Product category:
Bearings
News Release from: Eriks UK
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 02 June 2006
BAE Systems opts for managed inventory
BAE Systems sites across the country are integrating "award winning" Wyko managed inventory and maintenance stock supply services.
BAE Systems sites across the country are integrating "award winning" Wyko managed inventory and maintenance stock supply services The scheme was piloted at a BAE Land Systems facility where it won a BAE Systems Innovation Award in 2004
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 9 Jul 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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The service is now represented by a National Framework Agreement and has been rolled out in 2006 to five BAE Systems sites across the UK.
Mark Evans, Site Manager for Wyko, reveals how the project was developed and the benefits it has brought to the organisation.
Says Evans: "Wyko were first invited to look at managing the high-turnover stock items in order to reduce paperwork and administration at the pilot site".
"Wyko was already a prominent supplier of equipment and consumables and were aware through our own order system of what inventory was used on-site".
"After an initial discussion it was confirmed that Wyko would take responsibility for stock levels on popular items and manage other direct suppliers to the stores".
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"It became apparent early during planning for the handover however, that (Wyko) could do far more; a permanent Wyko integrated supply branch on site would allow BAE Systems to reduce the value of stock bought in 'just-in-case' it was needed, and could improve the efficiency of the stores by profiling and re-classifying the stock".
"The final element and the most important for Maintenance and Facilities Managers was that they could divest themselves of a large amount of time-consuming administrative paperwork and increase the effectiveness of their core roles as a result".
Wyko and BAE Systems have now rolled out the service to include five BAE Systems sites, Mark Evans is currently working from Glascoed in Wales: "Each site operates more or less as a full Wyko branch, joining the 140 plus we have around the country.
There is a physical counter and full branch facilities on most sites now, including permanent members of staff; in some instances we have even taken responsibility for the stores building itself.
All budget holding BAE Systems staff have their own purchase bar code which is scanned and allied with any purchase made in the stores, larger orders are signed off by the budget holders and the site Facilities Manager, who then receives an itemised list of purchases, inventory report and departmental and individual cost breakdown at the end of every month.
Says Evans: "Signing off the monthly maintenance expenditure has been made far easier for the site managers and there are no nasty surprises".
"We have agreed purchase prices and they don't have to get involved in any transactional administration, even when other suppliers are used for specialist repair and refurbishment work, something we have to do frequently when dealing with process equipment that is used in extreme environments for example".
Flexibility under the National Framework Agreement is achieved via site-specific service level agreements.
Says Evans: "All BAE sites are different, so the national agreement covers operational and financial issues, while an individual site agreement is driven by agreed service levels and their own specific profiled stock".
Ryan Frankcom is a Wyko Branch Manager.
He says: "Our site contract typifies the benefits of outsourcing stores; a large site such as this one would previously have held anything in the region of 1 million pounds sterling worth of stock, solely because the simplest thing can stop a critical process if it goes wrong and it might not be instantly available from the supplier".
"The Wyko organisation gives us tremendous buying power and access to a virtually infinite stock of maintenance products and services within the organisation, so we only have to stock items that are identified as critical and fast moving items".
Having profiled the stock and set service level agreements on the items that do not have to be kept on site, it has freed up resources for BAE Systems, helping the maintenance operations to run more smoothly and efficiently.
Wyko are now looking at other added value work in areas outside the stores including repairs (gearbox and pump maintenance) condition monitoring, motor management and other preventative maintenance options. Request free introductory details about products from Eriks UK ...
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