Collaboration
In today’s world with a global supply chain fraught with long lead times, increased logistical costs, and unprecedented volatility, it is important now more than ever before that procurement workers and engineers collaborate to achieve the most efficient resolution to a part or system going down.
Many times, engineers are left to their own devices when ordering automation products. This can create logistical and financial hassles that trained procurement professionals could easily avoid. Similar results can occur when procurement managers are left to purchase a product on their own. Oftentimes, the wrong part is requested from a supplier, or a part that was not even needed in the first place is ordered.
It is important that these two types of professionals are trained on how to work together when making procurement decisions on automation and other advanced equipment. Some organizations may even consider embedding an experienced supply chain management professional in specific business or manufacturing units, or vice versa by adding a versatile engineer to a procurement team.
Creating an educated and coordinated environment where these two fields can align and work in sync to achieve their goals is crucial to successfully seeking and acquiring replacement automation components.
Forecasting needs
Managers should train procurement and engineering employees on how to predict future automation requirements. Forecasting the needs of future automation replacements can be extremely difficult because of its low-volume, erratic nature. Decision makers should determine whether they want to pursue a predictive, preventative, or reactive strategy when ordering components. Based on this, the lifetime need for parts over a system’s life cycle can be calculated.
Additionally, supply chain managers and systems engineers can use this information to determine how many spare components a system should have on hand in order to avoid any downtime. Engineers and supply management teams working in sync to predict the requirements of future resources can prevent many crises.
Oftentimes large global companies use sophisticated software and systems to forecast demand. However for smaller manufacturers, simpler techniques can be used to forecast supply needs such as moving averages and exponential smoothing. These techniques can be used to account for the seasonality often accompanies automation procurement. Organized storerooms can also be used with systems in place to alert managers when critical parts are running low on stock. Remember that forecasting is a continuous process that should always be measured and improved upon.
Strategic sourcing
Managers should also ensure that their employees are properly educated on how to strategically source industrial electronic products. Reducing equipment costs and producing value starts with finding the right suppliers. An efficient supply chain management process requires suppliers that are reliable. Managers should train employees on how to find the right supplier to prevent unforeseen supply issues from occurring. This is especially important when dealing with automation equipment, which can break down suddenly as well as become obsolete.
Training employees to identify relationships with trusted vendors who can reliably manage needs can solve many of these externalities. For one, it allows for quick resolution of problems, and lessens the administrative hassles of managing payments and purchases to and from the supplier. Suppliers are more likely to give favorable payment terms to dedicated buyers, which can further improve a plant’s cash cycle. These strategic partnerships help drive cost reductions through volume.
