The Value of time

Inventory replenishment meant more time for value-added activities at this manufacturer 

The frequency and time-consuming nature of MRO (maintenance, repair and operations) purchasing is a constant drain on organisations’ resources. MRO procurement tends to consist of high-volume, relatively low-value purchases, but while the products’ costs aren’t significant, the time taken by employees during the purchasing process is. For engineers, procurement professionals and others involved in the source-to-pay process, the time taken on MRO purchases could be better spent on other work. 

There are, however, alternatives in the form of inventory management for manufacturers. Inventory replenishment solutions relieve organisations of the responsibility of managing MRO stock and free up employees to concentrate on core activities.  

Inventory replenishment: an example
One example of an inventory replenishment solution is RS ScanStock®. Implementation begins with the specialist team helping customers to select the right MRO products and set relevant order levels; RS then manages stock checks and replenishment accordingly. 

“RS ScanStock® is complementary to the existing services that RS offers,” says Ed Orgill, Head of Value-Added Services Sales at RS. “We know that our customers are looking to consolidate their spend, simplify source-to-pay processes and improve inventory management, so RS ScanStock® is an ideal solution.” 

Orgill believes that a managed service has significant benefits for customers looking to make their MRO purchasing process more efficient. “We know from our research that more than 80% of inventory movement is from a small proportion of lines,” he says. “As such, customers have a small portion of low-value lines, creating a disproportionate amount of work. 

“RS ScanStock® not only ensures high availability of key products because RS manages inventory for the customer, but it also frees up their people to focus on value-added activities,” adds Orgill. “It means no one on the customer side needs to think about stock levels and can focus on their main job.” 

Inventory replenishment in action
One company that has benefited from using RS ScanStock® is a market leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance mass spectrometers that the firm designs, assembles and tests at its site in Wrexham, north Wales.  

While working with the supply chain team at this business to improve flow, RS saw that the company could streamline its working practices, and therefore save both time and money, by using RS ScanStock®. Why? Because fast-moving, low-value supplies could be kept closer to those who need them, reducing the walk-and-wait time. The busy stores teams would also regain the time previously spent dealing with 30 people wanting such parts each day. The assumed cost of the latter was £2.50 per visit. 

The benefits of RS ScanStock® were immediately apparent. With the necessary consumables close at hand, technicians and engineers spent 40% less time retrieving parts and were able to concentrate more on the assembly line instead. Pressure on the team in the central stores eased too. 

Having made savings equating to more than £36,000, this business wants to add more items to its inventory and build further on these gains – and it is not alone. According to Orgill, other organisations have also had a positive experience with RS ScanStock®. “The response we’ve had from customers to the service has been excellent,” says Orgill. “We’ve installed RS ScanStock® in businesses of all sizes and all of them are seeing immediate benefits compared to the previous purchasing process they had been using.” 

For more information about RS ScanStock®, click here