Rail Live

Digitalising the rail supply chain

Chris Billinge, Business Development Director of supply chain specialist TFC, explains the capabilities of digital inventory management technology in the rail industry

The term ‘Automation’ was coined in 1946, when Ford engineer Del Harder named the department that was tasked with research and experimentation. The department later went on to replace assembly-line workers with machines. He took the noun ‘Automation’ meaning selfoperating mechanism, and turned it into a verb ‘to automate’. Today, there is a growing awareness that automation can greatly improve productivity and increase supply chain transparency across all industries, including rail. However, the technology selected for inventory management determines the level of visibility you have across a facility.

The aftereffects of Covid-19 created an imbalance between the supply and demand of goods, adding pressure to supply chains. Events like the conflict in Ukraine and shipping containers stuck in traffic at ports have exacerbated the issue, impacting the supply of critical materials and components across a variety of industries.

This comes at a time when the UK’s rail operators are expected to deliver a better level of service while spending less, despite high passenger numbers and bottlenecks with infrastructure. These has been a great deal of expenditure on the UK’s rail network, with high-profile projects like CrossRail and HS2 taking shape. To keep costs down, businesses at all stages of the rail supply chain need to find ways to improve efficiency, productivity and profitability to allow operators to hit their contractual targets.

The pressure of high demand coupled with barriers to the global supply chain have pushed inventory management to the forefront of rail industry professionals’ minds – without adequate inventory, the supply chain cannot run efficiently, or even at all. Stock control is a critical component of supply chain management and when inventory is managed well, the flow of products throughout the supply chain is smooth. But it's not as simple as it sounds.

The journey to digital Since the late 20th century, inventory management has been partly digital. Early examples of inventory management involved sending telegraphs to factories and mines when stock began to run low. The 1990s saw a significant acceleration in technology production as part of a logistics boom driven by the introduction of the now-ubiquitous Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Fast-forward and manufacturers everywhere are turning to cloud-based warehouse management systems to keep their inventories stacked. All areas of the rail supply chain are ripe for digitalisation – from production line to railway line.

Monitor and control However, many organisations still have limited visibility of indirect material usage, often due to untracked storage locations or areas of the business with limited control over use. Without an audit trail, products can be lost, forgotten and wasted. Systems that rely on manual inputs are at high risk of human error and cannot feasibly be updated in real-time. This makes it harder to track each individual item and can result in false stock readings.

Limited visibility increases the likelihood of leakage, excessive spend and user error going unnoticed, causing delays in replenishment. For example, a personal protective equipment (PPE) supply runs out early after an employee that is required to use one pair of gloves per day regularly takes two. Without an up-to-date record, it is difficult to understand why more stock is needed or identify where to train the workforce to improve health and safety understanding across the business.

Removing the noise A popular way of reducing the headaches associated with supply chain management is vendor managed inventory (VMI). In this situation, a third-party provider takes responsibility for sourcing the components, as well as managing the supply and flow of parts. The VMI partner ensures that parts, fixings, consumables, material and other products are delivered to the right place at the right time, providing timely stock replenishment in-line with a predefined delivery schedule. As a result, the customer never finds themselves in a position where their manufacturing comes to a halt because a particular C-Class product is not available. This is particularly attractive in the current climate, where sourcing stock can be challenging and businesses are facing long lead times.

VMI helps manufacturers reduce operational costs by ensuring parts are only purchased when needed, which reduces delivery costs, frees up warehouse space and improves internal efficiency. In addition, the customer doesn't have the overheads associated with warehousing stock and, because they aren’t being invoiced for that stock until they are ready to use it, VMI frees up working capital.

VMI solves many traditional inventory management bottlenecks, offering a customisable service that resolves unique challenges for businesses. However, it is primarily a manual service provided by the VMI partner’s employees, who will attend

site regularly to check the stock available in bins, manually fill bins and create new orders for the following site visit.

With the launch of VMI Smart Solutions, businesses can supercharge their VMI with a whole host of smart technology that helps improve compliance, reduce waste, keep inventory available, charge power tools ready for use and more and achieve a first visit fix. Relevant digital inventory technologies include industrial vending, mobile automated replenishment systems, asset management solutions and app-based inventory management. Crucially, these are connected to cloud-based software for realtime access to reports and information. The adoption of digital inventory management technology brings a typically manual process into the Industry 4.0 era.

Digital inventory management technologies Locker-based solutions are growing in popularity as a way to improve the ability to monitor and control material use. These allow managers to carefully control access to items and ensure employees have the right materials when needed. They can access data on each employee's stock use, including the time and location stock was accessed. With a locker-based system, manufacturers can track the use of high-value items, such as power tools.

Ensuring the right tools for the job are available and charged when required is a key benefit for manufacturers with high-value inventory, like maintenance and repair operations (MRO). Smart VMI can reduce MRO costs by consolidating suppliers and avoiding unnecessary consumption. Lockerbased solutions are also helpful for health and safety management, for example by restricting access to hazardous products only to authorised personnel, or for ensuring the correct PPE is supplied to every employee. Ensuring employee safety is absolutely paramount and can be a huge pull for technology adoption.

Scale-based inventory management technology is another useful tool for rail businesses, who can use it for automated replenishment. This involves storing stock in bins that calculate stock levels based on the weight of an individual component. The data stored can be shared with distributors, to better manage replenishment cycles and automatically trigger an order when the weight drops below the set minimum level. The ability to analyse exactly what was used for each individual service gives manufacturers better control of stock use. The added visibility improves supply chain efficiency and reduces costs by driving down consumption.

There is also technology available that allows rail businesses to use their smartphones to manage stock. For example, app-accessed cabinets that act as a secure unmanned stores solution, or enterprise-level storeroom management solutions that can be accessed by scanning a tag on a smartphone or other handheld device. Inventor-e's app-based technology SmartStores, for example, enables users to manage and control all material usage in a facility, as well as providing a live overview.

Building an inventory management solution is a complex feat. With the right support, integrating automated technology can make product availability easy in even the most unpredictable manufacturing environments. For help implementing the right mix of digital technology into your business, contact a supply chain specialist.

TFC brings smart VMI solutions to Rail Live From June 22 to 23, leading fastener and vendor managed inventory (VMI) provider TFC will be exhibiting at Rail Live in Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre, Warwickshire. On stand B14, TFC will explain the benefits of product solutions from Smalley and ARaymond, as well as

COME VISIT US AT

RAIL LIVE STAND B14

its newly launched VMI Smart Solutions. TFC’s experienced team will be on the stand to help solve design and supply chain challenges in the rail industry.

Visitors to the TFC stand can learn about TFC’s latest launch – VMI Smart Solutions. This customisable portfolio of solutions leverages partner company Inventor-e’s market-leading real-time technology to complement TFC’s decades of experience delivering VMI solutions, ultimately giving manufacturers better visibility and control over their supply chains. This is particularly useful for the rail industry, where it is vital to ensure works are delivered on time and with minimum delay.

VMI Smart Solutions are crucial to Maintenance and Repair Operations (MRO), where products are expensive and need to be kept secure. It’s smart technology like iVendSecure that allows manufacturers to manage and control high-value assets by keeping them safe in restricted lockers equipped with a live data feed to monitor asset use. If integrated with the supplier’s enterprise resource planning (ERP), it can also trigger automated replenishment — making an automatic reorder when stock is low.

Rail Live is a great environment where engineers and other industry professionals can gain direct access to the latest products and services. The current supply chain issues and rise in material costs make managing inventory more important than ever. Our new VMI Smart Solutions can help manufacturers in the rail industry innovate, disrupt and create value.

Visitors to the stand can also find out more about TFC’s supply of components, like Smalley wave springs and retaining rings, and Araymond’s quick connectors. For example, ARaymond’s VDA low-push Quick Connectors offers an improved design to reduce insertion force required by 45 per cent resulting in lower operative fatigue. Visitors can also enquire about ordering custom designs.

‘We are excited about attending more shows this year, meeting people face-toface and sharing new innovations. TFC’s experienced team will be able to answer visitor’s supply chain questions and demonstrate how the technical products showcased can help solve an increasingly wide range of rail industry challenges’ said Simon Ward, Technical Manager at TFC.

TFC is a leading supplier of Smalley and ARaymond products, as well as an expert at providing inventory management solutions that deliver increased productivity and profitability. To find out more about TFC, visit the website https://tfc.eu.com/.

TFC is one of the leading suppliers of engineering products in Europe, with an unrivalled reputation over 50 years for providing exceptional design development, the best components and bespoke production line inventory solutions, all from one organisation. Our customers experience exemplary customer service and added value technical solutions to help them achieve breakthroughs in product advancement, innovation and significantly raised standards of manufacturing efficiency.

Interested in digitalising your inventory management? Visit the TFC website: https://tfc.eu.com/services/vmi-smartsolutions/ or contact Chris Billinge, Business Development Director.

Tel: 01435 866011 Visit: www: https://www.tfc.eu.com/ Email: AScrafton@tfc.eu.com Twitter: @TFCLtd LinkedIn: @TFC-Ltd