Leading Global Enterprise Data Storage Provider

Background Customer was facing several critical supply chain challenges for casters used on data storage racks:

• Extended Lead Time: Current suppliers struggled to maintain production lead times to meet on-going customer demand requirements
• Multiple caster SKUs were being used on various rack types
• Customer has stringent internal testing requirements that are above current industry standards
• Customer has various load capacity and load height requirements along with a mounting configuration that is non-standard

Objectives

• Reduce Lead Times: Minimize the time between placing an order and receiving components.
• Efficient SKU Management: Identify any of the existing caster SKU’s that could be used across the customer’s product lines.
• Maintain Quality: Ensure compliance with testing requirements without compromising on product quality.

Solution Colson Group engaged with customer engineering teams to review, analyze, and design casters to meet the customer’s criteria and objectives.

• Modified existing standard caster offering to reduce production lead times, meet customer testing requirements, load capacity, height constraints and mounting configuration
• Identified one caster SKU that could be paired with other caster SKU’s used across the customers product line, resulting in reductions of both the number of SKU’s and inventory requirements

Results

• Lead Time Reduction: By modifying existing products with minimal tooling changes rather than a completely new design will allow for lead time reduction of up to 20%
• SKU Efficiency: Rationalizing SKUs will lead to a 25% reduction in inventory needs
• Quality Assurance: Casters passed all of the customer internal testing requirements, Colson Group on-going QC processes put in place to maintain quality standards.

Colson Group was able to engage and work with the customer to identify, evaluate, and design a solution that met or exceeded customer requirements.