A Machinery Ring matches a shortage of machinery and labour capacity on some farms with a surplus on other farms. For a supplier, this reduces the major costs of machinery ownership. Conversely the Demander does not need to own the entire range of machinery required on his farm, thereby reducing his fixed costs. Most members are suppliers of some operations and Demanders of others, allowing them to more fully utilise the machinery they own. The term Machinery Ring is somewhat restrictive as there are now so many more services to benefit members such as commodity sales, allowing members to source inputs at competitive prices.
The member's point of contact for all requests is the OBR office, where the staff will match the requests with services available. We strive to meet all requests, especially when booked well in advance.
The Demander calls the office with the service they require; when it is required; and if there is a preference for which supplier is used. The office staff has all the necessary information on computer, and can therefore quickly find which members have this service available and how far they are away from the Demander. If no preference has been expressed as to who will do the work, the nearest Supplier will be tried and if they are not available or not contactable, the next nearest will be tried and so on until a Supplier can be found to do the job.
The annual guide prices produced are not fixed, but are considered, by the Ring's Board of Directors, to be a fair rate for an average job, and as such are generally adhered to. Any alteration in the price charged for a job must be agreed between the Supplier and Demander prior to commencement of the work.
On completion of a job, the Supplier fills in a work schedule (work schedule book is provided to members). After obtaining agreement on the details from the Demander the white copy is sent to the Ring Office for processing. Both parties retain the remaining copies for their information.
On receipt of the worksheet the Ring staff invoice the job: an invoice is sent to the Demander and a self-billing invoice to the Supplier.
Payment from the Demander is collected by direct debit 14 days from the date of invoice
Payment to the supplier is by credit transfer 28 days from the date of invoice.
