Printed circuit board brokerage expands

More customers are now taking advantage of ALR's flexible stock holding facility that allows them to call off circuit boards as required from a central depot.

ALR Services has expanded operations at its Oxfordshire headquarters to cater for the popularity of its printed circuit board procurement schemes.

The company has also taken on additional staff, underlining its commitment to building sustainable, long-term business relationships with its customers.

ALR Services is one of the largest printed circuit board brokerages in Europe, providing a wide range of circuit board technologies sourced from both UK and offshore PCB manufacturers.

Established 14 years ago, the company has built a loyal customer base on its unique, hands-on combination of technical, commercial and logistical expertise.

As the business continues to grow, more customers are now taking advantage of ALR's flexible stock holding facility that allows them to call off circuit boards as required from a central depot.

To handle this extra demand, the company has acquired an additional 185m2 of environmentally controlled warehouse space.

Sales Manager Jo Saltman explains: "Certain lead-free finishes are extremely sensitive to storage conditions and will deteriorate over time to the point of uselessness unless they are handled correctly".

"This presents problems for many assembly businesses: Unable to order in bulk because of the lack of suitable storage space, these customers have not been able to benefit from the best prices for PCBs".

But the alternative is even more risky: "Buying in bulk means there is a lot of cash tied up in perishable stock - the loss of which could spell disaster for a small business".

Luckily, ALR offers an alternative solution; enabling its customers to realise economies of scale through bulk PCB purchase, but without the storage worries and the impact on cash flow.

Under ALR's flexible sourcing arrangements, customers are able to place a single pcb order, which will then be received at ALR's storage facility.

The customer is then able to call off boards as required.

The order is invoiced on the basis of the boards delivered to the customer, allowing the customer to benefit from bulk-purchase pricing while spreading the outlay over a period of time - usually 6 months.

Saltman says: "ALR has massive buying power with PCB manufacturers both here and abroad, and the savings customers can make by purchasing their PCBs through us can be very significant".

Saltman continues: "Staged invoicing allows customers to reduce the amount of cash they have tied up in working stock to a minimum and greatly shorten the cash cycle between outlay and income".

"Controlling cash flow is one of biggest challenges for small business, and this is one way we can really help our customers stay competitive".

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