Pierce Manufacturing Appleton, Wisconsin HAVING WHAT’S NEEDED RIGHT WHEN IT’S NEEDED Pierce has multiple facilities spread across Appleton, Wisconsin, and each was ordering their own parts. This led to duplicated orders and bloated inventory – not to mention all the work involved with manually stocking bins and disposing of packaging. In the past, employees had to walk over to a single location for parts, record the transaction on a piece of paper, and then have another person enter that information into a computer for record keeping. Walking to get parts and waiting for them to be handed out was wasted time that Pierce employees weren’t able to spend on vehicles. “With the customization of these fire trucks, it makes it very difficult on our supply chain to manage all of those changes and differences,” said Matt Leslie, Pierce’s commodity manager. “We need to meet those needs of the customer and work through the supply issues that that causes.” Pierce wanted to find ways to reduce the time employees weren’t on the line and gain visibility into exact inventory levels. The ideal solution would free up employees from ordering and stocking and also from walking and waiting for supplies. Check out the video: www.fastenal.com/innovators ELEMENTS OF EFFICIENCY Workers used to spend time walking to a crib for what they needed. Fastenal then put vending machines with parts and supplies within the assembly area. Employees now have what they need right where they are working. VENDING Fastenal specialists worked with Pierce to determine the most necessary point-of-use locations on the assembly line. Now, workers can get the tools and parts they need with less downtime. SYSTEM INTEGRATION From vending machine transactions to orders placed on the web, all purchases are tracked in both Fastenal’s and Pierce’s systems. Pierce can now track exactly how many of each part go into a vehicle after it rolls off the line. ONSITE BRANCH With more than $500,000 in consigned inventory and dedicated Fastenal employees working in the facility, the team at Pierce is free to focus on completing more vehicles. CUSTOM SOLUTION For Pierce, one of the biggest benefits is Fastenal’s ability to receive a bill of materials for a custom build and then quickly source and supply those OEM materials right to the assembly line via 900 bin locations that are continuously monitored, replenished, and adapted to support fast-changing production needs. PROCESS IMPROVEMENT When Pierce employees have ideas for improving the production process, they work with the onsite Fastenal team to see how to implement changes, and then new standards are put in place. Previous examples have seen reductions in time on task and a shift from difficult work to easier methods.
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