Industry
General Manufacturing
Location
West Coast, U.S.
Support
Supply Chain Services
Initial Involvement: A large general manufacturing company located on the west coast of the U.S. first implemented a procurement-only services agreement with RS Integrated Supply in 2005. Over the course of the relationship, RS Integrated Supply identified savings and process improvement opportunities, eventually leading the manufacturing company to expand RS Integrated Supply’s scope of work to include overall supply chain management and storeroom operation services.
Added Value: In its expanded role, RS Integrated Supply was tasked with reducing overall inventory while continuing to seek savings on the procurement of indirect materials. Through the use of RS Integrated Supply’s exclusive data enrichment service, Master Data Leadership, the analysis of the company’s purchasing data uncovered many instances of duplicate parts supplied by different manufacturers or having different brand names. For example, duplicate elbow fittings were discovered listed under four different brand names. By limiting the part to a single brand the company reduced inventory and saved significant costs.
Results Realized: RS Integrated Supply contributed to a reduction in overall inventory by more than 30 percent over three years, roughly $2 million in savings. As the partnership continues, additional reductions are still being found.
“We’re able to find such significant savings because we have the right tools as well as the expertise to interpret the data we get from using those tools,” said Vicki Byrd, director of operations, RS Integrated Supply. “But we couldn’t do any of that if the client doesn’t communicate exactly what they want or we don’t communicate exactly what we can deliver.”