Services Archives - Management Services and Solutions

Broken? Don’t give up hope!

Cable end connector stuck in iPhone / iPad

Here is a recent problem which would appear to be quite common. The end of the connector on a lightning cable was stuck inside the charging / accessory port. This worryingly appears to be a frequent occurrence resulting from the use of cheap, unbranded cables where the tip of the connector can break off, forming a staple-shaped piece, jamming itself into the iPhone or iPad. The result is that it is impossible to charge the device, unless the broken connector lead is retained, as it is the only one now small enough to fit into the accessory port.

This problem can render the expensive phone or tablet useless. For older out-of-warranty products it is potentially not worth a repair investigation and even with newer devices this may be classified as ‘accidental damage’, requiring extended insurance cover to avoid a significant resolution cost.

Happily, it may be possible to address the problem using the following simple technique:

Use a ultra-small, precision screwdriver. It needs to be small enough to easily fit inside the accessory port and be able to be levered across it’s width, whilst being sturdy enough not to bend or break.
Insert into the device’s accessory port, and position sideways across the width of the opening, such that the end of the tool is pressing on the inside of the port about half-way in / up.
Then, with an outwards ‘levering’ action, pull the broken connector piece out of the port.

If fortunate, this will remove the obstruction and return the device to an operational state. Naturally, success is not certain and there is the risk of causing further damage. Hence, particularly with newer devices, if you are not confident in your abilities then best to consult an electronics specialist or seek professional assistance from an approved repair centre.

The lesson from this experience is to purchase good quality, branded accessory leads and dispose of any cables where the connector shows signs of wear.

Maintenance of new and legacy systems

@Yellowsbestltd our mission is “Keeping Customers Operational”, by assisting with with the repair of parts for infrastructure systems. These are typically established, long-standing and therefore proven and fit-for-purpose. It makes sense to maintain and extend the life of these systems, as wholesale replacements will be costly and disruptive. This is particularly applicable when the service requirements have not changed, so functionality upgrades are not necessary.

We would be keen to hear from you should you have any repairs requirements. Please get in touch to let us know how we can help. By example, there follows a list of a few recent requests we have been able to assist with. We look forward to hearing from you with any feedback you may have.

Recent repairs requests

Repairs

Maintenance of new and legacy systems

In order to accomplish our mission of “Keeping Customers Operational”, we often assist with the repair of parts for infrastructure systems, which are typically established, long-standing and therefore proven and fit-for-purpose. It makes sense to maintain and extend the life of these systems, as wholesale replacements will be costly and disruptive. This is particularly applicable when the service requirements have not changed, so functionality upgrades are not necessary.

Often, new product spares are expensive, difficult to source with long lead times, or no longer manufactured due to the product range having been discontinued and/or the original vendor having ceased business. In such circumstances, it becomes even more important to restore existing parts to working condition, tested and warrantied.

Available hardware services vary depending on the wide range of deployed technologies, and sometimes repairs are not possible due to component shortages or poor condition of the parts (e.g. suffering from water damage). But often both ‘legacy’ and newer items can be refurbished. Rebuild and recovery of software configurations can also be required and performed.

@Yellowsbestltd would be keen to hear from you should you have any repairs requirements. We would welcome receiving any defective items you have in order to perform a no-cost assessment to establish the feasibility and likely cost of restoration. Please get in touch to let us know how we can help.

By example, there follows a list of a few recent requests we have been able to assist with. We look forward to hearing from you with any feedback you may have.

Recent repairs requests

Repair Services – is it B.E.R.?

Equipment repair decisions – the Customer’s right!

Customers with critical infrastructure networks have elements that fail from time-to-time. These can usually be swapped out with items from a spare parts stock, to return the system to operational service with the minimum of disruption to overall system availability.

The question then arises of whether the failed item can be repaired. In most circumstances, it is possible to restore parts to working condition, but sometimes they are classified as ‘Beyond Economic Repair’ (B.E.R.). This can be a somewhat contentious issue.

In theory, the term should be only applied to items where the repair cost would exceed the price of the purchase of a new or refurbished replacement. However, on the one hand the term can be used to label something that physically cannot be restored e.g. due to fire or water damage. On the other, it’s often applied to items where no repair facilities exist or it’s not possible to easily source the required components to complete the remedial work. So in other words, the term is used instead of the negative-sounding ‘repair not possible’.

The reason why this can become a source of frustration is because some customers rightly insist that they should be the “one who decides” if the item is ‘B.E.R.’. Maybe for reliability statistical reasons or version compatibility, it is sometimes desired to retain the original part even if repair costs are high. Sometimes, legacy replacement spare parts are in very short supply, and so it makes sense to retain and refurbish items rather than scraping and losing them forever. Even if the short-term associated costs are greater, for products that are no longer being manufactured, the available ‘spares pool’ is finite and diminishing over time and so the decision to repair may avoid longer-term supply issues in the future.

Reduce – Reuse – Recycle

@YellowsBestLtd helps Customers with their operational needs, and one aspect is to #Reduce the demand for avoidable whole-scale replacements through a combination of #Reuse of refurbished spares and repair of system elements. When removal and disposal of no-longer serviceable infrastructure parts is necessary, we can also assist with the resale and #Recycle for ‘value recovery’ of valuable materials.

We can assist by supplying critical and hard-to-find spare parts and hardware repair services, even when the systems have been declared ‘obsolete’ (i.e. no longer in production) by the O.E.M. And we will endeavour to ensure that repair options are always available and the question of B.E.R. is up to the Customer to decide. Please let us know how we can help; we look forward to hearing from you.

Repair Services

Maintenance Services for Systems Equipment

From time-to-time, hardware elements within infrastructure systems fail, and repair services are required for a diverse range of parts procured over a considerable period of time, from a multitude of Original Equipment Manufacturers (O.E.M.s), some of which no longer exist.

YellowsBest is able to provide a comprehensive repairs management service for both new and old equipment items, all to a standard equivalent to the original working condition and with warranted operation.

Component Level Repairs Example: SES Displayboards

An example of the type of equipment that we are often asked to assist with is the MS1 Matrix LED ‘displayboards’ produced by SES and used for professional signage applications.

Typical issues to deal with are Faulty LEDs, damaged capacitors and broken sockets, which have occurred in operational use over time. Adding to this are problems stemming from heat gun damage and resoldering caused by previous ‘user fixes’. But these issues are addressable and the boards restored to full working condition.

Other types of equipment for repair services include Telecommunications products, power supplies and CCTV cameras.

Reduce – Reuse – Recycle

Most customers have implemented their private network infrastructure systems over a number of years, and for many their operational requirements have not changed. Consequently, it makes more sense both financially and environmentally to maintain these systems rather than embark on complete change-outs. We can assist by supplying critical and hard-to-find spare parts and hardware repair services, even when the systems have been declared ‘obsolete’ (i.e. no longer in production) by the O.E.M. We look forward to hearing from you.

Keeping Customers Operational – ‘telling’ not ‘selling’

@YellowsBestLtd our mission is to provide our Customers with Management Services and Solutions so their infrastructure networks continue to serve and perform – “Keeping Customers Operational”

Needs vary from the launch of the latest IT and Telecoms technologies through to the support of well-established legacy systems.

Given that each organisation is unique, both in its business practices and deployed infrastructure, then we find that its best to take a flexible approach and provide tailored services to suit exacting demands.

Our no-cost and no-obligation Customer consultation is all about finding out needs, regardless of technology or manufacturer, and then sourcing the required solution(s), which may mean seeking out difficult to obtain products or requiring the supply of specialist services. So in essence, it’s not about us ‘selling’ them something we have, but rather our clients ‘telling’ us what to provide. Making it easier and more convenient for busy procurement and operational teams, saving them effort, time and cost.

We’re always keen to see how we can enhance our range of #business services, increase the #enterprise infrastructure we support and expand our mix of #systems solutions to supply the required #technologies and products for our customers.

Please help us understand what services would be of interest to you to support your systems requirements, by getting in touch; we look forward to hearing from you.

*Business Services*
Day Rate	Operations & Maintenance	Engineering Site Visits	Hardware Repair
Project Based	Training	Solutions Sourcing	Software Support
Consultancy	Telephone Assistance	Spares Supply	Reverse Logistics & Value Recovery

*Enterprise Infrastructure*
Alcatel-Lucent	Bosch	Ernitec	Ganz
Huawei	IBM	Keymile	Marconi
Nokia	Pelco	RAD	360Vision

*Sustainable Solutions*
Legacy Systems	Refurbishment	Testing	Craft Terminals
Spares Sourcing	Repairs	Maintenance	Technical Support
New Telecoms Infrastructure	Functional Replacements	Reverse Engineering	Management Systems

*Technologies & Products*
PDH Access	SDH Transport	IP / MPLS	CCTV Cameras
Copper Cabling	Microwave Radio	Pseudo-wire	Solar Energy
IT / Servers	DWDM / CWDM	Carrier Ethernet	PMR / TETRA

Business Financing

Equipment Leasing and Funding

With Business expansion in mind, when there’s a need to fund key purchases of equipment, but you don’t want to tie up precious capital, and perhaps even with a carefully worked out business plan, your bank won’t provide the lending – help, is at hand …

@YellowsBestLtd we can assist with funding though our business finance partners. Finance can be arranged for nearly all business equipment, machinery and IT (including software). With facilities small and large that can be repaid over 1 to 5 years, it makes sense consider how you can get what you need now, not what you can only afford. After all, you don’t pay for your staff 3 years in advance, and you don’t wait to buy a building for them to work in. So don’t hold yourself back!

Please get in touch to let us know what you need to purchase and see how we can enable your business to move forward. Or perhaps you’re selling your products to your Customers, in which case we can arrange a point of sale facility to aid their purchase and accelerate your sale.

Summary of Customer Benefits

– an alternative line of credit: finance lease, lease/hire purchase, loans, sale & leaseback

– tax efficient: leasing is 100% tax deductible

– all asset types considered: office equipment, production machinery, fixtures & fittings, etc

– the biggest benefit is ‘the use’, not ‘the ownership’

Summary of Vendor Benefits

– provision of ‘point of sale’ leasing and finance facilities

– increase order values, sell more equipment

– incorporate services & consumables in rentals

– more effective cost justification

Reverse Logistics and Value Recovery

With the New Year upon us, it’s a good time to take stock and prepare for this year’s activites and operational maintenance requirements. Its at times like these that decisions are made to move forward with projects to implement replacement systems, and/or ‘clear out’ unwanted infrastructure parts. One resolution we can all embrace is to ensure that a responsible Reverse Logistics process is followed.

Furthermore, it’s not always the case than there has to be a significant cost to disposal; unwanted infrastructure items in many cases can result in a generation of funds to Customers, either through resale of working spare parts or by recycling of components. This ‘Value Recovery’ can help to pay for replacement systems, as well as disposing of unwanted parts with the least environmental impact.

YellowsBest helps Customers perform their Reverse Logistics whilst achieving ‘Value Recovery’ by taking delivery of systems and parts, cataloguing the items, then providing a managed approach to the resale of spares, maximising the revenue arising. During this no-cost process, whilst the assets have been removed from the Customers’ premises saving storage space, they remain the Customers’ property and can be called back should unexpected spares requirements occur. Anything not saleable is then broken down for recycling, with useful materials extracted which can generate additional funds, and unwanted items disposed of in accordance with WEEE regulations.

We look forward to hearing from you; please get in touch to see how YellowsBest can assist with Reverse Logistics and maximise ‘Value Recovery’ for your organisation.

Reduce Reuse Recycle

@YellowsBestLtd helps Customers with their operational needs, and one aspect is to #Reduce the demand for avoidable whole-scale replacements through a combination of supply for #Reuse of refurbished spares and repair of system elements. When removal and disposal of no-longer serviceable infrastructure parts is necessary, we can also assist with the resale and #Recycle for ‘value recovery’ of valuable materials.

Eventually there does come a time when it proves necessary to remove and replace network infrastructure. Rather that simply discarding the old system elements, we can provide ‘value recovery’ to the Customer by means of resale of working parts and recycling of components, extracting useful materials. This often proves financially beneficial, generating a source of funds which helps to pay for the replacement systems, as well as providing an ethical means of disposing of unwanted parts with the least environmental impact.

Please get in touch should you wish to discuss your operational requirements and see how @YellowsBestLtd can be of assistance.

Recommended reading on the wider aspects of ‘The Future of Waste’ can be found in:

@TheIET @EandTmagazine Volume-12_Issue-11

Repair Services

Although many industrial infrastructure solutions tend to be very reliable and long-lasting, from time-to-time system components can become non-operational, and when these cases arise, businesses benefit from professional repair services.

Equipment requiring repair services falls into two categories:

Recently deployed systems, which are still in production by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM).
‘Legacy’ systems, where the production has ceased; in some cases even the original vendor is no longer in business.

For the first category, certainly where there is a residual warranty provision, it may be best to return the failed item to the OEM for repair or replacement. However, businesses may still benefit from an alternative or supplementary service provision, particularly when the vendor’s production facilities are located overseas, and repair and return times are long (typically in excess of 30 days).

Regarding the second category, fortunately there are a range of options that YellowsBest, together with its network of independent service providers, can assist businesses with their ongoing support needs, to maintain the operational nature of their systems and thereby maximise their investment in deployed infrastructure.

YellowsBest assists customers with a wide variety of infrastructure elements, including telecommunications cards, CCTV cameras, matrix displays, etc. There are a number of ways YellowsBest can provide repair services:

Component-Level Repairs
Swap Repairs (Entire Module substitution with Spares)
Functional Replacements (Complete system substitution with compatible alternatives)

There follows brief descriptions of these repair services that we have been providing to our customers. We would be very pleased to hear from you should you wish to discuss your requirements; please contact us to see if we can be of assistance.

Component-Level Repairs

From time-to-time, hardware elements within infrastructure systems fail, and repair services are required. The diversity of modern networks and technologies in use by businesses means that there are a wide range of parts procured over a considerable period of time, from a multitude of vendors and international manufacturers from across the globe. This means that there is a spectrum of the relatively new to aging items, some parts being still under warranty to elements from OEMs that no longer exist.

YellowsBest is able to provide a comprehensive repairs management service, assisting business by acting as a single returns facility for both new and old equipment items. Typically, newer parts in or out of warranty will be sent to the OEM for repair or substitution. Older items, especially in the case where the OEM is no longer exists, will be repaired using our network of independent service providers, all to a standard equivalent to the original working condition and warranted operation.

Swap Repairs

Sometimes the repair of equipment elements is not possible, such as when the item is physically damaged or Beyond Economic Repair (BER). Or it can be the case that the repair times are long, and in order to safeguard continuous operations of systems, additional parts can be used for substitution when failures occur.

YellowsBest can source the required equipment spare parts, though its partnership with key vendors of the latest products as well as suppliers of legacy systems components. In many cases these parts can be newly manufactured to order and delivered within specified lead-times, or quickly despatched from either unused surplus stocks or ‘2nd user’ items, particularly in the case when systems are deemed obsolete and are no longer produced by the OEM.

With such a ‘swap service’ in place, the operational status of the deployed equipment can be restored without delay. YellowsBest can then, in many cases, obtain a component-level repair for the substituted item, and thereby return the original unit to ‘stock’, ready to provide the next swap repair.

Functional Replacements

When systems have reached the end of their useful working life, repairs are challenging and spares are unattainable, companies may need to completely change out or upgrade their infrastructure equipment.

YellowsBest can assist businesses by seeking alternative product solutions, in the form of either complete replacement systems, or re-manufactured elements to provide the most efficient substitution of equivalent required functionality. Particularly in the case where operational requirements have not changed, it may prove commercially beneficial to replace like-for-like products. In many cases, the substitution of functionally equivalent newer elements may pay for themselves over time through efficiency savings due to lower power consumption, etc.

Consultancy Services

A flexible approach to Consultancy provision

It has been a pleasure providing consultancy services to a client who was looking to develop their product sales business. YellowsBest’s approach is to tailor what we provide to meet the Customer’s exact needs. Several stages of activities were therefore established, reviewed and amended before these ‘workpackages’ were acted upon.

Strategy Workshop to identify the requirements

To thoroughly establish and document the ‘needs’, a relatively informal but comprehensive ‘workshop’ was held.

This produced the ‘framework’ for the consultancy provision and provided an invaluable tool for measurement of progress toward the goals which were documented as part of this process.

Undertaking key tasks to assist Strategy implementation

A number of tasks were undertaken on behalf of our client in order to assist with the putting into action of the documented strategic aims.

Naturally, the implementation and development of a sales Strategy is a long-term undertaking, and YellowsBest is able to provide ongoing support to its clients with the assistance they need, as and when required, in order to ensure long-term success.

Summary of assistance YellowsBest can provide

YellowsBest is able to assist companies by providing consultation advice for a wide range of initiatives, such as:

Creation of Business Plans for identifying markets, customers and strategic propositions

Sales Strategy formulation for the generation of prospects and reaching customers via direct and channel approach

Assistance with key sales and business development tasks, including customer enquiries and presentations, liaison with vendors, attendance at industry events and content creation for websites and marketing initiatives

Performance Measurement analysis to understand success ratios and identify corrective actions to improve utilisation of resources and optimise business efficiency

YellowsBest is able to provide its consultancy services on an ad-hoc day-rate basis, or as a more structured project-delivery, over a number weeks or months as appropriate.

YellowsBest can also provide a range of other related Management Services, including Account Management, Bid Management, Business Development, Channel / Vendor Management, Commercial / Contract Negotiations, Sales and Marketing, Solutions Engineering and Training.