Advancements in Arms Manufacturing: A Case Study on Process Optimization and Cost Reduction

This 100-year+ company is a leader in introducing important design breakthroughs to the firearm industry. Many product features pioneered by them are now the standards by which all modern firearms are judged. Their design and innovative edge pump shotguns are the only shotguns purchased by the United States government that meet or exceed Mil-S-3443 specifications.

To learn more about MSC’s BNA, our unbiased process, and data assessment of your indirect supply chain, designed to identify customized solutions to empower performance, generate savings and maximize profit potential, call us at 800.645.7270.

POOR SUPPLIER SERVICE AND SUPPORT, LACK OF TRANSPARENT DATA, INTERNAL RESOURCES MANAGE INVENTORY, EXCESSIVE FREIGHT COSTS

Conducted an extensive operational site assessment through MSC’s Business Needs Analysis (BNA) to identify opportunities to achieve this customer’s goals for improvement in supplier partnership, inventory management, relieve internal resource pressure, and optimize application and procurement processes.

Goals included:

• Establish a higher level of supplier service and support

• Relieve internal resource pressures from inventory management

• Reduce costs of plant-to-plant inventory freight

• Improve application processes

• Standardize product data and visibility

MSC DELIVERED A SET OF CUSTOMIZED SOLUTIONS

• Dedicated MSC in-plant associate

• ControlPoint® Vending and VMI

• Application Optimization (Ap Op™)

• Product standardization

REDUCED FREIGHT COSTS AND INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY

• 15% internal freight savings with direct ship to plants

• 15% in overall cost reductions

• $250K of productivity savings with process automation

Established a cadence of quarterly Customer Improvement Reviews (CIR) at which MSC and the customer collectively review a “scorecard” to evaluate progress on identified goals and identify additional opportunities to remove company employees from inventory management process. Bring MSC’s metalworking team in to conduct additional Ap Op™ to advance process optimization. Bring in supplier partner programs.