Subcontracting: from the machine to the vendor and backSubcontracting: from the machine to the vendor and back

Business challenge

A part removed from a machine for repair or external processing disappeared from the system the moment it left the gate. Maintenance knew it was out, purchasing had an order somewhere, the subcontractor had a delivery note, and nobody could say where the part was, when it would be back, or what it had cost. Parts came back without inspection, and some never came back at all.

Solution

Futera built the loop as one process on SAP. It starts on the floor: a technician removes the part from the equipment and records it on a mobile screen against the maintenance order and the equipment number. That creates the subcontracting request: what is sent, what should be done to it, and by when. Purchasing turns it into a subcontracting purchase order with the components provided to the vendor, and the outbound delivery and the shipping documents are created from the same request. While the part is out, everyone sees the same status: shipped, at the vendor, in work, on its way back. On return, the goods receipt is posted against the subcontracting order, an inspection lot opens, and the part goes back to the machine or into the repaired-spares stock, with its history, its cost and its documents attached to the equipment.

Results

• A part is never outside the system, from removal to return
• Purchasing, shipping and receipt are created from one request
• The repair history and cost stay with the equipment
• Inspection on return is part of the flow, not an afterthought

Technologies