Critical parts delivery delays from suppliers are often unpredictable – resulting in machinery not running safely and unexpected shutdowns, setting mines back in thousands, even millions of dollars. There is also a delicate balance to maintain; overstocking parts can tie up capital, while understocking can lead to costly operation disruptions without the necessary spare parts for repairs.
Forming contingency plans for these lead times according to historical data of supplier delivery times can minimize the risk of mine disruptions and the associated costs.
However, the key to these contingency plans is an integrated procurement management system with comprehensive data inputs – stock levels for parts, their respective costs, budgets, and lead times. Additionally, data across departments needs to be consolidated and accessible through a single source of truth system that is updated in real time. By having a single system that manages procurement updates, teams can trust their data and better strategize risk mitigation efforts long before stock levels fall below critical levels.
A proprietary spend cube analysis tool for enhanced procurement processes
A shared spend cube management system is an effective way for relevant departments to track supplier statuses and inventory levels of critical parts. Supply chain disruptions are then mitigated, such as natural disasters and extended lead times – all of which can drastically impact total procurement spend.
Unison Mining’s proprietary spend cube tool anticipates low levels of stock for particular parts, but also provides a bird’s eye view over your mine’s procurement operations through a spend cube system. Like a traditional spend cube analysis model, the tool provides an overview of procurement spend by department, types of parts needed, and stock levels.
However, the system goes further with in-built recommendations for stock needs for various mining scenarios and geographies, from underground to open pit projects, and for various minerals – providing customized recommendations from day 1. As more data is fed into the system, predictions become increasingly fine-tuned to your mine’s needs over time – enabling enhanced predictive capabilities in your procurement process.
Secure employee buy-in for full adoption of systems
We believe that successful supply chain risk management solutions require not only the data infrastructure and tools to drive change, but the people behind these systems to sustain new ways of working. Sufficient training and performance incentives need to be embedded within mining organizations to support these changes, fostering employee buy-in and sustainable change.
Unison Mining can work with your team to identify and address your mine’s biggest risks and opportunities in your supply chain. By collaborating with your teams, we assist in developing the systems, processes, training and KPIs needed to incentivize behavior change – supporting sustainable results in supply chain optimization.
