Warehouse and Inventory Management Optimisation
Project: To assure complete accuracy of the inventory data within the CMMS
Client: Oil and Gas exploration and production company
Asset: Onshore and Offshore Storage Warehouse Facilities
Project Objective: To plan and manage the execution of site shutdowns
Location: North America
Project Duration: 2 years
Why we were contracted
Our team members were tasked with:
- Verifying equipment existence and cleansing the inventory data in the clients CMMS (SAP)
- Enriching existing inventory data to assure all critical information was available for effective part ordering and management
- Updating the system with materials that were in the warehouse but not documented in the CMMS
- Designing and implementing a new process for maintaining master data excellence to avoid future issues
The client challenges
ABL was tasked with delivering solutions designed to address the challenges listed below:
- Overstocking of items caused by data duplications
- Excessive warehouse and procurement costs
- No means of tracking or identifying the correct locations of materials
- Inaccurate inventory list
- Missing data points, meaning it was difficult to interpret whether the equipment that was being searched for was correct
- Items expiring before use
- Wasted money expediting orders of items that were believed to be in stock
- Wasted valuable engineering time searching for items due to a lack of accurate data
- Lack of management of change, meaning the master data was extremely outdated
- No foresight on what materials were required for maintenance
How we helped
Ahead of the implementation of improvements, ABL completed an initial warehouse and inventory audit to determine the causes of the issues they were facing and developed improvement plans designed to unlock the biggest return on investment for the client.
After this, ABL:
- Completed a full warehouse walk down to verify and collect data on the materials in stock in the onshore and offshore warehouse facilities, where we…
- Updated the inventory data in SAP
- Identified materials that were unsuitable for use and removed from SAP
- Unlocked functionality to set min/max levels
- Mastered the material numbers to mitigate duplication
- Designed a management of change process for updating materials data and sustaining master data excellence
- Provided training and coaching to the warehouse, procurement, engineering, maintenance, and operations teams who interact with the materials data and will be directly impacted by the change and requirements going forward
- Provided advice and guidance for selection of an optimised warehouse management team
Ahead of the implementation of improvements, ABL completed an initial warehouse and inventory audit to determine the causes of the issues they were facing and developed improvement plans designed to unlock the biggest return on investment for the client.
Project benefits
An accurate and enriched inventory database
Through the updating of the inventory data in SAP, we assured the system reflected the reality of the contents within the physical warehouses, including locations, quantities, and item specifications
Minimised downtime
Having an accurate inventory database provides the means to avoid delays in planned and corrective maintenance to reduce outage time and possible plant downtime
Ensured stock was fit for purpose
Through cleansing of items that required disposal to assure the warehouse contained only items that were fit for use
Boosted productivity
By having access to accurate and reliable inventory data, the workforce was able to avoid wasting valuable time searching for the right parts and optimise their planning and scheduling of maintenance
Optimised stock holding
Through clarity on inventory quantities and the ability to set and adjust min/max stock levels when materials were purchased or used, to avoid over or understocking of critical, long lead and high consumption items
Reduce costs
Accurate data will reduce the likelihood of having pay inflated expedited fees for manufacturers and vendors to accelerate orders associated with last minute requests for materials
Sustained master data excellence
Developed a tried and tested process for management of change and implemented this across the organisation through ongoing engagement, workshops, and training
Enhanced competency and capability
Through the implementation of a best-in-class process and the deployment of a newly formed warehouse management team to sustain the work completed by ABL, post project delivery
How we helped