Bright Wood Blog
Taking Inventory to the Next Level
[February 24, 2023] The FACTS project (Financial Accounting Cost Tracking System) took another big step on January 30 when the Redmond site switched to a Perpetual Inventory (PI) system. “So far, we have implemented the Perpetual Inventory solution in Prineville, Culver, and Madras Plant 15, and Plant 16,” Brian Winters, FACTS Project Manager, said. “The rest of the Madras site is scheduled to go live later this year.”
The Goal: 97 Percent Accuracy
The upgrade to a PI system has been years in the making. It required sweeping changes to how Bright Wood tracks, delivers, moves, consumes, and ships inventory.
“With PI, inventory data is real-time and more accurate,” Brian said. “Time will tell how high the accuracy number will get, but we are shooting for 97 percent or higher.”
Keeping Inventory Moving
“Perpetual inventory allows us to see our inventory in real-time, apply it, and keep it moving,” Kevin Fletcher, Sales Support, Value-Added Scheduling, and Fulfillment Manager, said. “We have a lot of money tied up in inventory, and now we have better tools to manage it.”
More Runtime, Less Downtime
“We incur downtime while leads, drivers, and supervisors look for wood,” Kevin said. “PI tells us if wood is still in the supplying plant or if it has been delivered. Knowing where wood is increases runtimes and frees time to focus on other tasks.”
Seeing the Complete Picture
Redmond is already seeing PI’s paybacks in just a few months. “Inventory has become much easier to track and even know when it is onsite,” Stan Webb, Redmond Site Manager, said. “It is as easy as looking in ProSchedule to see what is here and where it is. It is sortable by location, species, thickness, width, length, and order number.”
“We have been applying available materials that we would otherwise not have used for longer,” Stan said. “Eventually, the system will automatically sort for available materials before ordering.”
The Right Thing to Do
The PI launch has been a big step for Prineville, Redmond, and Plants 15 and 16 – and an even bigger leap for Bright Wood. Economic indicators point to tougher times ahead for the building industry. Anything we can do to reduce our Cost of Goods Sold and utilize wood better (which is 70 percent of Bright Wood’s cost) is the right thing to do.
