Sandvik Machining and Manufacturing Solutions reveals 266% customer growth in 2021 from its tooling inventory management software business, CRIBWISE. The impressive growth is a result of further strategic developments within its Design & Planning Automation division.
These include new strategic partnerships globally, such as vending supplier Kardex Remstar, the world’s largest provider of vertical storage solutions, as well as adoption from new and existing customers in key markets.
There has also been an increase in licences which has risen in the last year by 220% with the likes of Valmet, in Sweden, and Sandvik Mining and Rock, in Finland, signing up to the SaaS provider. This is proof that, to manufacturers of all sizes, the cost-reducing cloud-based software is breaking down technology-reluctant barriers held by many traditional tooling and machine shops.
CRIBWISE helps manufacturers to take control of their tooling inventory and related processes. It is modular, customisable and easy to integrate for all sizes of machine shops. It helps improve productivity and machine life by reducing administrative time, hours spent searching for tools and production and maintenance delays. It also cuts unnecessary expenditure due to over-purchasing and over-stocking.
With a 68% reduction in time spent acquiring tools since integrating CRIBWISE, Jani Savinainen, Supply Chain Manager at Sandvik Mining and Rock says: Digitalisation is an essential part of the manufacturing and supply chain nowadays. You need much more agility, a seamless flow between different operations. CRIBWISE is the perfect match to our needs.”
Head of CRIBWISE, Joakim Johansson, says: “Manufacturers have really embraced cloud-based solutions over the last couple of years. Not only has integration become easier, more secure and more customisable, it’s really helping businesses reduce their costs. With a cloud-based solution like CRIBWISE, our subscription fee is nominal but it can have a seismic impact on reducing tooling costs which can easily run into tens of thousands of pounds or euros. A company like Valmet will have reduced tooling and equipment inventory costs by as much as 20% last year.”
He adds: “Looking at 2022 and beyond, we are really excited about further expansion in key markets with a continued focus on our customers and partners. It’s going to be a great year for software development too as we add further value with product developments that respond to customer needs. Right now we are launching a new Artificial Intelligence stock optimization feature based on historical purchase lead times and consumption. This was in response to feedback and will bring further streamlining for our customers and a lot less manual work.”
To find out how CRIBWISE could help boost your business, click here.
MSC Industrial Supply Co. UK, a premier distributor of Metalworking and Maintenance, Repair and Operations supplies to industrial customers, is launching an innovative project with business partner Next Gen Makers to make it easier for its West Midlands-based customers to find and recruit Engineering Apprentices.
The online Engineering Apprenticeship Finder platform, developed by Next Gen Makers, will launch in National Apprenticeship week 2022 beginning 7 February and will signpost young people looking for Engineering Apprenticeships within the West Midlands region to a range of vacancies.
Over 50 high schools and colleges are set to receive access to the platform for their students, with Next Gen Makers also delivering webinars for career leaders in partnership with the Black Country Consortium.
Several of the region’s leading engineering apprenticeship training providers are also partnered with the project, including BMet, Make UK, Dudley College, Black Country & Marches Institute of Technology, City of Wolverhampton College and South Staffs College.
In November 2021 MSC, acquired a 49% stake in Next Gen Makers; a move it believes will help address the engineering skills shortage. The Engineering Apprenticeship Finder project is the first of several new initiatives to be launched because of this partnership and represents a direct solution to help match relevant individuals to the apprenticeship opportunities of MSC’s customer base of engineering and manufacturing firms in the West Midlands region.
“2021 was a poor year for recruitment into engineering apprenticeships, with total starts falling considerably,” said Adam Tipper, Managing Director of Next Gen Makers. “We have become acutely aware that one of the barriers preventing the filling of the many available engineering apprentices is lack of awareness of these opportunities by young people interested in starting a career in the sector... This project is aimed at raising awareness of these opportunities across the West Midlands.”
MSC and Next Gen Makers have partnered for two years to explore and understand the true challenges of the manufacturing sector and identify specific skills shortages. In addition to the Engineering Apprenticeship Finder project in the West Midlands, Next Gen Makers partners with engineering firms on a national scale to help them identify their skills gaps in an everchanging market. Its Best Practice Programme equips manufacturers with the tools they need to better plan for, attract and retain apprentices. Through the programme, Next Gen Makers provides a host of best practice resources and peer-to-peer discussion forums. This enables manufacturing firms of all sizes to adopt new practices that have been proven in other successful apprenticeship schemes.
Next Gen Makers has recently partnered with Make UK to develop an Engineering Apprenticeships Employer Kitemark, which recognises companies that achieve a best practice benchmark and endorses them as an exemplary employer of apprentices. This helps make businesses more attractive to young engineers and assists them in finding placements that offer genuinely prosperous career opportunities.
