Improved supply and delivery at Repro Engineering
Repro Engineering, CNC precision production engineers, worked with MAS South East to improve the frequency and on-time in full (OTIF) of products delivered to one of their key customers, whilst raising overall quality throughout the supply chain.
Overview:
Founded in 1967, Repro Engineering maintains a strong position in the sub contract market with customers ranging from marine and defence to the electronic and commercial sectors. Operating from modern 9000sq ft premises in Hampshire, Repro manufacture turned and machined components in a wide range of materials from 2mm to 200mm diameter. Batches from one-offs to tens of thousands are accommodated as are prototype designs.
Company Sector:
CNC Precision Engineering
Number of Employees:
21
Turnover:
£1.4M
Location:
Waterlooville, Hampshire
Aim of Project:
To improve the frequency and on-time in full (OTIF) of products delivered to one of Repro’s principal customers, Barnbrook Systems, whilst raising overall quality throughout the supply chain.
Scope:
To work with Repro Engineering to introduce an efficient production system for providing the customer with the right volume of products, on-time, to the same high level of quality for each and every single order placed and delivered. To include an overview of lean manufacturing tools and techniques in order to improve overall bottom line benefits including supply chain confidence, increased productivity, reduced inventory, shopfloor organisation and most importantly customer satisfaction.
Method:
Stuart Wood, MAS South East Specialist, worked hands-on with Repro Engineering delivering a ten day manufacturing support and mentoring programme focused on removing constraints within the on-time delivery of quality products to Barnbrook Systems.
Barnbrook were placing large batch size orders for individual components, which encouraged Repro to overproduce (to save on set-up costs) which in turn led to over shipping. In addition, the manufacture of such technically demanding parts created occasional quality issues resulting in a short delivery. Such erratic supply resulted in Barnbrook changing order quantities and placing panic orders for small quantities, leading both companies to hold excessive stocks in an effort to overcome shortages.
Stuart identified that the individual component parts being ordered by Barnbrook were in fact ‘sets’ used in the assembly of a single unit, therefore delivering in uneven quantities made it impossible for Barnbrook to assemble complete units. Working with Barnbrook, MAS South East followed the supply chain to establish their end customers’ demand profile, which calculated at 100 hundred units per day. Stuart then worked with Repro on improvements within the manufacturing process in order to level through-put and delivery to Barnbrook in line with assembly demand.
An up to-date parts drawing pack was created with one controlled copy issued to Repro and another retained by Barnbrook. All outstanding orders with Repro were cancelled and replaced with a single order for the remaining odd quantities in order to create complete sets.
A rolling two month order was then created based on complete sets rather than individual parts, with a forecast given for the third month, allowing a three month visibility plan for Repro. Finally, agreed daily delivery times were established enabling inventory stocks to be reduced to just one day, which meant issues could be resolved immediately, including changes in demand when needed.
As the process is refined the plan is to replace paper orders with a Kanban replenishment system and backflushing of consumed materials.
Key Achievements:
- Reduced inventory levels at Repro and Barnbrook
- Manufacture aligned with customer demand
- Reduction in scrap materials
- Controlled stock levels
- Product quality improvement
- Flexible quantity and design demand processes
- A strengthened customer and supplier relationship
- Financial and strategic flow in place
“Working closely with MAS South East we have invested heavily in lean manufacturing and combined with the help of our raw material suppliers we have been able to implement a "just in time" system reducing costs and lead times. With the help of our close-knit team of engineers and production staff we are now confident of delivering our products on time to exacting specifications.”
Richard Palmer, Managing Director, Repro Engineering
