a machine is new or has been running for years, the parts needed to achieve maximum performance are available.
