Case Study: The Maintenance Stores Dilemma

A Case Study of Vortex, a Maintenance Stores Operation

Gwynne Richards

• Publisher: Kogan Page
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9780749475123
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Operations
• Index: Business

The Maintenance Stores Dilemma explores warehouse operations at Vortex, a manufacturer of hi-tech drilling equipment running out of storage space for its maintenance stores operation. Aimed at students on warehouse management courses, it looks at issues such as increasing requirements for new equipment, shortage of space and the resulting delays to services to clients. It assesses solutions such as proper warehouse planning and the redesign of space in order to improve logistics performance.The author presents a wide variety of problems and the suggested solutions. The Maintenance Stores Dilemma helps readers put together a sustainable and flexible warehouse operations plan. Gwynne Richards illustrates problems that can arise when managing a warehouse, based on his own experiences of working with a number of clients over the years. Register for a Kogan Page account at check-out to access and download your PDF after purchasing. You'll also have an opportunity to sign up when receiving your purchase confirmation email.

CASE STUDY

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

The maintenance stores dilemma

A case study of Vortex, a maintenance stores operation

Gwynne Richards

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AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

gwynne richards is the Director of Apprise Consulting Ltd.

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You are a logistics and warehousing consultant. You have just come out of a three-hour meeting with members of the management team of a maintenance stores operation in the UK. You also took a tour of the stores.

This is what the general manager told you as you were being shown around.

Introduction

Vortex, a manufacturer of hi-tech drilling equipment, has grown significantly over the past few years and it is now running out of storage space for its maintenance stores operation. The number of parts required to service and repair the company’s equipment has increased substantially as new equipment and clients have been introduced and therefore space is at a premium.

This is borne out by the amount of floor space taken up by the storage of items ranging from large engines and drill bits, including metal suitcases containing repair equipment.

The engines and drill bits are banded onto pallets and are not stackable.

Returned equipment from various sites across the world are also stored on the floor close to the inbound area.

A second warehouse (Unit B), across the road from the main facility, also contains refurbished items whilst a third warehouse (Unit C), approximately 800 metres away, stores items that are yet to be refurbished together with items that, although deemed obsolete, have yet to be written off and removed. Some of these items are being cannibalized by the engineers on a regular basis.

The business philosophy ...

Table of contents

• The maintenance stores dilemma