Brammer was ideally placed to lead a vendor consolidation project and one value-adding project in particular has achieved significant cost savings for Woodcock & Wilson – the implementation of Brammer’s Invend industrial vending service.
As well as difficulties surrounding multiple consumable suppliers, specialist fan manufacturer Woodcock & Wilson had no traceability of which employee was using which products and, due to stock being kept in different areas of the factory and ordered from a variety of suppliers, the fan manufacturer also experienced frequent stock-out issues and high inventory costs. A particular challenge lay in the procurement of grinding discs, as the company found they were using a higher than expected volume of these products and were unable to account for them.
Brammer identified that its Invend service was the ideal solution to Woodcock & Wilson’s challenges. Having demonstrated the benefits of the industrial vending service, a profile of which employees needed access to which products for their role was established. The vending machines ensure that each vend is logged to each specific user through a password-protected system, providing management with visibility of product consumption levels by user and cost centre. This also enables usage patterns to be monitored, with extra training on the correct use of each product given where needed.
Four Invend™ machines were installed at optimal locations within the Woodcock & Wilson factory to dispense PPE and workshop tools, with an additional benefit being a significant reduction in the amount of time each person spends obtaining the items they need to do their job.
To solve Woodcock & Wilson’s issues with grinding discs, Brammer consulted with leading manufacturer 3M whose Abrasives division recommended several product styles should be trialled across the different applications. Through this process it was identified that one versatile grinding disc would suit the majority of tasks, rather than providing several varied finishes.
Richard Wilson, Woodcock & Wilson’s Operations Director commented: “We have achieved a significant reduction in consumption of tools and PPE through Invend, while a thorough audit of grinding discs has identified a single product to address the needs of a variety of applications. This has cut down on the number of discs being ordered and, as they are now all stored within Invend™ machines, are instantly locatable, providing multiple benefits for both our production and stores teams.”
Woodcock & Wilson has reported an increased cash flow since the installation of its Invend machines, as all stock inside is owned by Brammer until it is dispensed meaning no cash is tied up in stores. For similar reasons, procurement staff have experienced time saving benefits as they no longer need to raise multiple purchase orders for their tools and PPE – each Invend™ machine has an internet connection meaning the machine sends replenishment orders direct to Brammer, with invoices also raised automatically.
Mark Peers, Director of Vending at Brammer commented: “A major benefit of Invend is that consumable and PPE stock will never run out as it often can do in typical stores facilities, due to being restocked by Brammer before the last item is vended. Having the right item to hand at the time it’s needed has proved to be a major benefit for Woodcock & Wilson. As the machines can operate 24/7, the team has also reported an increase in productivity as staff don’t have to wait until the stores are open to retrieve essential items.”