Our current stores operations maintain an IRA (Inventory Record Accuracy) of 98% with minimal staff turnover, excellent safety records and a track proven history of evolving as our clients’ business needs change. In addition we can be counted on to bring new and innovative approaches to managing and executing the daily business in a stores operation as we are very experienced in not only parts but manufacturing processes.
Cates & Associates, Inc. have contacts with major national parts and equipment suppliers which depending upon specific needs could be leveraged for additional savings.
Opportunities:
Leveraging volume via economy of scale to reduce direct part and labor costs.
Reapplication and standardization opportunities for storeroom services support to eliminate reporting variations and implementation of more advanced inventory management techniques utilizing SAP and other more economical proprietary solutions software.
Ensuring scorecard deliverables compliance and providing a partner to the client organizations tasked with managing parts inventories.
Leveraging rollouts of initiatives and process enhancements to new facilities such as SAP development (phase 2, MySAP etc), reservation and kitting and closed stores operations.
Turnkey outsourced stores operations with defined benchmark and matrix grading systems at a fixed cost.
Inventory reduction via audits to determine slow moving parts and excess inventory. Rapid response and supply concepts with parts suppliers to ensure part availability at lowest U of M cost.
Cates & Associates provides a unique service in storeroom management. Our qualified staff specializes in complete inventory maintenance using Electronic Parts Tracking Systems.
Cates & Associates performs the following storeroom services:
Reapplication and Standardization:
Historically, storerooms in most large corporations are primarily stand a lone with varying levels of interface between plants. Though processes and systems are generally consistent, actual implementation and application vary. There is also a significant variation in expectation and missed opportunities to “invent the wheel once” and reapply. A primary value Cates can supply is predicated on either “supporting” (i.e. parts reservation systems, NP6, SAP conversions etc.) or developing these protocols (CBA’s, log-books, chain of custody, dupsey reductions etc.) and instituting them quickly between sites via a stores network. The primary directive in Cates managed stores operations is to streamline inventory via reduction, increase inventory turnover and minimize low use parts.
Though we rarely propose a “one-size shoe fits all”, we have found that a consistent shoe type customized to ensure a proper fit (per plant location) for that sites particular application brings the most value. We see the following activities as directly benefiting from this approach.
Inventory reduction.
Consistent systems development and implementation to support maintenance and production customers.
Support for SAP phased migration.
Single point contact to coordinate/execute work for client leadership.
Standardized contractor procedures.
Commonality of score card reporting.
Cates and Associates can provide an economy of scale that will produce cost savings (labor) as well as standardization and quality benefits (reduced inventories and streamlined procedures). Tangible and realistic benchmarks can be set and both direct and in-direct savings tracked and reported.
Ensuring Scorecard Deliverables “THE RIGHT PART…To the RIGHT PLACE…At the RIGHT TIME…For the RIGHT VALUE.
The true value of a stores operation we believe is succinctly captured in the motto above. This has been the credo of Cates and Associates since our initial foray into stores operations. The fact that we have been in as many storeroom operations as we have and the duration we have been there, is indicative of the value we can provide given the opportunity to do so.