The MRO Buy: Around and Around We Go
Published May 24, 2012
I have a friend who has a very successful purchasing consulting business. She and I have worked closely on projects that have involved MRO and the introduction and implementation of 3PMRO concepts. My friend has always observed that onsite integrated supply programs are not sustained in the long run because: When the integrator is able […]Read Full Post
Unfathomable Situation
Published March 28, 2012
A multi-plant corporation realized that managing its MRO storeroom constituted a significant drain on its investment in Lean principles and, as such, a drain on profits. Corporate Procurement was directed to select a provider as well as a test site. Procurement selected Plant Able. A 40-page RFP (Request For Proposal) was sent to six so-called […]Read Full Post
Shoot Low — They’re Riding Ponies
Published March 5, 2012
A recently conducted scientific study focused on the relationship between MRO, total spend and the amount of purchasing time spent on each category. This is what the study revealed: Total Dollars Spent: MRO: 3.5% Production and Capital: 96.5% Allocation of Purchasing Time: MRO: 77% Production and Capital: 23% Only 23% of purchasing’s time was spent […]Read Full Post
Is It Really Gone?
Published February 8, 2012
In a recent presentation to an APICS Group on MRO storeroom outsourcing, a member of the audience raised her hand to voice a complaint. She said that as a Purchasing Manager, she was involved in the process of outsourcing the MRO purchasing function to a dot.com MRO purchasing company. The decision to hire the company […]Read Full Post
Don’t Bury MRO Supplier Innovation
Published January 23, 2012
Provider “A” presents a new and highly effective spending control and TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) reduction to an industrial facility in the Southeast. The facility can realize a 20-25% spend recovery in a major spend area. Corporate headquarters hears of the proposal and directs the Purchasing department to go out on a quote for […]Read Full Post