Is It A Good Idea to Purchase A Pre-Owned Linear Accelerator?


Not every facility needs to purchase a new linear accelerator.  There are many times where a slightly used LINAC will serve the purpose of the facility at a fraction of the cost of a new one.  Some facilities however, benefit from the purchase of new equipment.  It really just depends on a number of variables to determine if a used, new, or refurbished linear accelerator is the solution for your facility.

When a facility needs the newest technology on the market, it is obvious a used or refurbished LINAC will not benefit them.  This is also the case if you are not looking to replace the machine anytime soon.  A brand new or almost new linear accelerator is a better option for facilities that don’t want to replace their machine in the next ten to fifteen years and are looking for the latest and greatest technology. 

The struggle between buying new, refurbished, and used radiation oncology equipment is a struggle many facilities face.  It is probably important to note however, that the minute you use a new linear accelerator it becomes used.  So not every used machine is “used” to the same extent.  Used and refurbished linear accelerators can be suitable for facilities under certain circumstances including:

  • When your facility is treating less than 8 to 10 patients a day, the revenue you are producing will not sustain the expense of a new machine.
  • Areas where reimbursement is low, and your clinic needs to be profitable to continue providing treatment may be better suited to purchase a used or refurbished unit.
  • The machine will be used in a limited capacity and doesn’t necessarily benefit from the latest technologies.  These circumstances may include using the machine for research, treating animals, or non-medical, industrial purposes.
  • Your facility will be able to afford the latest and greatest in the next couple of years but just can’t without first building a profitable practice.
  • You are opening a new medical center and don’t have the resources to secure financing on a new machine. 
  • You are moving to a new location, can’t afford downtime, and need to be able to treat patients during the process and currently only have one machine.
  • If your facility needs a back up to prevent downtime in patient care during maintenance and repairs on your main LINAC.
  • A new facility is being built but you need a temporary way to treat patients.
  • When the hardware aspect of treatment is not as important as the software.  Used and refurbished equipment can have updated software installed when your budget doesn’t allow for both upgraded software and hardware.

Obviously, brand new, state of the art equipment when purchasing linear accelerators and CT scanners is something all facilities desire, it is not always the most practical situation.  Purchasing used equipment doesn’t mean that your facility is operating with technology that is necessarily out of date.  Often newer style equipment can be acquired with little use.  It is important to remember just because it is used it doesn’t mean it is used up.  Used simply means that at one time or another it has been in use for patient care.  It could be the latest Varian model used for treatment in a facility briefly.  Used equipment can often save facilities a great deal of money in machine costs and financing.

Radparts is the world’s largest independent distributor of OEM replacement parts for Linear Accelerators and Radiation Oncology equipment.  Radparts provides high quality, user friendly, low cost parts support for linear accelerators and radiation equipment. More information can be found at https://www.radparts.com/.



On-demand JIT Logistics Services Is Making the Supply Chain More Manageable Across Industries

One of the most important functions of logistics is the transportation of supply goods to production and trading companies, as well as to the customers of eCommerce. With the increase in frequency of these deliverables, the need for more reliable and logic operators is becoming the most preferred choice in various industries.

Just-in-time transport of goods or JIT logistics services are able to avoid the overhauls of late arrivals. Such a concept prevents the rise in overhead expenses for companies caused due to idle periods. Manufacturing enterprises have suffered huge losses in the past, especially due to the delay in delivery to end customers. In this case, the end user does not need to pay for the shipping costs when operators miss delivery timelines.

Benefits of Performance Driven JIT Logistics

Keeping up with queue management was becoming increasingly difficult for various services such as port and freight stations, logistics operators in which slot coordination is the basic means of handling the system. Late service of a specific vehicle would result in increased costs for transport enterprises.

The all in real-time idea of JIT transport makes time to deliver goods by logistics services no more an estimate, thus preventing the client to wait for the delivery. In fact, this model shows the challenges faced by the various services in action immediately, which essentially leads to an increase in performance efficiency with outcome based possibilities.

Actions Taken to Improve JIT Scheduling

The main aspect leading to this approach; however, involves meeting the “just-in-time” delivery condition. This hugely depends on the movement of logistic vehicles depending on the intensity of traffic on city streets. Transport logistic managers and customer support officials often do not take this into account when planning deliveries. The result is an unorchestrated organization of the delivery time without the careful consideration of the actual possibility of goods delivered within the designated time.

The logistics cycle followed by successful companies keeps the just-in-time planning and delivery safety in mind when calculating the time required for delivery from the onset.

  • Solutions in place to improve the quality of planning with adherence to factors such as delivery parameters, compliance and regulatory requirements, more precise understanding of time, and the schedule of the driver.
  • Integration and processing of data from logistic participants, exchange of information on traffic situations and delays.
  • Adjusting solutions for improvement of delivery control by calculating the time required to deliver current orders.

Future of JIT Logistics Services

Major companies today are using JIT as a more cost efficient method of holding and dispatching stock. It reduces the amount of inventory held at a given time and also schedule timely delivery of the goods. When demand is overdrive, it means shipping is overdrive as well. As companies continue to pursue outsourcing and expand their operations internationally, without a doubt jit transport will bring the revenue for the supply chain for a long time as it focuses on only one factor, cost reduction.

Learn more about Matrix Transportation and the transportation services they offer including: dedicated truckloads, JIT truckloads, less than truckload (LTL), same day expedited FTL and LTL, full truckload, warehousing, cross-docking, and trailer rentals at www.matrixtransportation.com  To contact one of our trucking experts call toll free 888.896.2405 today.

5 Ways JIT Transportation Can Help Your Business Succeed

Transportation for Business

Transportation is one of the most important factors needed for a business.  There are many different purposes and areas for which we need to use transportation companies that specialize in business to business transportation services like JIT, FTL, and LTL. Trucking companies offering transportation services often offer competitive rates, insured services, and customer service guarantees.  One of the most important benefits however is their assurance that your deliveries both coming and going will be delivered on time and with care.

Location Specific Delivery

Using a company dedicated to transportation services has become popular in business now-a-days.  This is especially true of Just in Time transportation services as it allows goods to be delivered at a desired location and time.  This allows your business to avoid the expense that comes along with carrying inventory such as warehousing by delivering goods to your location when they are needed.  This inventory strategy helps to increase the efficiency of your business while decreasing waste and reducing inventory costs.

No Large Inventories

Using JIT transportation services are different than other modes of business such as FTL and LTL as it requires producers to make use of forecasting techniques to ensure demands are met in an accurate manner.  JIT is a system where there is a shift from traditional strategies of warehousing large inventories to help meet demand.

The JIT logistics services have number of advantage as compared to the traditional models used. The production is short and that means that the manufacturers can easily move from one product to another.  At the same time the costs are eliminated when this method is used as the storage needs are eliminated. The companies spend less money on the raw materials.

Cost Effective

Companies today love to use the JIT method as it is cost effective way of holding stock. The main purpose is minimizing the goods which you hold at a time. It helps you in saving space. The turnaround of stock is fast and thus you don’t need any stage space and warehouse for holding and storing stock, storage costs are reduced, and you don’t need to buy or rent the warehouse. This savings allows you to invest that money in other parts of the business.

No Waste

The waste is reduced when the JIT transportation strategy is used. The turnaround of the stock is fast and thus the goods being damaged and stolen gets reduced as there will be no goods stored it will not be having issues with goods. This saves companies money.   This transportation method is a good choice for large and small companies alike. Companies do not have to have any funds for purchasing high quantity of stock as it will be taken when needed which will create a healthy flow of cash in and out of your business.

Learn more about Matrix Transportation and the transportation services they offer including: dedicated truckloads, JIT truckloads, less than truckload (LTL), same day expedited FTL and LTL, full truckload, warehousing, cross-docking, and trailer rentals at http://matrixtransportation.com/jit-truckload.php. To contact one of our trucking experts call toll free 888.896.2405 today.