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Short answer
When the line waits for parts, the cause is usually inside the plant rather than with the supplier: system stock that does not match the shelf, kits released late or incomplete, no clear trigger to replenish line-side bins, and MRP planning on lead times nobody has checked. Fix them in that order: make the records true, define a plan for every part, set pull triggers and align the schedule with what stores can deliver. On one program before TvastrOps, average daily shortages fell from 52 to 15.
A shortage at the line is expensive in a way that rarely shows up in one report. Operators wait, supervisors chase parts, schedules get reshuffled and overtime fills the gap. The reflex is to blame purchasing or the supplier. In most plants, the stock is somewhere in the building.
Start by classifying every shortage
For one or two weeks, log every shortage with a cause code. The pattern that emerges tells you where to start:
- Not in stock: a genuine supply or planning shortage.
- In stock but not found: the records do not match the shelf.
- Kit incomplete: the kit left the store missing parts.
- Not replenished in time: the line-side bin ran empty before anyone acted.
- Wrong part or quantity: a picking or bill-of-materials error.
- Quality hold: the stock exists but cannot be used.
Make the records match the shelf
If stores cannot trust the system, every shortage turns into a search. Fixed locations, clear labels, receiving that books stock to a location before it is put away, and cycle counts on a schedule bring the records back in line. Our inventory control service starts here.
Define a plan for every part
A plan for every part (PFEP) records, for each part: usage per unit, consumption rate, container and quantity, storage location, delivery method (kit, kanban bin or bulk), delivery frequency and point of use at the line. It sounds like paperwork. It is the document that ends arguments about where a part should be and how much of it should be at the line.
Replace 'call when empty' with a pull trigger
If line-side bins are refilled when someone notices they are empty, shortages are built in. Two-bin kanban, minimum and maximum levels, and a material handler on a fixed route at fixed intervals turn replenishment into a routine. Set a maximum for line-side stock as well as a minimum, or the line fills with material and the problem moves to space.
Release kits against what the line will build
Kits should be built at least a shift ahead, checked as complete before they leave the store and released in the sequence the line will build them. An incomplete kit sent to the line is worse than a late one, because the gap is discovered at the workstation.
Align MRP with reality
MRP is only as good as its inputs. Check lead times, safety stock and bill-of-materials accuracy, and make sure the production schedule the system plans against is the one the floor actually runs. Review the exceptions weekly with planning, stores and production in the same room.
What this looked like in practice
On an engineer-to-order manufacturing program before TvastrOps, the work connected kitting, scheduling and MRP integration with floor execution. During the initiative, average daily material shortages fell from 52 to 15, labor utilization rose from 24% to 40% and monthly output went from 54 to 120 structures. The full account is in this case study, and the approach is our manufacturing stores and line feeding service. To talk about your line, book a free 30-minute call.