Safer working supplies.

RS Components (RS) has announced its collaboration with the British Government’s Crown Commercial Service (CCS) and other suppliers, to return the public sector to work as safely and as efficiently as possible. Phase one of the initiative – ‘safer working supplies’ - has been launched, which concerns the supply of non-clinical PPE, social distancing products, hygiene and cleaning products and anything else essential to help the public sector get back to work.

Pete Malpas - RS Northern Europe

CCS is the biggest public procurement organisation in the country, handling the Government's business process outsourcing. They use their expertise to help buyers in the public sector with policy, advice or to purchase anything from a laptop to a fleet of vehicles, construction services or even legal advice.

They do this by providing 'frameworks' for the supply of goods and services to the public sector. Frameworks are details of services or products needed within a certain category, including the particulars of pre-assessed suppliers who can deliver against those requirements. Public sector buyers can use the frameworks to purchase goods and services compliantly, without having to go through the traditional rounds of quotations.

RS is currently listed as an approved supplier under framework RM3837, ‘construction products, consumables and materials’, which includes electrical, workshop, industrial tools and personal protective equipment (PPE). It is from this framework that the new ‘safer working supplies’ initiative has been developed.

Pete Malpas, Regional Vice President, RS Northern Europe commented on the collaboration: “When COVID-19 first emerged we, along with other suppliers in our market, held discussions with CCS about how best to service the public sector during this time in relation to building materials. This led to further conversations about returning to work safely where RS set out a proposal to CCS. Working with CCS and all suppliers on the building materials framework resulted in the 'safer working supplies' webpage  launched in May. We are immensely proud of the support we've given CCS during this challenging time.”

Buyers can access RS through a link from this site to reach a dedicated landing page, which shows all the relevant product details. Existing RS customers can click to go through and purchase in the normal way and new customers will be directed to a registration form which will take them through the onboarding process to become a customer.

@RSComponents; @designsparkRS @gov_procurement #TandM #Pauto #Britain

Quick ship programme for process instruments.

Yokogawa Corporation of America has announced quick shipping options for process instrumentation and analytical products through its Quick Ship Program. Quick Ship aims to reduce lead times of warehouse-stocked product to ship within two days or less for customers in emergency situations and to prevent unnecessary downtime.

“Yokogawa's Manufacturing and Distribution Division, in conjunction with our product marketing and sales groups, is working diligently to provide our customers with quality product in the most efficient manner possible. The Quick Ship Program and our ability to assemble in the US allows us the flexibility to offer the vast majority of our standard US product offering in two days or less, thus reducing or eliminating process downtime for our customers,” says Rich Westerfield, Yokogawa Vice President of Manufacturing and Distribution.

With product availability becoming an increasingly important issue facing the market, warehousing finished product is essential to guarantee on-time delivery and overall customer satisfaction. Yokogawa initiated the Quick Ship Program two years ago as a pilot program for limited product families to address the issue of the company’s standard 10-day lead-time from time of order. The program is now available in 2017 for all standard products, including pressure/temperature transmitters, flow meters and various analyzers.

“We were faced with the challenge of our products being shipped with a standard of 10 days because we incorporated the entire manufacturing process with our lead time,” says Steve Crews, Yokogawa General Manager for Customer Support, Global Logistics, and Warehousing. “We found that if we pre-built standard product to have sub-assemblies ready to go, we could shorten that lead time to meet a quicker ship date.”

Yokogawa’s 125,000 sq. ft manufacturing facility includes pressure, flow and analytical production lines. In 2016, several thousand pressure and flow transmitters and analytical products were assembled and shipped via the new program. The program incorporates the talents of more than 125 employees from various departments to ensure its success.

Since implementation, the standard lead time is now five days with the Quick Ship products being offered in two days. For the customer, this means they can expect reduced downtime in their operations and better cash flow, as they are able to receive a replacement product on a faster schedule. The quicker shipping options also allow a competitive advantage for Yokogawa.

“When we save the day, we earn trust with the customer so that we become a loyal and respected partner,” says Sam Hassan, Yokogawa Product Manager of Flow Products. “With a solid reputation, customers are likely to call us for any issues they may have in the future.”

The program is equally beneficial to Yokogawa. “When customers would request a product in two days that typically requires a two-week lead-time, we would have to negotiate from customer service to production control to manufacturing and back through that chain to get to the customer,” Steve says. “With an offering of two days, we’ve eliminated much of the back and forth so that it cuts down on order processing time.”

Immediate needs for products with lead times less than two days can be negotiated with the factory through the local sales representative if the two day lead time is not sufficient.

A demonstrated investment in the local marketplace is another important factor in the Quick Ship Program. Yokogawa’s process instruments are assembled in the US with local modification also available. US assembly allows local flexibility and investment in the local market. Yokogawa also manufactures and calibrates instruments in North America to expand the offering of quick shipping.

Yokogawa has made a series of other investments in its manufacturing facilities in an effort to support the Quick Ship initiative. Several adjustments were made to the way parts were kit for the sub-assemblies, which contributed to the overall faster shipping process. Time studies were conducted to evaluate how parts were moving back and forth from the storeroom to the production line. Yokogawa performed Quality Control Circles (QCC) on several of the production lines to eliminate wasted time, and ultimately helped to recognize the potential of quick shipping. The kitting process time was cut down by over 75%.

In conjunction with the Quick Ship Program, modifications have been made to the Yokogawa website to indicate eligible products.

 @YokogawaIA  #PAuto #USA

Supplier selection guide launched!

The ARC Advisory Group has just released its new Global Service Provider (GSP) supplier selection guide. The guide includes both selection criteria and guided workflow steps for choosing a services company. The scope of the criteria cover the needs of corporate IT and manufacturing IT including communications with control systems. The guide has attributes tailored for industrial organizations, and allows those involved in a GSP selection process to make quicker and improved decisions.

Ralph Rio, Research Director, stated, “The pace of technology evolution continues to accelerate. Now, cloud, mobile, social, analytics, Internet of Things (IoT), and 3D are impacting industrial concerns for improved business processes and enhanced business models.
“Technology adoption is not an option. Each of these major technology groupings involve multiple specific technical skills. GSPs have access to a diverse set of skills, and can map them into a project as needed for lower cost, less risk, and faster time to benefit.”

Lower Supplier Selection Risk and Time
GSP selection has become mission critical. The needed services include application and IT infrastructure development, roll-out, and maintenance. The companies have become complex and decision making involves a range of capabilities from specific technologies to managing major programs. Suppliers have specific domain expertise, geographical presence, and knowledge of certain industry dynamics.

Guided Supplier Selection
The ARC STAR Supplier Evaluation and Selection Service guides users through a step-by-step process of selecting and evaluating suppliers against specific technology, application, and industry requirements. The process guides the user through the project and team definition, reviewing and editing ARC-provided selection criteria and supplier questions, weighing selection criteria, developing a supplier Request for Information (RFI) list, evaluating supplier responses, and developing a final ranking of RFI results. ARC STAR then fully documents the process and results for management review and approval. ARC STAR helps ensure inclusive, fact-based, impartial supplier evaluations and selections, free of the user bias issues that typically hamper these activities. In addition, ARC estimates that ARC STAR can reduce the cost, effort and time span for a supplier selection process by well over 50 percent.