MRO suppliers help uncover hidden factory
By Susan Avery -- Purchasing, 3/1/2007 2:00:00 AM
The purchasing operation at Owens Corning in Toledo, Ohio, got its arms around the MRO buy in 1996 and, since then, it's been a process of continuous improvement, says Gene Zychowicz, global MRO sourcing leader.
"We get great ideas from our MRO suppliers every day that help us find the hidden factory," he says. MRO suppliers help free up capacity through some of their troubleshooting methods and ideas for use of substitute or alternative products.
Recently, purchasing involved safety suppliers in an initiative that required some very specific hazardous energy analysis based on tasks employees perform, and documentation. The initiative consisted of physical lock-out and isolation of energy sources to prevent humans from coming in contact with hazardous energy. Not only did the suppliers provide product, they also did some consulting with safety experts on their staffs.
"We expect them to be on the first string at our plant helping us through the implementation of programs like this," says Zychowicz. Other suppliers help with some low-cost country sourcing and inventory management.
The purchasing operation manages a core group of about two dozen MRO suppliers, with whom the company has national contracts. Each member of the purchasing team supports one of the businesses, manages contracts and is responsible for process excellence and continuous improvement initiatives.
Purchasing measures supplier performance based on percentage of savings against sales and, more important, productivity improvements. Distributors monitor their own progress which they communicate back to Owens Corning. "If they help us find that better mouse trap or help de-bottleneck a production system—that can be more valuable to us than a lower cost mouse trap," says Zychowicz.
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