Solutions
Anyone can supply the part. We run the stores.
Inventory and stores management is what separates Rowlec from an ordinary distributor. Everything else we do exists to support it.
Most suppliers stop at the delivery note. We start there. Rowlec puts structure behind your stores, owns the replenishment of the lines your site gets through every day, and holds the critical spares that would otherwise leave a line waiting weeks for a part.
The effect is simple. Your engineers stop hunting for parts and raising urgent orders, and get back to maintaining plant. Think of us as an extension of your maintenance department rather than another name on the approved supplier list.
Your stores
Surveyed, rationalised and run to an agreed model
Your spares
Critical items held on your behalf, ready to call off
Your team
Freed from chasing parts and processing low value orders
Where it all starts
Take control of your stores.
We put structure behind your stores so the right part is there in the right quantity, without tying up cash.
Most stores grow by accident. Parts get bought twice, obsolete lines sit on the shelf for years, and the one item a fitter needs at two in the morning is the one that ran out last week. Rowlec brings structure to that: we survey what you hold, agree what you actually need, and put a replenishment model behind it. The result is less cash on the shelf and fewer jobs waiting on parts.
What changes on the floor
Stock that matches demand
Min and max levels set against real usage, so fast movers stay available and slow movers stop absorbing cash.
Less time spent looking
Labelled locations and a logical layout mean maintenance teams find the part in seconds rather than searching three different cupboards.
Fewer duplicate lines
Rationalising overlapping part numbers cuts the number of items you carry and the admin that comes with each one.
Numbers you can trust
Regular counts and audits keep the system honest, so purchasing decisions are made on real figures instead of guesswork.
Built around it
The services that
make it work.
Each of these stands on its own, and most customers start with one. They are designed to work together, so the stores model you agree on day one keeps improving as we learn how your plant actually consumes parts.
On-site and off-site stores
Managed Stores
We take the day to day running of your stores off your engineering team and hand it to people who do it for a living.
- On-site stores staffing
- Off-site stores held at Blackburn
- Stores layout and racking design
Replenishment we own
Vendor Managed Inventory
You stop raising orders for consumables. We scan, replenish and invoice, so the bin is full when your fitters reach for it.
- Barcode scanning and stock checks
- Min and max level management
- Two-bin and Kanban systems
Risk and resilience
Critical Spare Management
We work out which parts would stop your line, then hold them on your behalf so a long lead time never becomes lost production.
- Critical asset and spares review
- Criticality scoring with your engineers
- Stock held on your behalf
Hard-to-find parts
Worldwide Sourcing
When a part is discontinued, unbranded or simply not held in the UK, we go and find it or find what replaces it.
- Obsolete and discontinued part sourcing
- Part identification from photographs or plates
- Global supplier and stockist network
Response and delivery
Service Level Agreements
A written agreement covering response times, deliveries and out of hours support, so you know what happens when a line stops.
- Agreed response times
- Around-the-clock cover for SLA customers
- Emergency and breakdown despatch
Technical partnership
Engineering Support
Technical help with specifying, standardising and sourcing, from people who have spent their careers around plant.
- On-site technical support
- Product standardisation programmes
- Cost saving identification and reporting
Capabilities
What we actually
take on.
A stores engagement is built from these parts. We use as many or as few as your operation needs, and we are equally happy running the whole thing or supporting the stores your own team keeps hold of.
Managed stores
Vendor managed inventory
Min/max stock management
Kanban systems
Engineering consumable stations
Critical spare management
Product labelling
Inventory audits
Stock rationalisation
Bespoke customer storage solutions
Not sure which of these your site needs? Nor were most of our customers before we walked the stores with them. That first survey costs you nothing but an hour.
Proof
Where this has
already worked.
Food Manufacturing
Managed stores that stopped the daily consumable hunt
A Lancashire food manufacturer was losing engineering hours to missing consumables and duplicated stock. A managed stores, run and replenished by Rowlec, gave the team one reliable point of supply.
Zero
Line stoppages caused by missing consumables since go live
Automotive
Critical spares on the shelf before they fail
A tier one automotive supplier could not risk a press line waiting months for a long-lead-time drive. Rowlec now holds the critical spares, called off against an agreed stock profile.
Same day
Replacement press feed drive on site, against a lead time in months
Tell us how your stores run today
We will walk it with your team and tell you honestly whether we can improve on it. No obligation either way.
Arrange a site visitRapid. Reliable. Responsive.
Emergency deliveries and around-the-clock support for our SLA customers.
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