HOME > Success Stories > Consumer Products Industry
WESCO delivers for the Consumer Products Industry
Training
Opportunity: Personnel from a tire manufacturing plant in Kansas needed training on fuses and gear boxes.
WESCO Solution: A WESCO Account Representative arranged for a free, onsite fuse class presented by fuse manufacturer Bussman — a $2,250 value. In addition, he arranged four free, onsite training sessions for 70 mechanics to learn how to mount and repair gear boxes — a $17,500 value. Both of these training opportunities are expected to yield additional savings for the customer in improved productivity and efficiency due to better trained employees.
Result: $19,750 in Free Training!
Procurement
Opportunity: A tire manufacturing plant in Tennessee wanted to reduce its costs for electrical materials.
WESCO Solution: WESCO Account Representative try to ensure that savings are realized for the plant whenever an order presents the opportunity — whether for cables, pushbuttons, switches, cable tray, controllers, power supplies, labels, photo eyes, enclosures, or more. On 37 orders during 2007, WESCO was able to save the plant $50,830.48 by negotiating special discount pricing with the manufacturer either based on the quantity of that order alone or, in some instances, by combining the order with another WESCO customer’s order for that item.
Result: $50,830 Savings!
Environmental
Opportunity: Personnel from a tire manufacturing plant in Kansas needed arc-flash training.
WESCO Solution: A WESCO Account Representative arranged free arc-flash training at Bussman in St. Louis for eight of the plant’s staff. The training, which included actual arc-flash demonstrations, gave participants a comprehensive education on the dangers of arc flash and how to avoid them, including arc-flash calculations, protective clothing, and the law.
Result: $8,000 in Free Arc-Flash Training — Plus OSHA Compliance and Enhanced Employee Safety!
Energy
Opportunity: A consumer products manufacturing plant in Missouri wanted to increase lighting output in its liquids department, as well as in the main aisle of its warehouse.
WESCO Solution: In liquids, the initial plan was to use 400-watt metal-halide fixtures, which would have required extensive rewiring and replacement of electrical connections and fixture hangers. As an alternative, WESCO recommended 350-watt pulse-start fixtures, which would improve lighting output but use existing wiring and hangers, saving the plant $3,840 in labor. The new lighting also yields an energy savings of $3,327 over the old lighting. In the warehouse, WESCO was also able to improve light output while making use of existing wiring, connections, and fixture hangers by replacing 4-foot 2-lamp T12 fixtures with 8-foot 4-lamp T8 fixtures. Nearly doubling the light output, this solution saved $4,200 in labor costs, reduces maintenance with long-life T8 lamps, and yields an annual energy savings of $1,370.
Result: $8,040 Labor Savings Plus $4,697 Annual Energy Savings!
Working
Opportunity: A consumer products manufacturing companies' plants in Iowa, Ohio, and Georgia, have WESCO maintain their bin stock/free-issue areas.
WESCO Solution: WESCO inventories, orders, delivers, and stocks consumable electrical MRO materials on a weekly basis, ensuring that needed items are always on hand, while freeing customer personnel from these duties. Provided at no charge, this service saves the Iowa plant $10,500 per year in labor plus $1,730 in freight charges. In addition, WESCO's firm-pricing contract with the manufacturers of stocked electrical commodity items saves the Iowa plant another $12,600 per year on the cost of these products. The Ohio plant saves an annual $625 in inventory reductions, $4,250 in transaction cost reductions, and $250 in freight. The Georgia plant saves $7,800 per year in labor alone.
Result: $37,755 Combined Annual Savings!
Working
Opportunity: A consumer products manufacturing plant in Missouri was using a variety of sizes and types of fuses from multiple manufacturers.
WESCO Solution: The plant provided its WESCO account representative with a spreadsheet listing all of the different fuses stocked in the storeroom. The WESCO account representative consulted with fuse manufacturer Bussman to evaluate, cross-reference, upgrade where appropriate, and standardize the fuses. As a result, WESCO was able to delete SKUs and reduce inventory for a total savings of $13,500 for this customer.
Result: $13,500 Savings!
Traning
Opportunity: Personnel at consumer products manufacturing plants in Missouri and Tennessee had varying needs for training.
WESCO Solution: The WESCO account representative for the Missouri plant arranged with manufacturer Eaton to hold a lunch-and-learn for eight maintenance staff members on Eaton starters and soft starts. Offering a value of $1,200 in training, this free event provided increased awareness and understanding of the features and benefits, applications, and operation of starters and soft starts. At the Tennessee plant, the WESCO account representative arranged for six employees to receive complimentary training, valued at $1,000, in hands-on operation of the Fluke Model 435 Power Quality Analyzer.
Result: $2,200 in Free Training!
