Benefits of automating service parts inventory management

Brother Industries is a multinational manufacturer of print and imaging equipment, machine tools and industrial and home sewing machines, and has an injection moulding manufacturing facility in Wrexham, North Wales.

Due to the long lifecycle of industrial equipment – oftentimes more than 20 years – and the variations in downtime severity, manufacturers need to ensure service parts are available when and where they are most needed to ensure product uptime.

Recognising that industrial machinery is critical, as any downtime could halt production lines, Brother made the decision to automate its service parts inventory management. The goal was to avoid excess and obsolete inventory, move towards eliminating manual processes, and improve the overall service experience for customers.

Prior to embracing automation, it was reportedly a time-consuming, manual process for Brother to forecast and plan service parts inventory for its products. In addition to eliminating these cumbersome processes, Brother also aims to improve visibility into excess and obsolete service parts inventory via advanced analytics.

Brother will initially roll out its service parts inventory management system – supplied by Syncron – among its Machinery Business Division in Japan and China, with the expectation of implementing in additional regions, and in other business units in the near future.

Read More into the Benefits of Digital Transformation in Manufacturing here.