Lack of planning and tracking of inventory, poor communications among company divisions, and underutilized or non-existent technology are among the core elements holding back manufacturers, educational and medical institutions, life sciences companies, food processors, automotive makers and facility maintenance companies, according to a recent survey by Storeroom Solutions Inc.
The extensive survey was conducted over nine months with input from diverse industries and personnel in companies ranging in size from less than 100 employees to more than 1,000.
More than half of those surveyed indicated the state of their maintenance, repair and operations (MRO)/indirect materials storeroom frequently causes reliability issues or downtime at their plants. The survey also found that little to no communication exists between the storeroom, purchasing and the rest of the company. In addition, most companies surveyed don't have the visibility across the supply chain to see how their inventory is moving.
"In the U.S. alone, more than $500 billion annually is spent on MRO spare parts and services," said Michael Weinberg, vice president of sales and marketing for Storeroom Solutions. "A tremendous amount of time and resources are consumed managing that spending in order to maintain production reliability and maintenance effectiveness. This survey confirmed much of what we already knew about how companies are managing MRO and exposed some new trends as well."
For more information or to view the complete survey, visit www.storeroomsolutions.com.