Massive efficiency and productivity gains have become not only possible but the new standard across industrial supply chains worldwide, thanks to new developments in real-time and just-in-time (JIT) inventory management and delivery. You can reap the benefits of JIT pipe supply to speed up your project timelines, get more done faster, and make sure your projects are finished on time and under budget.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how real-time industrial pipe supply works, the advantages a real-time steel supplier can provide you, and the benefits and challenges involved in making JIT suppliers your competitive advantage.
Real-Time Pipe Supply: How It Works
But how do real-time steel and pipe suppliers get you the products you need “just in time?” The just-in-time industry model relies on a few foundational practices:
Minimal Inventory
Real-time steel suppliers will often strategically optimize their inventories. Rather than keeping stockpiles of everything they could conceivably need on hand at once, which raises storage costs, they keep their inventory pared down to the bare essentials.
Does that sound counter-intuitive? They can do this and still get the parts you need quickly thanks to…
Accurate Demand Forecasting
To provide steel pipe or support material, JIT pipe suppliers use sophisticated demand forecasting tools and methodologies to keep their fingers on the pulse of what their customers need. By leveraging their manufacturer relationships, they can reliably predict what products they’ll need most for the coming quarter and stock up accordingly.
By being smart, strategic, and well-informed, real-time steel supply makes their minimally stocked inventory seem like it has every single part their customers need, all the time—even when it doesn’t.
Rapid Delivery
Last but certainly not least, JIT pipe supply relies on fulfilling and delivering orders as quickly as possible—without skimping on quality or safety. These suppliers build up their delivery infrastructure to ensure their customers’ tightest deadlines can be met—even if they need their parts within 24 hours or less.
Do You Need a Real-Time Steel Supplier? Advantages and Disadvantages
Manufacturers and fabricators can reap plenty of benefits from having just-in-time access to the steel fabrication materials and pipe products they need, such as:
- Reduced risks of delays due to material shortages
- Shorter lead times
- More favorable pricing for parts and materials
- Lower on-site industry storage costs
- Reduced waste from excess material
- Improved cash flow and financial flexibility
- Greater adaptability when project requirements change
- Stronger vendor relationships
- Faster project turnarounds
- More satisfied clients
Disadvantages of JIT Pipe Supply
Access to just-in-time industrial or commercial pipe supply can be a real game-changer for your supply chain—but of course, like anything, with its advantages also comes the occasional disadvantage. It’s up to you to determine whether the potential advantages are worth the potential setbacks you can run into by relying on real-time steel suppliers in your supply chain, such as:
- Vulnerability to supply chain disruptions, from weather and logistics issues to labor strikes, geopolitical instability, pandemics, or trade restrictions
- No “buffer inventory” to keep your projects humming along if the materials you need are delayed or unavailable
- Potential premium pricing for expedited shipping or last-minute orders
- Longer lead times for custom parts
How to Mitigate the Risks of JIT Supply Chains
Choosing suppliers who practice just-in-time inventory management or adopting JIT practices yourself can maximize your efficiency and allow you to succeed in ways you hadn’t thought were possible before. However, over-reliance on JIT pipe supply can lead you to end up too lean.
While it can be a smart move to eliminate some redundancies and buffer zones to speed your projects along, some of them are there for a reason—and if you get rid of them, unexpected disruptions could hit your operations hard.
Fortunately, with the right strategies, you can reap the full advantages of JIT suppliers while shrinking your risk factors, such as:
- Establish dual sourcing or backup suppliers in case your real-time steel suppliers have issues.
- Maintain minimal safety stock for critical items in case of supply chain disruptions.
- Regularly audit your industrial steel and pipe suppliers for reliability and capacity.
Master the Modern Steel Pipe Supply Chain with American Stainless
When you have deadlines coming up fast, you can’t just sit on your hands and wait for the part you need to arrive. We make sure you don’t have to.
By leveraging best practices for inventory management and strong relationships with world-class PVF manufacturers, we provide you with all the advantages of a real-time steel supplier. Our first-class customer service team processes orders same-day and gets them out the door and to your loading dock as early as the next morning. No “milk runs”—we ship out every individual order ASAP, efficiently packaged so the parts you need most are right there as soon as you open the box.
Contact us today and find out what the gold standard in a real-time industrial pipe supplier looks like.