manufacturing

procurement
 Features

Premium procurement strategies for OEMs in Western Australia

CBC heavy industry and mobile equipment expert, Sheree Munnik advises her OEM contracts that when it comes to procuring the right supplies at the right time, “Fail to plan, and you plan to fail.”  Her vested knowledge in the procurement side of the business has been amplified in recent years by her extensive involvement in the contract sales side of CBC’s Western Australian business arm, which frequently caters to the OEMs involved in the production of equipment for heavy industrial plants, ore mining, refineries, and quarrying processes.  “A fair few of my clients manufacture heavy mobile equipment like dump trucks, diggers and excavators that dominate the heavy industrial equipment market here in Perth,’ says Sheree.  Not surprisingly, many of Sheree’s clients are looking to invest in premium level products for their manufacturing processes — and that’s exactly where CBC comes in.  According to Sheree, with some of the more recent challenges procurement managers have been facing, this has created a kind of convergence of opportunity to showcase the different capabilities that Motion Australia’s business possesses in terms of inventory, supply and distribution.  ‘I recently had the procurement manager from a reputable OEM reach out to me,” says Sheree. “He wanted to discuss accessing hydraulic and gear oils for their batches of massive heavy earth moving loading trucks. Essentially, his hands were tied in terms of accessing supply due to difficulties with long lead times sourcing offshore products and he was looking for a premium quality onshore alternative that would be more readily available.” Sheree deferred to her multi-branded solutions basket of contacts to source lubricants from their range of available premium oils. She also suggested the OEM manager enter into a procurement contract with CBC to benefit from their massive network of stock facilities and distribution channels.  The client ended up ordering a range of Shell products from our supplier Viva Energy Australia, including items from the Tellus T2 hydraulic oils and the Omala industrial gear oil ranges. Since then, it has been full steam ahead with continuous ordering and supply.  “The client quickly made us their preferred onshore supplier,” says Sheree. “And the relationship has been ongoing for about a year now. We monitor it quarterly and regularly check in on the client’s needs to make assessments and offer oil samples for their team to trial.” 
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taking stock
 Features

Taking stock: Motion Australia’s best methods for planning ahead

The Australian manufacturing industry is looking ahead to restock for a new year, and part of this process is considering current and future challenges of warehousing and distribution, particularly when sourcing offshore product.  Mark Watson, group forecasting and planning manager for Motion Australia, weighs in on how to approach planning stock when the only thing certain is that nothing is for certain. He likens the forecasting and planning process to a Mike Tyson quote: “Everyone has a plan until they get smacked in the face.”  Watson furthers that forecasting and planning for procurement is more than managing demand and supply, more importantly, it is working with the variability of both.  “As many of our customers are small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs), who are unlikely to be looking many months ahead for their requirements, the Motion planning group takes on that responsibility to create sourcing plans that often result in POs being placed more than 1yr in advance of when we think it will be selling.”  “We don’t expect our customers to approach us with a concrete plan in place, but any guidance from them is welcome as that helps us protect their own operations,” he continued. “When I am assisting customers that operate day-to-day without a formal logistics plan or a broader awareness of what their maintenance cycles look like, first and foremost it helps to approach things as though we have a common supply chain, and we are working together to create the best solution.”   Watson reiterates that he is always happy to work with suppliers and SMEs on developing procurement plans that suit their business needs and considers their assets.  “Managing uncertainty means constant firefighting to aim for perfect stock availability,” he said. “Which means developing very close relationships with our key premium suppliers to put ourselves in a good position for supporting our customers future needs.” “As far as stock planning is concerned, our team at Motion Australia has quite a sophisticated method and system that works specifically on trying to manage the uncertainty of supply and demand,” he explained. “Our capabilities have been especially valuable in the last, say 10-12 months, where lead times and logistics have been incredibly variable.”  “In fact, some of our key suppliers now use the forecast and the flow that we provided them to try to get a better product allocation from their overseas plants,” he continued. “And that really demonstrates the credibility we have in the planning space.”  From a distribution perspective, Motion Australia has four major distribution centres across four states — Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia – with over 100 branches across the country.  The benefit of this to customers is that they always have access to stock from those centres due to the continuous flow of stock that moves through the distribution centres to continuously replenish the branch locations.  Mark Dixon, executive general manager for supply chain and logistics at Motion Australia has spent the last 25 years working in various roles across the supply chain, manufacturing, and business improvement.  Currently, Dixon heads up Motion Australia’s distribution channels, ensuring products are in the right place at the right time —preferably a customer’s doorstep.  He notes the importance of optimising distribution networks, framed by the challenges of being an industrial solutions provider.  Read More
outback
 Features

Serving the South Australian outback

The heavy industrial landscape of underground mines and processing plants peppered across the outback can conjure up images that resemble something out of a Mad Max film. But the team at CBC Regency Park is used to contending with the common challenges faced across industries such as oil, gas, mining, and quarrying.  Conveniently located in the urban centre of Adelaide, CBC Regency Park is the largest branch in the state, and a key supplier to the surrounding industrial regions and townships.  Peter Dixon, Internal Sales, has a deep understanding of the needs and requirements of his customer base, having served at CBC Regency Park for more than 14 years. Parlaying with customers who are on remote sites and liaising with suppliers to find solutions is all in a day’s work for the team at Regency Park. “Quite a few of our customers are mining contractors who either ring us up or actually drive down from the desert-hot outback towns, about 560km North-West of Adelaide,” says Peter.  “Mining contractors often look to us as the premium supplier for their respective operations,” explains Peter. “They are seeking out products that can withstand the high-heat, dry, dusty conditions of the industrial landscape in the outback, which can be particularly gruelling on heavy machinery and equipment in processing plants.”   “When it comes to assisting these types of customers, we rely on our premium partnerships with suppliers like LOCTITE®, who provide us with an extensive range of product, as well as access to training programs and knowledge bases,” adds Peter. “We are a solutions-based organisation and that ensures a synergistic relationship with solutions-based suppliers like LOCTITE.”  Peter was approached by a mining contractor last month that required large quantities of adhesive sealant that could be used on high-heat applications on site. In collaboration with his account and area managers, the solution Peter arrived at was the LOCTITE SI 596; a silicone paste sealant that forms a moisture-proof rubber bond; ideal for operating under high-heat conditions, up to 250 degrees Celsius.  The customer agreed and ordered a high volume of SI 596 to be shipped out to their receiving location near major mining destinations in South Australia. Peter speaks to why this product was the right solution for high-heat conditions.  Read More