Just-in-Time to Take Millions out of Inventory

When a Major Medical Equipment Manufacturer needed a reliable partner to support their KANBAN supply chain effort, RESCO was the choice.

In a bid to free up millions of dollars tied up in its inventory, a major medical technology company implemented a KANBAN just-in-time inventory system. But for the system to be a success, this medical equipment manufacturer needed dependable suppliers that would ensure the component parts and sub-assemblies that had been kept in inventory would arrive on the assembly line just when needed. For a supplier to meet this challenge, they have to have the systems in place to accurately control product quality and delivery and the financial strength to shoulder a significant inventory burden.

RESCO was one of a handful of suppliers able to meet this challenge.  Specifically, we had to devise a system where we would receive orders each Wednesday for delivery to our customer’s production facility within one week. Late delivery was not an option and, since the product was to bypass our customer’s incoming inspection, world class quality was essential.

Though we needed to change our system to accommodate the customer’s original KANBAN concepts, RESCO’s experience in supply chain management made it possible to customize our process to meet the customer’s needs. Among the challenges to overcome is to convert component supplier lead times of up to 16 weeks into RESCO manufactured sub-assemblies with a lead-time to our customer of no more than five business days.

The result is that our customer’s KANBAN initiative has become a success in part because RESCO effectively manages and delivers over 100 items included in the program. In the process, RESCO has become an integral part of this medical equipment manufacturer’s supply chain.