Page 20 - Industrial Technology EXTRA 28th September 2020

COMPONENT SUPPY...

Vendor managed inventory for

manufacturing excellence

Brian Vince, group auality manager at TFC, outlines how inventory quality
can be assured by vendor managed inventory (VMI) suppliers

recent Deloitte report suggests that Quality assurance ensures essential controls are
automotive manufacturers spend on understood and in place, and goods can be verified
average over £70,000 per site every year before the items are received. This vital review of
Ato comply with quality management the requirements at the beginning of the supply
system requirements. While this is worth spending chain reduces the chance of future problems
to avoid the myriad of visible and hidden costs of emerging, saving the manufacturer’s time and
poor-quality manufacturing, it doesn’t all have to be money.
an in-house burden. Delegating quality measures In VMI systems, clients entrust all inventory
across the supply chain can add value while management to one supplier, leading to a closer
streamlining processes. Within aerospace, oil and business relationship as well as making it easier to
gas, automotive and medical industries, where understand customer needs and react quickly to any
rigorous quality is vital for safety-critical and demands when they arrive. Transparency is
compliance reasons, this can result in significant essential and serves as a tool to reduce unnecessary
savings as well as confidence that products are fit checks, entrusting risk management to those
for purpose and available when required. directly responsible for the design of components
Split between two processes, quality and processes.
management includes the two main areas of quality While trust enables a reduction in unnecessary
assurance and quality control. Quality assurance checks and costs, achieving it requires substantial
focusses on proactively preventing the introduction knowledge of the manufacturing market. VMI
of defects, such as monitoring and optimising providers already have established relationships
processes, whereas quality control is a method of with trustworthy and approved supply chains. They
checking that products meet the agreed standards may also perform many of the necessary quality
or specifications. Both are central to ensuring checks in house, so it is worth establishing the
quality end products. capabilities of your provider and understanding its
commitment to quality before investing in a VMI
Quality assurance system. For example, do they meet the quality
As the first line of defence for manufacturers, quality conditions of ISO9001, and, for aerospace AS
assurance proactively sets up processes and 9100:2016/9120:2016 standards? Can they
procedures which cover all product requirements. provide correct certification, verify all critical areas

September 2020 • INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY EXTRA • p20