The goal of the Quick Ship 2.0 Program is to have select LCC pumps ready for shipment within two weeks and have spare parts ready for shipment within one week. The program was initiated to address a gap in the KSB GIW, Inc. portfolio for the North American sand and gravel industry and get customers pumps and parts in a timely manner.
Planning and Analysis
Before the launch of the program, there were three-to-four-month lead-times, and it was understood that customers can't wait that long. The GIW sales and product management teams got together and organized a set of 32 key pumps, along with 318 complimentary components. These individual components can build up to 105 unique pump configurations.
The supply chain team then started testing the quick ship concept and invested approximately $2.3 million USD in inventory. There were initial growing pains, but with the cooperation of its supplier base and internal production teams GIW was able to ramp up supply. It was also understood that with a greater number of installed pumps, that demand would increase for spares. So, an additional $0.5 million in spare parts was added to inventory.
Continuous Improvement
Through these efforts GIW has been able to quote, confirm customer orders, and ship pumps within two weeks with 80% accuracy. The supply chain team is on a continuous improvement journey to identify the root causes of issues causing delay for the remaining 20% and implement corrective actions to increase performance to 85%, 90%, and beyond.