Tough times demand innovative prudence

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IBG - SA Instrumentation & Control Buyers' Guide

October 2009 News

There are very few local companies that have not been affected by the global recession. Whether they are suppliers or consumers, from reduced capex and maintenance budget allocations to falling sales and shoe-string margins; they are all very much in the same boat.

Surplus Central’s John Lingenfelder says that in times like these innovation is paramount. In August 2009 the company responded to the market’s call for assistance and launched a portal, www.surpluscentral.co.za that networks sellers holding surplus stock and potential buyers seeking to purchase such equipment.

Suppliers, be they OEMs, system integrators, distributors or wholesalers are continually faced with the complex task of aligning their stock profiles to the customers they serve. Over time and for various reasons, stockholdings become misaligned with customers’ requirements. A store filled with obsolete or mismatched products is costing the company through its inability to invest in stock that its customers currently require.

For those companies purchasing equipment, they too face many difficulties. As time passes and equipment becomes obsolete; it becomes increasingly difficult to source spares and replacements for those items. In an emergency, when equipment failure halts production, a preferred supplier’s response of extended delivery times is not always adequate.

“At Surplus Central, our mission is to be a buyer’s first port of call when sourcing obsolete or hard-to-find products. The reality of the market is that while a buyer urgently requires equipment, there is inevitably a supplier somewhere that has this item and needs to sell it,” says Lingenfelder. “Expenditure budgets have been heavily reduced of late and as such, buyers are forced to be extremely price conscious. Surplus Central offers buyers’ access to a gateway where suppliers are content to dispose of excess products at lower prices.

“For suppliers with excess stock, Surplus Central is a powerful tool turning a product that may have been on the shelf since the dark ages, into hard cash that can be re-invested into the company. Through a tiered subscription plan based on the number of products users wish to upload, the low monthly investment makes Surplus Central a key resource in the marketing plan.

“Surplus Central is committed to servicing an ever changing market while assisting buyers and sellers to realise the maximum benefit from their respective resources. Click on www.surpluscentral.co.za to find out what we can do for you.”

For more information contact John Lingenfelder, Surplus Central, +27 (0)11 454 4729, [email protected], www.surpluscentral.co.za

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Tough times demand innovative prudence

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