Personal Protection Equipment
Overview
Executive Summary
Consumables and PPE were the focused-upon items.Our supplier is now supporting the technology by
restocking the machine, saving us time.
Challenges
Maintaining inventory and tracking items such as PPE and consumables in a facility with 400 employees was a full-time task. Waste due to hoarding, wrong items being used and stock-outs were ongoing problems. Staff power to support central stores was available only for 16 of the 24 hours our facility was operating.
How it helped
SupplyPoint allowed us to track our inventory down to the item level, which addressed our extensive glove matrix by tracking size, specific application and supervisor-controlled protection items.
Results
Yearly savings on gloves provided £140K in annual savings, and consumable item savings was £79K. The ROI based on yearly savings was 3.5 months.
The Full Story
Executive Summary
Consumables and PPE were the focused items
Our supplier is now supporting the technology by restocking the machine, saving us time.
- Amount spent weekly on gloves was £4,500 per week. It is now £1,600 per week.
- Amount spent monthly on consumables was £14,000. It is now £7,350 per month.
- Availability was 16 hours per day. It is now 24 hours per day.
Challenges
Maintaining inventory and tracking items such as PPE and consumables in a facility with 400 employees was
a full-time task. Waste due to hoarding, wrong items being used and stock outs were ongoing problems.
Staff power to support central stores was available only for 16 of the 24 hours our facility was operating. For
one of the eight-hour shifts, no staff was available to issue or track items, so there was no way to control
inventory. We were aware of the escalating costs due to the lack of process control, and we needed to find a
solution.
A team was assembled, and they first looked at a coil vending solution, but they realized there were more
steps to this process than originally thought. Items would have to be repackaged, and some items could not
be dropped. Also, items could become entangled in a coil, creating additional problems for our employees.
How it Helped
Due to the problems with using the coil machine, we decided to contact SupplyPoint to see if they could assist us. SupplyPoint conducted a survey working with our internal team. We discovered we also needed the ability to issue items based on weight, which would require a scale. SupplyPoint was able to address that issue as well. SupplyPoint allowed us to track our inventory down to the item level, which addressed our extensive glove matrix by tracking size, specific application and supervisor-controlled protection items. SupplyPoint recommended one of their drawer-based solutions along with two of their horizontal carousel based RotoPoint units.
Results & Return on Investment
Management of critical consumables and PPE were key benefits from labor, production and inventory control standpoints. The system SupplyPoint delivered will allow us to expand as our future needs require.
Yearly savings on gloves provided £140K in annual savings, and consumable item savings was £79K. The ROI
based on yearly savings was 3.5 months.