BE Group automated procurement routines and improved delivery reliability with Agilon

BE Group has automated its warehouses using the Agilon. Gone are the days of relying on manual, memory-based order processes. 

Accurate data on purchased volumes of supplies and spare parts, along with their prices, is accessible 24/7 across all units.

Transparency in procurement adds a backbone to purchases, and supervisors do not need to spend time on routines. The improved controllability of stocks increases machine availability and, therefore, delivery reliability. Procurement is now under control.

BE Group is a steel supplier and production service company operating in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. Annually, it delivers 340,000 tonnes of customized, standardized, and pre-processed steel products to some 10,000 customers expecting 24-hour deliveries.

Delivery reliability must be first-rate, and no production interruptions due to missing spare parts can be afforded.

Delivery reliability must be first-rate, and the company cannot afford production interruptions due to missing spare parts. In the company's three Finnish production units in Lahti, Lapua, and Turku, 15 employees manage to purchase production supplies and spare parts alongside their regular duties. These units also rely on multiple overlapping procurement channels.

BE Group aims high: it wants to be the most professional, successful and appreciated steel service company in the market. The Agilon warehouse automation supports its climb to the top.

The right hand did not know what the left hand was doing, says Production Director Ilkka Kontkanen.

"We carried out procurement routinely, but our price data remained incomplete. It became difficult to monitor annual purchasing volumes, and our cost levels were often inaccurate. The right hand didn't know what the left hand was doing," says Production Director Ilkka Kontkanen. Supervisors spent their time on manual and memory-based order processes, making it challenging—if not impossible—to compare costs. New suppliers entered the market uncontrollably, leading to many transactions burdening other parts of the organization.

Units used supplies and spare parts uncontrollably, leading to incomplete balance monitoring and untracked items. This lack of control caused production interruptions due to unexpectedly long machine breakdowns and the procurement of spare parts, which often felt like "fishing" after equipment had already failed. Maintaining 50 different production machines and managing spare parts proved difficult and unplanned.

Even a minute a day wasted on routines that could be controlled through a system is too much.

"Only vague information, if even that, existed about infrequently required spare parts. For a few people, looking for and procuring supplies took up most of their working hours. If supplies are needed every day or every week, what is the point of ordering them separately? Kontkanen emphasizes that even a minute wasted daily on routines that a system could control is too much."

The Agilon solution offered what we needed: warehouse automation without being committed to a single supplier.

BE Group deployed the Konecranes Agilon material handling system in all its three units in Finland in 2021.
"I already had experience in Agilon from one of my previous positions. We did not even consider any other system because this solution offered what we needed, and no one else could offer a similar level of warehouse automation without being committed to a single supplier. Furthermore, we do not tie ourselves to this, as the contract is based on the service principle," says Kontkanen.

Why do something many times over if you can automate it through Agilon?

Items were imported into the new automated warehouse by product area and machine. Now, there are nearly 2,000 items. Decentralized procurement responsibilities maintain flexibility, as every supervisor is responsible for their site.
"The first system deployment in Lahti took three months from scratch, which is fast. During this deployment, we generated new ideas for using alarms and balance monitoring. We aimed at the principles of acceptable laziness and fixing things in one go. In other words, why do something many times over if you can automate it through Agilon?"
The plan is to integrate Agilon into the company's maintenance and enterprise resource planning system through upcoming software updates.

Procurement under control, increased machine availability

Automated material handling has met all the expectations set for it. Accurate data about purchased volumes of supplies and spare parts and their prices is now available 24/7 across unit boundaries.

Procurement is less restricted than large supplier-linked systems and more straightforward regarding smaller suppliers.

"Decentralized procurement no longer depends on what individuals remember, eliminating situations where essential production parts are unavailable. The feeling of control is significant. Transparency in the procurement process provides a solid purchase foundation, allowing supervisors to focus less on routines," says Kontkanen. Additionally, the company has distributed responsibilities for the order process to operators, increasing flexibility.

There are now fewer transactions and suppliers. Procurement is less restricted than large supplier-linked systems and more straightforward regarding smaller suppliers. External warehouse management through Agilon also enables the direction of more extensive articles.

The improved controllability of stocks has significantly impacted machine availability and, therefore, delivery reliability. "The deployment of Agilon has had an outright impact on the risk of production interruptions. Spare parts management improves whenever we can add equipment parts to the system. We have already experienced cases where we have been able to avoid production interruptions of several days because everything is better under control," Kontkanen says.

Kontkanen also appreciates the system's reliability. "There have not been many problems, and remote support has helped with any minor issues. The access point has an emergency stop button with the remote support's telephone number printed next to it. Schedules have been set well beforehand for server updates and other pre-defined maintenance visits."

For more information, please contact:

Jarkko Hemmi, Agilon Sales Manager, Northern Finland

Telephone: +358 40 775 6035, or email: [email protected]