Earlier this month, in Fort Myers, SDI joined Fluke and hundreds of maintenance and engineering professionals for two days of maintenance and reliability training, innovation and education. The overall objective of the conference was a quest towards connected reliability. And everything is connected! Topics for speakers and workshops included connected work, connected teams, connected systems, connected data, and precision maintenance. SDI’s VP of Solution Design, Glenn Pierce spoke about the convergence of enterprise asset management and supply chain management with his presentation about stockroom organization best practices to achieve best-in-class stockroom efficiency.
After reviewing some of the key challenges presented by the maintenance, repair, and operations supply chain, Pierce – a Certified TPM Instructor, PMP, and 20-year veteran in maintenance management, capital projects engineering and manufacturing operations management – presented some compelling before and after case studies as proof points. In his presentation, he focused on three critical activities to achieve best-in-class storerooms:
Stockroom Management
Pierce stressed the benefit of having experienced on-site professionals to physically manage the transactional side of inventory management (issuing, receiving, parts put-away, cycle counting and reconciliation & returns) while processing purchases through e-Procurement software. Those professionals should be able to provide on-site flexible coverage as required (5×8, 24×7). He also provided a stockroom checklist for optimal storeroom operations that included:
- 6S storeroom by category, equipment & workflow
- Issue, receive, put-away, returns, cycle count, reconciliation
- Enhance inventory accuracy & catalog active SKUs
- Site-specific SOPs
- Barcode
- Demand forecasting
- Product life cycle management / warranty & repair
- Obsolete disposition
- Continuous improvement
- Key performance scorecard, trends, and drill-down
Storeroom Technology
He then highlighted the key technologies in stockroom management that connect the reliability component further to MRO.
- eProcurement software: A simple platform to access a dynamic marketplace with an extensive range of categories for tail spend, with deep expertise in MRO. It’s essential for helping the maintenance staff to get exactly what they need, where they need it, at precisely the right time.
- Smartphone apps: For on-the-go marketplace searching and material requests. Mobile apps can also allow accurate and timely cycle counting, issuing, picking and delivery tracking, which is vital for work order completion.
- Inventory management technology: To optimize supply with demand, it’s crucial that the inventory management system talks to the eProcurement software, whether through a direct integration or an API.
- Mobile barcode scanners: Connect the picture further by feeding information directly into the inventory management system.
- Intelligent point of use or vending machines: That put critical parts within feet of the equipment on the plant’s floor – where maintenance staffs need them most.
Stockroom Inventory Management
Stockroom Inventory Management Systems can be used to calculate optimal order quantities. Intelligent systems utilize a combination of demand history, collaborative forecasts and market intelligence. Optimized demand planning provides optimal demand forecast and forecast review recommendations. This, in turn allows organizations to calculate forecasted usage and optimize orders per supplier. Pierce stressed the importance of monitoring exceptions per forecast; and that smaller, more efficient inventories mean big savings by reduced administration and carrying costs – all while increasing service levels.
By engaging SDI to prepare their storerooms for production shifts, complete storeroom organization projects, or take on the management of their storerooms all together, companies can expect lower carrying costs, reduced freight charges, and greater insight into parts usage. SDI offers a range of storeroom and other MRO services. Click here to learn more about the variety of storeroom solutions SDI has to offer or contact our experts today.
