Salalah Service Parts Network

A contract that began after the sale

Dhofar Atlas Equipment supplied pumping equipment and mechanical systems to customers in Oman and several East African markets. Equipment sales had grown, but the support network had not developed at the same pace. Spare parts were held in several countries; frequently used items were sometimes absent where they were needed, while slow-moving stock tied up capital in warehouses.

A breakdown exposed the problem. The service team first had to verify the exact part number, then locate actual inventory and only then decide how to ship. For the customer, all of those steps meant one thing: longer downtime.

Dhofar Atlas Equipment asked EMARAS to design a network that could receive selected parts from Asian manufacturers and keep them ready for regional orders through Salalah. The $430,000 Salalah Service Parts Network contract was established to build that capability.

Deciding what belongs close to the customer

EMARAS reviewed the parts list by the impact of equipment failure on a customer's operations, rather than by purchase value alone. A small, inexpensive part might be essential to restart a machine; an expensive item might attract no demand for months.

Each SKU was scored by consumption frequency, replenishment lead time, substitutability and the consequence of a stockout. That analysis produced three stocking tiers:

• Critical parts: ready inventory for a rapid response.
• High-turn parts: revolving stock with a defined reorder point.
• Specialist parts: procured against an order or a planned maintenance programme.

The tiers governed working-capital deployment. The aim was not to fill a warehouse, but to hold the right part at the right point in the network.

One identity for each part

In Dhofar Atlas's former network, the same component could be identified by a manufacturer's number, an internal code and a technician's common name. EMARAS established a master catalogue connecting those identifiers to the equipment model and its technical revision.

Before confirming an order, the service team could verify that the requested item was genuinely compatible with the customer's machine. The control reduced incorrect dispatch, costly returns and extended downtime.

For principal SKUs, supplier details, specifications, country of origin, packaging and required commercial documents were recorded in the same file. The catalogue served both service engineering and international purchasing and shipping.

Salalah as a decision point

EMARAS synchronised inbound parts from Asian suppliers with stocking plans and outbound orders. In the network design, Salalah became the point at which Dhofar Atlas could decide whether to allocate a consignment to an Omani customer, hold it for future demand or prepare it for another market.

The customs status and re-export route for each order were reviewed with authorised parties. EMARAS did not assume every part could move under the same procedure or document set. Each dispatch file had to reflect the destination, buyer, product and contractual terms.

From repair request to parts dispatch

EMARAS designed a service response with four control gates: technical verification, inventory confirmation, route selection and delivery record. A technician's request did not become a warehouse release order until the part number had been matched to the machine model.

After confirmation, the system presented the service team with shipping options based on the part's location, repair urgency and lane cost. Standard orders could be consolidated with planned consignments; critical requests followed a separate response path.

Actual customer urgency, rather than the loudest voice in an email chain, determined the transport method.

Working-capital control

More inventory does not invariably mean better service. EMARAS built a management view showing service level, part consumption and inventory value together.

Parts with actual demand below forecast were identified. Conversely, rising consumption of a critical SKU could trigger a change to its reorder point. Managers could see which stock supported customers and which stock was immobilizing capital without an operational reason.

Execution path

• Months 1–2 | Installed-base assessment: review active machines, repair records and parts consumption.
• Months 3–4 | Network design: classify parts, establish inventory policy and build the master catalogue.
• Months 5–7 | Supply-flow launch: coordinate manufacturer orders, bring in selected inventory and define the request-to-dispatch process.
• Months 8–10 | Optimisation: analyse consumption data, adjust reorder points and stabilise regional dispatch plans.

Contract value

This contract covers network design and management. The cost of purchased parts, storage, freight, insurance and third-party services is accounted for separately.

Outcome

Before this project, Dhofar Atlas searched for parts and a shipping route after each repair request arrived. After deployment, critical components had a predefined stocking policy, technical identifier and response path.

The Salalah network gave Dhofar Atlas a prepared response to service requests, with critical parts, technical references and shipping procedures defined in advance.

EMARAS — The sale is a milestone. Reliability is the relationship.