Packaging
Bobst Group in the UK joins global spare parts network
Tuesday 18. August 2009 - Bobst Groups spare parts facility at Redditch is now part of a global system designed to boost local stock availability.
Known as Common Inventory Management, or CIM, the system hub in Lausanne, Switzerland continuously analyses Bobst Group parts sales, and uses this information to anticipate what levels of stock are needed for every part, for every machine type, in each of the countries it covers.
Mike Rice, Bobst Groups Training & Spare Parts Manager for the UK and Ireland, said, “With todays increasingly global supply chains, you may often find that your supplier holds their stock of parts for your machines in another country, or even on another continent. What we are doing is using global information to make stock available locally”.
“Every order that we fulfill from our Redditch warehouse means less waiting time for one of our customers. This is obviously important if a customer has a breakdown on their hands, but it also means lower shipping costs, which can make a big difference on lesser priced items. So it not only helps our customers increase their uptime, but it also helps them with their maintenance budgets too”.
Since CIM went live at Redditch, from stock order fulfillment has increased by 10% and Mike Rice is forecasting a total increase of close to 30% by the end of this year.
As well as Redditch, the Bobst Group implementation currently covers Bobsts central spare parts facility in Lausanne, Switzerland; Martins headquarters in Lyon, France; and the Bobst Group North America facility in Roseland, New Jersey, USA. The Bobst production site in Itatiba, Brazil, and service centre in Hong Kong, China are due to come on stream soon, as will all of Bobst Groups worldwide facilities in due course.
Mike Rice said, “The benefit of having such a wide network is that global spare parts use for each type of machine feeds into our local system. That means our customers here are more likely to find the part they want in stock, even if there are only a few machines of that model in the country”.
Bobst Group joins a complete Whos Who of blue chip corporations that already use the same technology, companies which range from Coca Cola and Bombardier, to Lockheed, Airbus Industries, and the US Army.