Industrial vending: A lean approach

Best practice in managing the supply of MRO spares, tools and safety products can be one of the most effective ways for manufacturers to reduce costs, improve cash flow and prevent unnecessary downtime. But what is the best way to achieve these benefits without prohibitive start-up costs?

It is essential to retain sufficient, easily-accessible product on site, but keeping large amounts of stock in case of emergencies ties up cash. Conversely, failing to stock the right items can result in unplanned downtime.

Traditionally, many manufacturers operate a single central stores facility. However, workers in individual production areas who need to access consumables often experience significant ‘walk and wait’ time, while stores staff are bogged down with logging transactions, re-ordering and shelving stock. 

In some facilities the central stores may only be open for set hours each day, even in factories operating 24/7 shift systems. This means key MRO items are not always available when needed. As a result, workers may end up requesting more of a particular item than they actually need. This ‘squirrelling’ can result in over-procurement, reduced traceability of usage, and yet more cash tied up in stock.  

One way to address this problem has been to use open access bin systems at the point of use. Unfortunately, this can create its own problems in terms of control, monitoring and unnecessary product usage – and the possibility of stock-outs of production essential items outside stores opening hours still remains. 

Within the stores themselves, the tracking and tracing of inventory, processing of multiple orders and budget management consumes time which could be better spent on value-adding activity. 

Taking all this into account, it is easy to see how a more streamlined approach to MRO spares management, based on detailed monitoring of availability and use, can deliver real operational and bottom line benefits.

Industrial vending machines can be sited in convenient locations around the manufacturing facility – meaning they are accessible 24/7 – and configured to stock the items needed most commonly at each. They use an internet connection to flag up the need for re-stocking, as well as providing real time management information on use by user and cost centre. 

However, the issue of cost also needs to be considered. For a company to purchase its own vending machines and software represents a significant upfront capital investment, to say nothing of ongoing servicing and maintenance costs. 

An answer to this problem exists in the form of Brammer Invend, a fully managed industrial vending service. Invend effectively removes these financial barriers and makes the benefits of vending available to manufacturers of all sizes. Companies can also enjoy the other advantages of working with Brammer with its independent technical expertise. Through Invend, the complete upfront cost of the industrial vending equipment and software is met by Brammer, with customers paying only for the items they use.

Industrial vending has the potential to drive continuous improvement in line with modern manufacturing strategies such as lean manufacturing and total productive maintenance (TPM). Brammer believes it can add significant value in virtually any manufacturing or operational environment. The company's experience of operating industrial vending solutions suggests that using this technology to manage point-of-work MRO supplies and tools can deliver a reduction in product consumption of between 25 and 40%. 

Switching to this system for fast moving MRO consumables and PPE products can significantly reduce product consumption and lower inventory costs. Also, a significant number of working hours can be reclaimed simply by removing the necessity for workers to make long trips to stores. Time is further saved within stores themselves as the need to process, receive and replenish products is drastically reduced. 

Making the decision to use Invend will, almost inevitably, improve the effectiveness and profitability of a manufacturing business.

To download the full white paper, please visit www.brammer.co.uk/invend-whitepaper.htm