Last month, SDI, the leader in MRO digital supply chain solutions, and Fluke, the leader in connected reliability software, announced a partnership to connect Enterprise Asset Management and MRO Supply Chain. The move is a part of both companies’ efforts to create a more connected ecosystem in which manufacturers and other asset-intensive organizations value improved visibility, predictability, and reliability.
In order to have reliability, manufacturers have to extend beyond the assets and equipment in their plants to the supply chain that supports those assets. Even if you predict a failure, if you don’t have the parts to repair it, you will still have downtime. MRO has been historically treated as a category of spend, rather than a supply chain in and of itself. Consequently, there are several problems that plague analog MRO supply chains, including lack of actionable data and spend visibility, underutilized CMMS systems, unplanned equipment downtime, maverick spend, high freight costs, poor on-time delivery, and frustrated stakeholders. And this hits the maintenance organization hard:
- 42% of all unplanned downtime can be attributed to poor internal supply chain practices
- Greater than 65% of all demand is reactive
- 25% of maintenance time is spent looking for parts
- 50% of work orders cannot be completed because technicians are waiting on parts
The Internet of Things and Supply Chain Management
Fluke and SDI are working together to show the maintenance community how the industrial internet of things can enable better supply chain management, and in turn how better MRO processes can support reliable plant production and asset management. This value extends beyond the impact on operational cash flow. In the plants, staff can focus on priorities with improved tool room efficiencies and planning functions. Condition monitoring combined with predictive demand information helps control stock of critical spares – so the right part is where maintenance techs need it, when they need it the most. Additionally, the impact on production is significant in:
- Improved machine uptime
- Improved wrench time and
- Predictive maintenance
- Accurate and effective scheduling of maintenance downtime
- Swifter response to critical outages
- On-time parts delivery
Demonstrating the Connection
SDI has installed Fluke equipment and software into their Solution Center in Bristol, PA. Fluke will also be installing SDI workflows and tech into their Fluke Experience Center in Bonita Springs, FL. With this new partnership, the maintenance community will have more options to address their specific situations and leverage Fluke’s Accelix portfolio of connected reliability products with SDI’s extensive MRO expertise.
SDI is a sponsor at Fluke’s Xcelerate 19 maintenance and reliability training, innovation and education event being held in Fort Myers, Florida in November. The companies plan to integrate the Fluke Accelix connected reliability framework with SDI’s ZEUS platform, which includes a dynamic marketplace enabled by AI-automated item categorization, intelligent part recognition and identification, and buying automation through the use of bot technology. The connection creates a truly holistic solution that links world-class MRO supply chain management with best-in-class asset management.
