Soft landing for grab stock

Foam producer Sekisui Alveo has a large factory in Roermond. To support production and maintenance, warehouses and distribution points with thousands of different items are scattered across the various halls. Think spare parts, personal protection equipment and consumables. The company cooperates intensively with itsme for management, such as recently with the step-by-step introduction of vendor managed inventory (VMI) for the grab stock of mechanical items.

Sekisui Alveo, part of Japan's Sekisui Chemical, specialises in the development, production and sale of high-quality polyolefin foam. The company is European market leader in foam applications, from shock absorption in shoes, packaging and artificial turf pitches to sealing and insulation in construction and interior trim in cars. The Roermond plant employs more than 400 people.

VMI and SPS

For 15 years, itsme in Roermond has been providing vendor managed inventory (VMI) with a 2BIN system for electrical components. In 2023, the supplier won a tender for VMI of the mechanical components. This made it Sekisui Alveo's partner of choice for a comprehensive package, including electrical components, mechanical items, chemical products, personal protective equipment and even office supplies. ‘We chose itsme because of their complete offer,’ confirms Gisèle Heltzel, who worked as a buyer at Sekisui Alveo until 1 January. ‘Added to that was the service they offer, the value they add to their products and the help they offer in making our procurement process even more efficient. That collaboration, that's what we were looking for. One point of contact for the entire warehouse, which is nice anyway. Otherwise you have separate parties for the different product groups, each with their own working methods and ways of dealing with it.’ Itsme's openness and transparency in the tender phase were also appreciated, says Djoeke van den Hoven, consultant Connected Business at itsme. 
 

‘We chose itsme because of their complete offer’ 

Electrotechnical and mechanical items are supplied through the VMI. For tools, personal protective equipment and general consumables, itsme provides so-called small part stores (SPS). These are machines where employees can take out the desired items themselves. Itsme manages both the VMI and the SPS by replenishing the stock on time. For the VMI, this happens weekly and in the start-up phase of the new mechanical VMI, it was even twice a week. An employee from itsme visits all VMI locations in the production halls to scan the bins and take in new stock. Van den Hoven: ‘A day in advance, we deliver everything to one location at Sekisui Alveo, after which our employee distributes it to the different halls. I think that goes well.’ 

Evaluate and optimise

Heltzel also sees that things are going well. ‘With weekly restocking, itsme is on top of things. They also keep certain items in stock for us in-house.’ These are not just specials, explains Maurice Pieters, account manager at itsme. ‘There are also items for which we have minimum and maximum stock levels at Sekisui Alveo, but which we have to order ourselves in larger bulk quantities. Earlier, we would then sometimes have too large numbers in the bin with them; that was not the intention. So we now supply the quantities they need and keep the rest in stock ourselves.’

The VMI for mechanical components was fully set up in the production halls last year, reports Pieters. ‘We are talking about seven halls and each hall has an average of five or six VMI cabinets for the different product categories. That was the first priority so that we could then focus on the VMI for the central warehouse of technical services. With that, we were at 60% by the end of last year.’  
 

‘Is there another option with better quality, price or delivery time?’ 

Heltzel is satisfied with the cooperation. ‘Now that everything is set up for the VMI and the SPS, things are running well. In the beginning, it was a challenge to transfer all materials to the new systems and put stickers on all bins in the right place for scanning. Refilling did not always go well here and there, but that is part of the transition phase. Now that the cabinets are pretty much set up, it runs pretty smoothly and we no longer have complaints about late deliveries.’ It starts with a starting point for the quantities of materials that need to be there, Van den Hoven explains. ‘You sometimes have to adjust that to achieve a better result. We will now evaluate the turnover rates quarterly: what is lying around, what has been taken away and what, if anything, has been reordered? We can then also recommend adding items that are regularly ordered separately by Sekisui Alveo.’ Heltzel: ‘We are still working on the technical department at the moment, but once it is also fully set up there, we will look at how to optimise it further. Together we will then look at whether a particular item is the best available. Is there another option with better quality or at a better price or a better delivery time?’ 

Speeddates

Further automation of the ordering processes, alongside the VMI and SPS, in collaboration with itsme, that is now Heltzel's big wish. ‘For that too, we want to start doing material resource planning with an MRP system, with min-max stock levels and automatic purchase orders to itsme. We are not ready for that now, but once we have such a system, it will be ideal.’

For further process improvement, itsme is also coming up with initiatives, Heltzel says in conclusion. ‘For example, a booster day will be organised in 2025 to support our people in the technical service warehouse. Speed dates between our people and their experts are also planned for this year. I think nice ideas can come out of that.’ 

Check out our other success stories:

Stay up to date with the latest news:

Why not take a look at these trainings we offer: