Remote Supply Chain Analysis
Remote Supply Chain Analysis can find a lot of hidden gold. For instance, up to 60% of your spare parts inventory probably doesn’t need to be in your store room! Purchasing is often overloaded by emergency buys for maintenance, yet your stores doesn’t even see the consumption. We identify a lot of value tied up in all those hidden “stashes” of parts that shouldn’t be there!
It’s often a mess that doesn’t need to be that way!
The Problem
Companies gather huge volumes of data through work orders, inventory counts, and purchasing records, each stored in separate parts of their ERP systems. Since it is in silos, this data often sits idle, with no one using it to tackle costly parts issues.
Even if the data is cleaned up, it frequently goes unanalyzed because most companies lack skilled personnel for this task. Your personnel are also working in silos and most won’t even know where to start. Warehouse teams are too busy to identify patterns. Purchasing is also too busy with emergencies and rarely looks for patterns in their buying. Inventory management (if you have it) relies on software that is being fed with inaccurate or incomplete data.
Some specific issues:
- Dealing with chronic rush orders and inventory stockouts.
- Large, obvious issues grab attention while data-backed insights remain untapped.
- Frequent small issues escalate into urgent rush orders or stockouts.
- Chronic excess inventory results in costly write-offs.
- When cash flow suffers or inventory bloats the balance sheet, companies impose spending caps that hinder operations rather than solving the root issues.
- Lack of accurate demand rates and lead times because they are constantly changing.
- Lead times adjust slowly with new orders, but shifting demand takes much longer to show up as consumption.
- Planning, stores, and purchasing often operate in silos instead of as a cohesive team.
Data analysis can be done remotely using downloaded copies of the relevant data tables. Here are a few examples of what we’ve found:
- 30% reductions in inventory value by eliminating spares that are no longer needed
- 60% reduction in emergency purchase orders by stocking what is required
- Increased plant availability because the right spares are available
- Elimination of hidden parts stashes because stores can now do its job
It takes a few weeks to carry out the analysis and it can produce big savings immediately.
Fixing the underlying process and behavior problems will take longer but it’s worth the effort. If you don’t, the cycle will repeat itself.
What Do We Do with Your Data?
Our seasoned supply chain experts know the ins and outs of supply chain data and its common quality issues. We know how to tackle these problems and get actionable insights quickly. Instead of waiting for “better data,” we work with what’s available to deliver results.
We use both transactional data and meta-data and apply an AI-powered analytics tool that pinpoints patterns and uncovers hidden issues. From this, we generate lists of:
– unneeded parts currently in stores
– parts being purchased that should already be in stores
– parts likely stashed away in various areas of your operations
With this information, we dive deeper into the root causes. Many of these issues stem from flawed business processes or inconsistent behaviors. Process issues often arise from an over-reliance on EAM, ERP, CMMS, and other software. Behavioral problems, on the other hand, occur because the software hasn’t met operational needs.
