TAKING BACK LOST TIME With a main facility that covers 14 acres, employees were losing time walking to get supplies. Gorman-Rupp knew it wanted to reduce the travel and downtime so that their teams could stay focused on production. “We knew there was a better way of doing things,” said Joe Gfrer, Commodity Manager at Gorman-Rupp. “We’d seen Fastenal working with other places, and we knew there was room for improvement in our process. Fastenal was already handling all our MRO for our machine shop, and it just made sense for us to reach out to them and have them take on more for us.” To provide the best solutions, Fastenal considers each facility and each customer a unique situation. Members of Fastenal’s Lean Solutions group do not believe that “one size fits all.” So Lean Specialists spent time at Gorman-Rupp’s facilities to find the best ways to improve workflow. “They had Lean leaders that were able to come out and process map everything with us,” said John Stevens, Manufacturing Manager at Gorman-Rupp. “They really walked us through it all and showed where we could gain efficiencies and improve our throughput. And they had technical resources like data tracking and Lean processes that they were able to provide us that were essential.” ELEMENTS OF EFFICIENCY SHORTER SUPPLY CHAIN To cut down on transit time, Fastenal stocks Gorman-Rupp’s planned inventory needs locally. No two-day shipping involved. Items are either already in the Onsite cage in the building or just down the road at the local Fastenal branch location. POINT-OF-USE INVENTORY With the addition of 42 vending and bin stock locations, workers can get the tools and parts they need with less downtime. TURNAROUND TIME Previously, it could take up to three weeks to get an urgent item. Now, Fastenal can supply tools, parts, and equipment in two to three days at worst but often provides same-day fulfillment. Implementation for MRO: The team from Fastenal transitioned existing modular storage over to technology-based solutions. While on site, this team also removed old storage shelving and assembled and installed new storage solutions to better manage remaining existing inventory. What Industries Does Gorman-Rupp Serve? • Oil and Gas • Agriculture • Water Treatment and Sewage • U.S. Military and Defense • Construction • Mining How Fastenal Helps With OEM •42 stocking locations with automated bins • 180 SKUs • 2,700 RFID • 600 IR • Fasteners and pins How Fastenal Helps With MRO • 20 traditional VMI locations • 4,000 SKUs •3 5 vending machines (Coil-based, Lockers, Metalworking-specific units, etc.)
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