“A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse” cries King Richard III in Shakespeare’s well known drama – and you may well ask what relevance does it have to Starting Your Own Business With No Money the manufacturing world!!! Closer consideration of this quotation allows us to draw a number of analogies to an out of stock manufacturing situation.
there is a desperate need for an item that appears to be currently unavailable
the value of the item has risen dramatically Product Competition Examples to the party wanting it
locating a replacement item becomes paramount
and any delay in obtaining the item may prove fatal
Harsh analogies perhaps but there have been many instances where a manufacturing operation has foundered because of poor purchasing policies and a lack of inventory control. It is one thing to have the ability to fabricate and assemble the required order. It is a very different matter to ensure that all the component parts and material are available on hand and that they can be readily located when required. This takes us into the realms of purchasing procedure and inventory management both of which are key components in the manufacturing process.
In a previous article in this series, entitled ‘Estimating – A Key Profit Parameter for Manufacturers’, it was noted that accurate estimating and costing of a job is crucial to a profitable outcome. However, no matter how accurate the cost estimation, it is of limited value once manufacture commences if the material and consumables needed for the job are not available when required. The lack of a component or the inability to locate its whereabouts will often materially impact the flow of a job through the shop. Typically this may result in one or all of the following scenarios
urgent ordering and delivery of the item
diverting or delaying manpower resources to locate the item
delays at a work station with a partially completed item
reconfiguring machines to take on another task
rescheduling of other activities on the shop floor to accommodate the delay
reallocation of labour
Unavoidable delays and mishaps do occur on occasions but these should be the exception rather than the rule. If there is a high incidence of urgent ordering or the shop floor seems to be in a frequent state of turmoil, looking for components or consumables, then it is almost certain that there are some serious issues that need to be addressed.
Urgent ordering is a classic symptom of a purchasing system under stress. Provided that an inventory is being properly managed there should be very few urgent orders placed. Inventory management requires good interfaces with the estimating process so that the requirements for a specific job are known before a quotation becomes a firm order. Once the manufacturing order is confirmed timely component and consumable ordering should follow in an measured manner.
Proper inventory management must also include
maintaining appropriate levels of stock and components based on well developed max / min figures
the timely placing …