Machinery Manufacturing Company Sees Huge Cost Savings and Shorter Production Times
COMPANY PROFILE
A manufacturing company that designs and produces coil automated solutions.
TECHNICAL SITUATION
The company was beginning work on a new line of machines for a large automotive manufacturer. They wanted to ensure they had the inventory needed to finish the job in time. Coordinating between their storeroom and the purchasing department was a lengthy task because their inventory solution was set up in a “military-grade” storage format that easily became disorganized, making it difficult to locate parts and confirm quantities.
BUSINESS SITUATION
The company had an excess of regular inventory that was disorganized. There was space in the storeroom that was not being optimally used. Finally, they utilized a portable storage solution for fasteners. This rolling cart was often moved around the manufacturing plant floor, which added extra difficulty to the simple act of having parts when they were needed for production. Extra time and money were often expended on unnecessary parts and labor.
SOLUTION
McNaughton-McKay’s Customer Alliance Program (CAP) team designed a custom layout for storage (including a shelf-supported mezzanine that doubled the available storage space). They organized the inventory into an easy-to-use system with labeled bins, ordered shelves, barcodes, software and a scanner. They also replaced the rolling storage cart with specialized platform shelves called “dead skids,” that, while still portable, must be moved with a forklift. Finally, McNaughton-McKay was able to deliver consignment inventory, allowing the company to reduce its overall inventory (and associated carrying costs) and still get the parts needed.
BENEFITS
The more organized system and consignment inventory streamlined the company’s purchasing process, increasing accuracy, reducing carrying costs and paperwork and slashing purchasing orders (POs) by roughly $100 per month. The storeroom’s capacity was doubled and inventory was much easier to find, decreasing unnecessary downtime and manpower requirements. With the consignment inventory, the company saved $20,000 on purchases. The company also increased productivity, completing the job a month before the previous job that had been performed on the same line.
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES USED
- CAP – Customer Alliance Program
- Dead Skids
- Consignment Inventory
- Shelf-supported mezzanine