Any small shops using fastenal

[Bowles]

I have a shop that caters to my earth moving/forestry business. Its 18 000 sqft used to do maintenance and repairs to 25 pieces of rolling stock. Has couple mechanics and 17 employees. It has become a chore to keep all the small things order and in place. I carry everything a small auto parts store has. Grade 8 bolts up to 1 1/2 fine and coarse, metric coarse and fine, nearly every hydraulic fitting cat, deere, or komatsu has ever made and adapters. Metal cutting stuff like grinding disk, drill bits up to 2 1/2 inches. Cut off blade , wiring terminals, dot fittings, metal pipe fittings, and the list goes on. I estimate 50 to 75k in inventory at all times. I live in a remote area that has limited stock and down time kills production. So I try to stock everything. As the company grows I'm working nights and weekends to order stuff from amazon, go by lowes, flip through msc sales filters etc. I do it to save money but it comes a time when enough is enough. I have heard great things and bad from fastenal..... most of the bad came from folks buying small quantities....
How bad are they price wise if you buy from them regularly? There prices online are scary. I'm hoping they knock off 25 to 50 percent if you buy volume.
I read where they will come in with all new bins and drawers and label everything neat and nice. Has anyone had this done? Did they make you sign a contract that you would guarantee them business. Has anyone had a vending machine? Did you see any benefit to it?

 

[jshillin]

Go to the store, talk to the manager. My buddy used to run a Fastenal and the deals that they worked weren't all the same. Depended on volume, how often bins needed filled, etc.

 

[dr_clyde]

I don’t really care for Fasten-some. I’ve dealt with them on all levels from small shop to big corporations, and they really are mediocre on all fronts.

If they’re all you can get in your area, they’re better than a stick in the eye, but I would keep looking.

I don’t know any shop that uses Fastenal longer than a few months for one reason or another.

 

[dsimatt]

Our branch is about the size you are, the company is global and I don't know prices so can't help you there.

We have the vending machines and they are nice as you can set when to order and it will, one is like a chip vending machine and the others are drawers you open and have to enter quantity taken. Getting them there and setup was a cluster, you'll need a good landline to connect them to or you'll have issues.

Granger does our bolts and those are just in pins....they ****.

 

[PartsGuy]

Sounds like you need a storekeeper/inventory manager. You already seem to have a good handle on the stocking/supply needs of your business, but lack the time to keep it updated/restocked.
Delegate this responsibility to someone who can devote part-time or full-time (as necessary) hours to keeping stock levels up, and is available to find and expedite those things that pop up out of nowhere to keep the rolling stock rolling.
As parts manager of a dealership, I am tasked with being the "find it" guy, no matter what the vehicle, and usually the faster the better. The owner of the dealership doesn't concern himself with how I make things magically appear, he trusts that he hired someone who can get the parts and supplies that are needed to help operations go more smoothly. I think you might consider doing the same in your situation.

 

[Jeffh40]

There are better sources. We have an account with Fasten-maybe, but usually find that they don't have nearly anything in stock, in a reasonable quantity, when we need it.

 

[woody 73]

What I am going to tell you will be absolutely worthless to you op but just by chance one of the GJ members in another older post told us that he would buy bulk nuts & bolts from his local Rural King. Now since I live in a city I never heard of them but just for shits and giggles just this week I made the long drive about 40 miles away and holy **** darn great prices on bulk grade 2 and up. (Although If I was a guessing man, don't tell the wife, I would say it all was coming from China if that should be a concern for you).


Anyhow I see a big downfall for you because it looks like they only have two locations in your home state, so that would kill it for you. Sorry op wish I could have helped you out, only wish I had known about them years ago as it would have saved me tons of money.


Op best of luck I feel your pain...

 

[TTMotorsports]

I order and stock my grade 8 bolts almost all from mcmaster since I can easily repeat orders as needed to restock. Lots of companies also will do subscription type ordering. Order a set number per week or month etc. Automatically shipped to you.

 

[Lisamelting]

I've used them. They were too expensive and we still ran out of common items more times than I can count.

 

[Bowles]

I'm trying to get out if the DIY business. It takes more time than one realizes to order, check to see if what u got billed for got recieved, put inventory up, throw packaging away. It's more than fastners....
Zip ties, safety glasses, orange spray paint, floursant pin flags, welding rods..... I am pretty much a store that only has one customer.... me
Fastenal is only company I know of that covers most of products I need. But I'm not looking for empty promises and ridiculous high prices.

 

[Professional Tool User]

If you feel that your business up to the point where you have more productive things to do than keep hardware in stock, then getting a supply house to do it for you may be worth it. It's more about convenience than cost. Services like having a supply house rep come over and refill your hardware bins, same day delivery, one stop shopping, and having a knowledgeable person you can talk to over the phone about an oddball fitting or spare parts for your broken shop equipment... It's all about minimizing the amount of messing around. There's a reason why auto repair shops only buy parts online/air freight parts in as a last resort. However, this is from a big city perspective.

 

[jhelrey]

We use Lawson... But you may not have that in your area. Rep comes every week and does an inventory and asks us what we need. Things are not cheap, but they are of good quality and are there when we need it.

 

[sberry]

I tend to agree that a good parts guy could pay for himself here. Maybe multi function guy to some extent.

 

[Bowles]

If you feel that your business up to the point where you have more productive things to do than keep hardware in stock, then getting a supply house to do it for you may be worth it. It's more about convenience than cost. Services like having a supply house rep come over and refill your hardware bins, same day delivery, one stop shopping, and having a knowledgeable person you can talk to over the phone about an oddball fitting or spare parts for your broken shop equipment... It's all about minimizing the amount of messing around. There's a reason why auto repair shops only buy parts online/air freight parts in as a last resort. However, this is from a big city perspective.

That's a very true statement.... I got to figure out if I'm at that point. Has anyone ever turned there entire supply to an outfit like fastenal or lawson?
Will they really come in with all new bins, label it all, and keep it stocked reliably? Seems like a dream

 

[readhead]

I tried hard to deal with Fastenal based on their promised service but it was impossible. Prices were all over the map and inventory was spotty. They were two miles from my shop. I ultimately connected with a supplier in the next town an hour away and have been loyal for the last twenty years. Every once in a while their outside sales guy would stop in and I would give them a chance and they failed every time on either price or availability.

 

[Dingleburry]

We use Lawson... But you may not have that in your area. Rep comes every week and does an inventory and asks us what we need. Things are not cheap, but they are of good quality and are there when we need it.

Was gonna also suggest lawson.
We basically have the same thing going on.
Rep comes every 2 weeks though.
Hes always been very good with any questions or needs that need to be met.
Asks if you need anything else besides the "normal stock" etc.
Orders are always prompt.
And like mentioned above. Its not cheap. But their hardware seems to be excellent quality

 

[WittHay]

I think the construction/ contracting company's have a purchasing guy for the construction site supplies and a separate shop foreman.

Even larger farming and trucking operations have a shop manager. The shop foreman is basically a office job. Ordering and keeping track of parts required, entering maintenance performed into some type of computer program, prioritizing repairs and maintenance, making sure the mechanics have the right tools and shop equipment to get the job done

Various supply company's up here do managed inventory but its mainly for larger manufacturing places rather than shops that only work on their own equipment

 

[twertsy]

That's a very true statement.... I got to figure out if I'm at that point. Has anyone ever turned there entire supply to an outfit like fastenal or lawson?
Will they really come in with all new bins, label it all, and keep it stocked reliably? Seems like a dream

Yes, they do this. And, depending on your account, they're all free. I've dealt with 2 different stores, one was great, the other sucked. The last guy they had service my account sucked, the first one was a smokin' hot girl that always showed up, inventoried my bins, restocked in plenty of time and actually had a brain. Of course, they didn't treat her like she deserved and she moved on fairly quickly to a bigger and better opportunity.

So, I'd say it's about the "warm fuzzy" they give you when you go talk to them. I wouldn't blame the company, it's whomever they get to service your account.

 

[mike93lx]

I worked at a medium size manufacturing plant ($35MM/yr)that used MSC to manage small parts and it worked well.

At my current company, we have a full time person to manage the stockroom, plus Grainger vending machines throughout the plants. But our MRO spend is in the millions per year.

 

[txvwnut]

I told the fastenal rep to never come back to the shop I run. He was always promising what they couldn’t provide plus they never had what any of the other local nut bolt and MRO suppliers had in stock.

 

[Mr_B]

If you want minimal hassle and sensible cost you going have keep doing it in house but simply delegate other people take the tasks on gradually until got smooth running and you got some time back .