CBC heavy industry and mobile equipment expert, Sheree Munnik advises her OEM contracts that when it comes to procuring the right supplies at the right time, “Fail to plan, and you plan to fail.” 

Her vested knowledge in the procurement side of the business has been amplified in recent years by her extensive involvement in the contract sales side of CBC’s Western Australian business arm, which frequently caters to the OEMs involved in the production of equipment for heavy industrial plants, ore mining, refineries, and quarrying processes. 

“A fair few of my clients manufacture heavy mobile equipment like dump trucks, diggers and excavators that dominate the heavy industrial equipment market here in Perth,’ says Sheree. 

Not surprisingly, many of Sheree’s clients are looking to invest in premium level products for their manufacturing processes — and that’s exactly where CBC comes in. 

According to Sheree, with some of the more recent challenges procurement managers have been facing, this has created a kind of convergence of opportunity to showcase the different capabilities that Motion Australia’s business possesses in terms of inventory, supply and distribution. 

‘I recently had the procurement manager from a reputable OEM reach out to me,” says Sheree. “He wanted to discuss accessing hydraulic and gear oils for their batches of massive heavy earth moving loading trucks. Essentially, his hands were tied in terms of accessing supply due to difficulties with long lead times sourcing offshore products and he was looking for a premium quality onshore alternative that would be more readily available.”

Sheree deferred to her multi-branded solutions basket of contacts to source lubricants from their range of available premium oils. She also suggested the OEM manager enter into a procurement contract with CBC to benefit from their massive network of stock facilities and distribution channels. 

The client ended up ordering a range of Shell products from our supplier Viva Energy Australia, including items from the Tellus T2 hydraulic oils and the Omala industrial gear oil ranges.

Since then, it has been full steam ahead with continuous ordering and supply. 

“The client quickly made us their preferred onshore supplier,” says Sheree. “And the relationship has been ongoing for about a year now. We monitor it quarterly and regularly check in on the client’s needs to make assessments and offer oil samples for their team to trial.” 

This is just one example of the diverse spectrum of offerings CBC and Motion Australia offer to customers and it demonstrates the capabilities of not only the business as a whole, but similarly, the tremendous aptitude of representatives like Sheree. 

As far as industry trends this year, Sheree notes that one of the biggest trends she has seen is indeed a leaning toward improving logistics processes. 

“I have noticed it is all about planning for a lot of customers right now,” she says. “People are focussed on performing regular stock take and forecasting into the next year, it is our goal to help customers stay on top of these planning initiatives.”  

Tips for keeping ahead of stock 

• Perform regular stock take every quarter

• Plan ahead for the next quarter up to a year

• Seek onshore solutions that will reduce lead times

• Opt for investing in more premium products to eliminate the need for sooner replacement

• Choose your supplier wisely

• Consult with the experts at Motion Australia – we are always ready for a conversation