Stock replenishment and inventory control are vital concerns in an industrial setting. Time taken to search for items, confusion in the reordering process, and efficiency lost in waiting for replenishment all affect an organization's productivity and bottom line.

The Indicator® Bin, part of Akro-Mils' BinTelligence® Series, allows end users to stock, pick, flip, and replenish: users stock the bin using the divider to designate volume for the inventory reserve; pick from the blue side of the bin until reaching the divider; flip the bin to the orange reserve to show inventory levels are low; replenish the bin and repeat.

Working Toward Solutions

Prior to the Indicator Bin's launch, representatives from Grainger and Akro-Mils worked with a Cleveland-area medical products manufacturer to determine if the new two-toned inventory control bins could assist the company in solving its stock and inventory concerns.

The manufacturer needed to address several major issues in its stocking operations:

Workers used many different methods to notify supervisors about stock outages — including leaving shelf bins on supervisors' desks when empty; The bin dividers would separate, and different stock items would be intermingled; Heavier items sometimes twisted the bins.

As the new Indicator Bin was being launched, company officials had already integrated the bins into their MRO process. After Grainger and Akro-Mils assisted the company in setting up the new system, group leaders sent an e-mail to craftspeople explaining the Indicator Bin's features and benefits, and the process for using its unique features in the group's operations.

With the new bins in place, the company conducted a 6-week analysis of the revised process.

Seeing the Benefits

According to a company representative, benefits of using the Indicator Bins — including improved stock and inventory control, and ease of use — were immediate and obvious:

Workers now can let supervisors know that supplies are low without stopping their work; Items no longer get mixed in the same bins, easing the craftspeople's frustrations; MRO inventory personnel no longer spend time repairing or replacing bins that have twisted so badly that the dividers don't work; MRO inventory personnel no longer need to decipher notes left by different workers about low stock parts; Managers quickly learned what reorder points needed to be raised to ensure that parts are on the shelf until a new order is received and stocked; Supervisors can quickly control stocks based on normal operating needs, or to ensure stock is available for seasonal or special projects — just by turning the bins around; Craftspeople having the parts they need at all times has improved morale in the shop; and Customers and visitors have given a "thumbs-up" to the look and usefulness of the Indicator Bin system.

And most important, company representatives said the improvements in the process have been dramatic in a very short time — stock on-hand percentages went to 99.9%.