Managed stores that stopped the daily consumable hunt

The site ran around the clock across high care and ambient lines, but its engineering stores had grown without a system. Fasteners, seals, food grade lubricants and gloves sat in unlabelled bins, in toolboxes and in personal drawers. Engineers were leaving the floor to hunt for a part, then raising an urgent order for something the site already held. Stock had not been counted properly in years, obsolete items filled the shelves, and nobody could say with confidence what was on hand. Stoppages that should have lasted minutes were running into hours.

Rowlec started with a full inventory audit and stock rationalisation, stripping out obsolete lines and consolidating duplicate parts down to a single standardised range. The stores was rebuilt with bespoke racking, barcode labelling and clear min and max levels set against real usage rather than habit. Engineering consumable stations were placed at the point of use on the packing hall and the wet side, so gloves, cable ties and cleaning chemicals no longer needed a walk to the stores. A Rowlec account manager now visits on a fixed schedule to scan, replenish and review.