Component shortage strengthens itsme’s connection with Rensen

Climate control is in hot demand, as they experience every day at Rensen, specialist in measurement and control technology for building automation. Despite continued price increases, sales and execution are under pressure. The component shortage that emerged last year only increases the challenge of completing projects on time. itsme supports this by monitoring delivery times from the start of a project, finding alternatives if necessary and optimising inventory management. “I’m here almost every week now.”
 

Rensen (75 employees), headquartered in Uden and branch offices in Kerkrade and Lelystad, builds climate control systems for offices, schools, hospitals, etc. As a specialist in measurement and control technology – “the largest independent control company in the Netherlands” – Rensen provides control cabinets for climate installations to end users and installers. The climate computer comes from Priva or Siemens, while Rensen has been going to itsme for all other materials and components for many years. 
 

Inventory management

The relationship with itsme has always been strong, explains Ruud Cuppé, commercial director and co-owner of Rensen. “Ultimately, people do business with people; things always go well with Gé (Driessen, sales representative at itsme, ed.), and he often sits down with us to address issues with delivery.” Here Cuppé is referring to the worldwide component shortages that has kept industry in its grip since last year. For his company, that means every single project is a bit of a puzzle, because it continues to be busy despite the ongoing price increases. “I expected that this would make it calmer in sales and that construction projects would not go ahead, but it’s strange how the requests just keep coming in. And that doesn’t even have anything to do with the energy transition. New installations are built without a boiler, but for existing installations there are few projects for conversion to a heat pump. We mainly see that there is increasing attention towards a pleasant climate for work spaces.” Driessen: “We had also expected a change in requests and order intake due to these price increases, but to date we haven’t yet seen it.”

“If necessary, we will switch to another manufacturer; we have moved away from sticking to certain brands”

With regard to the component shortage, Driessen hopes that the problems will be resolved by the middle of next year. Until that time, Rensen and itsme will continue to work together intensively, says Cuppé. “If a component is not in stock, Gé will look for an alternative. If necessary, we will switch to another manufacturer; we have moved away from sticking to certain brands. If necessary, we will also consider a completely different solution, which might require a different structure for the cabinet, for example. That’s where Gé comes up with ideas.” Modestly, Driessen adds, “at itsme, I have a team of people who support me.”
 

Proactive

Rensen and itsme have also adjusted the inventory management, expanding the two-bin system. This is mainly used for the so-called grab stock of components with low purchase value, such as clamps, union nuts, wire trays and wire. Cuppé: “Previously, a 23 cent clamp would be in the warehouse and the warehouse employee would have to hand it out it, but now the mechanic can immediately take it to the workplace. That saves an enormous amount of time and costs.” While one bin is in use, the other bin is restocked. Driessen: “We scan and replenish the stock every week, so that Rensen always has sufficient stock for its production. We evaluate that at least once a year, and more often during this time. If stocks are running short, this will often also be signalled by the people on the work floor. Then we make adjustments in the stock levels in the meantime.”

“Customers, get those plans in so that we can order the materials”

itsme has furthermore proactively addressed bottlenecks, continues Driessen. “For example, supplier Hager reported increasing delivery times for wiring gutters early on. We supply them in different sizes. Together with Hager, we have identified Rensen’s needs and we have expanded their vendor managed inventory for the quick-sellers. Thanks to Hager’s proactive set-up, we were able to build up an additional safety stock at Rensen. I do this type of inventory for multiple products to maintain the desired turnaround times where possible. If necessary, we will buy from somewhere else where there is still stock.”

However, itsme is sometimes not able to escape delays in delivery to Rensen, Driessen admits. “Occasionally, we have to shuffle the schedule about in consultation with their project managers, because items simply cannot be arranged on time.” However, thanks to the intensive cooperation, Rensen is not having any difficulty due to late delivery, Cuppé reports. “In construction, other parties are having greater problems with the supply of materials than we are. itsme can stay ahead of these problems because it delivers faster than other companies.” 
 

Intensive contact nearly every week

It does require a lot of effort and coordination, sighs Driessen. “Both for Rensen and for us, keeping an overview takes a lot of energy. We were used to everything just being on the shelf or coming in within less than a week; now everything has to be monitored.” Cuppé: “That’s why we tell our customers to pre-order whatever they can. This is of course not possible for components that first require drawing work, but in that case we tell them, ‘just get your plans in so that we can order the materials’.”

As long as the focus is on component shortages and long delivery times, ambitions for further streamlining supply have been put on the back burner, Cuppé reports. “A few years ago, we had jointly developed a plan to have itsme deliver complete kits for each project. That would save a lot of time, because our technicians would no longer have to put together the parts for a project in the warehouse.” Driessen: “In this time of shortages, that would only slow down work and cause problems. Rensen now has a buffer with the two-bin system and extra safety stock, which allows things to go much faster.” All of this is now demanding the undivided attention of both parties. Despite corona, the contact last year only intensified, says Driessen. “Our collaboration is becoming more and more broad. I now have contact with lots more people at Rensen. Their engineers and project managers are getting better and better at knowing how to reach me for the challenges with deliveries. I’m here almost every week now.”

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