Fittings and Accessories Kit for Laser Cutting Machine
Challenge:
To gain more control and spend less time on inventoried parts for a Fittings and Accessory Kit. The kit has over 40 line items at last count, with the customer having to purchase from several vendors (10 or so), and with the majority of items being from vendors who do not have a field salesrep to assist with any changes or application challenges they might have. This required the engineering department to look for and spec in every part on their own. One product or part change could cause several items to be changed, which could mean having to contact several vendors, get pricing, so on and so forth. Right now they have a shelf set-up for them and inventory has to be tracked on all the items. The production department has always had issues of inventory not being complete and resulting in their production being held up on the machine.
Solution:
We have created a section in the warehouse with bin boxes for every different fitting, valve, adapter, connector, etc dedicated to not only this kit but for items that go on the same machine that are not in the kit.
Each kit of parts for the EZ Cut fits in a 6x6x6 box that the customer can easily pull off their shelf and be guaranteed that they have every part needed to build that machine. The changes we helped implement positively impacted four different departments, if not more. We make it easier for their Engineering Department to change or choose parts, Purchasing Department has one part number and price for 40 line items, Production Department never being held up for parts, and their Inventory Department no longer has to track the individual items to ensure that they are in stock.
Vacuum Braking System
Challenge:
Customer manufactures replacement parts, custom products, and performance enhancement products for classic cars to hobby enthusiasts and classic car restorers. One product the customer offers is an aftermarket device for cars that is used as a “brake assist” for off-road diesel retro-fits. Customer purchased and warehoused 18 different components they assembled to make this special kit. They had to purchase parts separately, track inventory, follow up with vendors, plus store them in their warehouse. When it came time to use the parts, they had to pull the parts and assemble them in a kit for the end customer.
Solution:
Brenner Fiedler proposed to assemble the kits for the customer. We already stock the parts and order them on a regular basis so it made sense for us to assemble the kits for the customer. We customized a parts packing list and pack them in a custom labeled box. The package arrives to the customer completely ready to be distributed to the end user. The customer now has more time to concentrate on their core business, plus it freed up warehouse space and personnel time.