Simple Solutions That Work! Issue 17

49 BASICS it moves through the building. Parts are scanned into the warehouse, and scanned at job set up, with labels generated and ready to pack. AUTOMATION The volume of parts you package in many cases cannot justify getting automated packaging systems. Contract packagers have already invested in auto baggers, sprint machines, foam in place machines, heat bundlers, shrink machines, and skin machines that cost thousands of dollars. PLAN B (What is your back-up plan?) In today’s world, changes in business are happening at lightning speed. Do you have a Plan B set up? What happens if there is an accident or natural disaster (e.g., fire, flood, or tornado)? Or you cannot keep up with production and you’re out of warehouse space. Or the temporary or special projects (such as recall programs) you manage have disrupted your normal daily business. Or you find yourselves getting involved in things that are not your core business, like kitting, dunnage management, import/ export, and light assembly work. You can benefit from having a contract packager as your Plan B. The better you protect yourself, the better you protect your customer. FLEXIBILITY Contract packagers can come to you. They can work in your facility, open a facility near your production plant, or often have a facility of their own to package your parts. CASE STUDY: ‘Near Site’ Solution – meeting seasonal automotive part demand A major automotive parts manufacturer provides service parts to a variety of OEM car manufacturers. The parts they manufacture get replaced as the season changes (summer to fall, winter to spring). This means they have to build parts ahead of time to be able to handle the seasonal demand of product. This particular customer benefited from a “near site” packaging solution that was close to their manufacturing site. A “near site” solution allowed the manufacturer to open up floor space in their plant so they could focus on manufacturing. The contract packager packed the service parts as they came to the warehouse and parts were warehoused until they were needed to ship to their OEM customers. CASE STUDY: Large Truck – emergency A major OEM truck manufacturer had a supplier give them notice that they were going to stop supplying parts to them. To maintain production, they needed to store a year’s supply of these parts. We leased the space they required, inventoried and made daily deliveries to them while they focused on getting a new supplier. Their Plan B kept their production up-and-running. CASE STUDY: Manufacturer needs more production space A major manufacturer was experiencing high growth and as a result was running out of space to warehouse their parts. Using a contract packager to inventory, warehouse, and daily sequence their parts allowed them to bring in additional machinery to expand production and grow their business. Depending on your production requirements this could be a temporary or permanent solution. SUMMARY Having a contact packager lined up can offer your company a part time or full time option to help with packaging, warehousing, and distribution of automotive, large truck, and construction equipment parts quicker and more cost effective. Contact: TONY XIDAS [email protected]