VMI programs help our customers significantly reduce manpower and resources, reduce inventory, and ensure ongoing quality; they are the ultimate in efficiency.
Programs are customized to exact distribution and floor specifications, and combine cross-industry best practices with the principals and techniques of Kanban, JIT, JIT II®, VMI, materials management, lean manufacturing, Six Sigma and supply chain management to meet every need and requirement you have to optimize the production process.
We first conduct an assessment of how your current process is performing, evaluating it critically to identify opportunities to save costs related to inventory, administrative time, and/or space savings and make optimal use of resources.
Using data collected during plant visits and floor audits, we develop a program with a cycle that optimizes inventory levels and movement of product through the plant, taking into account the processes that trigger replenishment, ranging from issuing purchase orders to scanning a bar code label at multi-bin Kanban inventory locations. We’ll also determine together best scenarios to optimize your manufacturing capabilities by delivering parts directly to either central store, drop zones or point of use.
Programs range from purchases via discrete purchase orders to full VMI, depending on requirements. The program design is complete from dock to stock and includes all touch points, including electronic replenishment, ASNs, staffing, inventory levels, container size, racking design and eCommerce.
We’re at the forefront of systems technology, with a fully integrated EDI application with automated data exchange through supplier and customer portals.
Our time-phased planning system allows service level settings at the item level; settings include safety stock, buy times and lead times. Safety stock on items is automatically updated by the system based on recent demand and future forecast. The system allows for forward looking forecast factors such as customer build rates – those forecasts are a critical part of our planning tools, and forecasts are transmitted to suppliers to ensure adequate lead times.
The system also manages inventory to avoid any surplus and obsolete inventory. The primary issue in managing surplus and obsolete inventory is to identify change in demand patterns on a timely basis.
We proactively ensure your program’s ongoing performance using risk management practices related to quality, purchasing, and packaging to accurately communicate the status of program components in a timely fashion. Reports include:
Supply Technologies works to earn your business every day by adding value to your organization and fulfilling our promise to be the supply chain efficiency experts. In both qualitative and quantitative ways, we openly communicate performance and actively listen to our customers’ ongoing needs.
Our customer process analysis provides a consultative approach to identify and drive improvement in the total cost of acquiring customer’s class "C" components. In it’s simplest form our team focuses on reducing time, transactions (labor), inventory and space allowing our partners to increase their efficiencies and ultimately improving their profitability. Although our global and world class ability to procure and deliver anywhere in the world at competitive prices is second to none, our value proposition comes alive when combined with the often double digit savings achieved through our CPA.
Our process includes:
Here’s an example of a recent process analysis:
Our recommendation resulted in significant changes
| Previous Process | Recommended Process |
|---|---|
| Multiple vendors | One vendor |
| Separate POs/shipment | One PO |
| Increased # of invoices | Summary invoice per month |
| Increased receiving costs | Reduced freight |
| Increased receiving inspection | Reduced warehouse space |
| Increased freight | Certified inspection |
| Increased warehouse space | Electronic replenishment |
| Increased carrying charge | Optimal inventory levels |
| Transactions (need discussion) |
Before and After Cost Comparison
| Item | Existing | Supply Technologies |
|---|---|---|
| Accounts payable | $26,790 | $180 |
| Freight | $179,750 | $62,700 |
| Warehouse space | $23,400 | $0 |
| Inventory | $117,631 | $23,526 |
| Quality | ||
| Incoming inspection | ||
| Procurement | ||
| Engineering | ||
| Warehouse Management | ||
| PO Cost | ||
| Total | $347,571 | $62,880 |
During the implementation phase we work closely with our customers to design programs literally from the ground up, and utilize our experience with every inventory management discipline known to manufacturing to customize the right solution for you.
The process looks something like this:
One of the primary areas of focus during implementation is physically managing the change. It requires undivided attention to detail, experience at coordinating resources at every level – oftentimes at multiple facilities around the world – and the ability to deploy without production interruption. Our teams of senior managers from every department are on-site from beginning to end, and provide structured training to ensure the program’s success. Customer service and technical support are available 24/7/365 to ensure everything is implemented precisely. Our process means there will be no wasted effort and no unnecessary use of capital or human resources.
The pursuit of technical perfection is nowhere more important than in the quality assurance, engineering and testing of the billions of parts and materials we supply every year to our customers.
It is what drives us to continually seek out better and more efficient methods of enabling you to build the highest quality end use products at the lowest possible total cost – and therefore increase your competitive advantages and opportunities
Quality Assured
As part of our supplier development and retention process – and to proactively self-regulate our own quality standards – our Technical Services team performs the industry’s most rigorous component testing, both at supplier facilities and our regional worldwide inspection centers. In fact in many instances customers have Delegated Initial Sample Approval (DISA) responsibility to Supply Technologies, thus eliminating redundant inspection activities and customer resource requirements.
Our commitment to quality is embodied by our being third-party registered to the following standards: ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 17025.
Supply Technologies leverages some of the industry's most sophisticated technology, intelligently deployed to support your business goals and objectives.
Every facet of every customer’s program – from program pre-planning to ongoing program support and enhancement – is brought together and made accessible 24/7/365 from any device, anywhere on a platform that:
Every aspect of your program and our own operations are integrated into a single ERP system that allows everyone – at every one of your locations across the globe – to understand what’s happening when and where, in real-time, via a sophisticated, easy-to-navigate dashboard. This leading-edge platform is designed for flexibility, transparency and interoperability with your own system, even if that system is a patchwork of legacy systems.
The platform is able to manage massive amounts of current inventory specifics and has the power to fully analyze past activities, anticipate future needs through various “what if” modeling scenarios, understand and plan replenishment cycles, seamlessly manage accounting functions, track productivity, and collaborate throughout the entire supply management process.
Our computing landscape extends the reach of our core backend application with a layer of increased functionality.
Sharing information and collaborating with our suppliers and customers in real time
Custom applications designed to deliver information and content to any device
Transacting the full set of AIAG documents with both vendors and customers
Our internal sites for project management, document sharing, brainstorming and report delivery
The ultimate cloud making it all possible for us to add value
