All it takes for them to do is to have another part number in the computer - one for the case and another for single tubes - they can be a different prices, (just like beer in 12's or singles)
Magically, from the dealer point of view, the dealers who buy a lot feel like they are getting a discount on the case quantity, and the dealer and customer who needs the occasional oddball part feels like he is getting great service and probably doesn't care about the price.
If they were really smart, they could keep track of what dealers take a lot of something and automatically request the return transfer of the singles at a premium or some other incentive. Then the parent company doesn't have to stock open cases either - only the dealers who have anough churn on the product need to have open cases.
I think part of the problem is that in the name of efficiency, I bet JD doesn't even stock the stuff at all. I bet the manufacturer they buy it from probably drop-ships the cases directly to the dealers.
Like I said, parts and supplies availability is a genuine concern for the customer. The company that does a good job on this will have an advantage over a company that doesn't.
All you have to do is watch the posts where everybody says "don't buy gray-market, you will never get parts" to realize that if a certain company gets the reputation of being hard to find parts for, they are as good as dead.
Another thing t both JD and the dealer easily could have done would have been to cross reference the stuff to something available from an auto parts, truck service, or other industrial supply source. Of course, because they want to protect their customer base of people who insist on buying JD branded-grease, they don't encourage crossing the part.
Penny-wise and pound foolish. All the money they saved on forcing case quantities of grease is instantly lost when one person reads this story and decides to buy their next machine from brand X,Y,Z, or K instead of brand J.
- Rick
