Case Study: Value-Added Solutions Help Customer Meet Big Production Goal

It wasn't just Swagelok products and services, but also how smoothly we could deliver them

Big orders can be a mixed blessing. Back in 2009, Imtech Analyser Systems won a contract to design, engineer and build of 18 analyzer houses with 250 sampling systems for the oil and gas industry. The catch?

They had to complete the job in just 12 months.

"This meant finding new ways of reducing production time, lowering procurement and logistics costs and optimizing efficiency in our assembly line," says Johan La Grand, senior buyer at Imtech in Goes, The Netherlands.

In other words, it was all about supply chain management: getting the right products to the right place at the right time and at the right price.

Fortunately, Swagelok has been supplying fluid systems components to Imtech for more than 25 years.

"Together, Johan and I went to great lengths to determine where to optimize efficiency in the supply chain and specify the right product solution,” says Stanley Azijnman, account manager for Swagelok Nederland.

Combo pack

The result was a combination of Swagelok fluid system components, pre-assembled assembly solutions, kitting and 24/7 access to Swagelok products with vendor-managed inventory. Swagelok proposed a custom-designed kit for each sampling system, delivered on demand. Each kit consisted of ball valves, change-over manifold regulators, hoses, pre-assembled stream selector valves, tube fittings, pre-assembled pressure regulators, automated valve assemblies, manifolds, custom made products, and more.

“Swagelok’s kitting service gave us everything we needed for the sampling systems, right when we needed it,” says La Grand. “We didn’t have to buy stock in bulk, our installers didn’t have to compile their own individual inventories and the pre-packaged kits were delivered to the door, on time. It was the ideal solution.”

It took a little more time to order the parts this way, but saved much more time on the production end. With a just-in-time delivery schedule, installers could get right to work without waiting around for equipment to arrive or wasting valuable time collecting components from stock.

Keeping watch

Swagelok also delivered savings by managing Imtech's inventory. Normally, it would take a couple of days and extra paperwork to contact vendors and have new orders delivered. That could be a bottleneck in the middle of a production run.

But Swagelok's VMI supply cabinet is controlled electronically by an interactive computer display and monitored remotely. Imtech's engineers use a personal security card to activate the system, choose the products they need for their project, and then the cabinet unlocks the appropriate drawer for the engineer. As soon as a part is removed from the cabinet, an e-mail is sent to Swagelok so that the part can be added to the next order. Product tracking is never a problem.

To make sure Imtech understood the efficiencies it had gained, Swagelok Nederland concluded the project with a Value Impact Partnership Report. This report puts the savings into numbers, showing exactly how Swagelok helped Imtech Analyser Systems achieve its goal.

For the complete Analyser Systems story and access to other case studies click here. To learn how you can tap into the same level of supply chain expertise, and assembly services, book a quick phone consultation with one of our design and assembly experts.

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