by Natalie Edwards

Rainer Irrigation, Ashburton  – Success Story

 

‘I can just concentrate on what really makes us money and getting the best prices.’

 

We visit the team at Rainer Irrigation and catch up with Quentin and Duncan about the impact QUICKSTOCK has had on their operations…

Tell us a bit about Rainer Irrigation Engineering…

'This company is 35 years old. We are still a family-owned company. Both directors owners are still very involved in the company.

 

We are based in Ashburton, but we do have depots in Darfield and we've got a depot down in Glenavy. We do service the whole of New Zealand. We go right up to the North Island to do servicing work and all the way down to Invercargill to do servicing work.

 

We are 75 staff members, strong as we stand today. We invented, Vibra screen. We've got the Roto Rainers. That's our brand. We have diversified to going to Pivots. But Roto Rainers are still a big part of what we do here.

 

We're not just the irrigation company as such, we also a manufacturing company. So we manufacture a lot of our parts, especially for, our Roto Rainers, which we made. We've got a full engineering workshop and, my job here at Rainer is purely looking after the stock, the pricing we paying for it and making sure we get the best deals ever.'

Quentin Spies, Procurement Manager

HOW DID YOU MANAGE CONSUMABLE INVENTORY BEFORE QUICKSTOCK?

 

Quentin: Before QUICKSTOCK, it was really a big nightmare. I would have to constantly go around looking up and making sure we've got all our stocks in order and then leave it up to the memory to remember all the parts that we needed.

 

Duncan: Managing inventory before QUICKSTOCK was quite difficult. We didn’t have it readily available, There was a lot of delays with being able to make sure that we've got the right stuff at the right time to do the job. It was unacceptable with the amount of downtime that we were having, with the stock management process.

Duncan McTaggart, Stores Engineering Manager

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO USE QUICKSTOCK?

 

Quentin: One of my big roles in my position at the moment is seeing where I can save the company money. So I was using the Euromarc online application and it was working really well. Terry came down, we sat down, we spoke, and then he’s like, okay, let's try this. And he introduced me to the QUICKSTOCK cabinets. And I haven't looked back since then. It's smooth sailing!

HOW DOES THE QUICKSTOCK SYSTEM WORK WITH YOUR OPERATIONS?

 

Duncan: How we use QUICKSTOCK is the guys come into the store and tell us what they require. We remove it out of the cabinets and provide it to them. And we assign it out to the job or to the vehicle, whatever it's going to.

 

Quentin: Then at the end of the month, the QUICKSTOCK guys come in, do a stock count, and then they just refill it. And we have ensured that there's always a buffer. So even though I might have, if you go out and look at the cabinet, ten grand worth of stock. I don't pay for it. I only pay for what I use, which is a big saver.

 

Duncan: When Euromarc come to replenish the cabinets, it's fantastic. We get all of stock, but the bonus is the biscuits that we get to enjoy at smoko.

WHAT WERE SOME OF THE COSTS INVOLVED IN ORDERING BEFORE QUICKSTOCK?

 

Duncan: Some of the costs involved before, was additional freight charges. From chasing supplies, as well as the admin costs associated with procuring different items. Multiple suppliers for multiple things. Which made it hard then on sell it like charging out because depending on what supplier it came from was the prices to what we charged out. So it had a lot of variance in the charging, whereas it's one supplier for everything now. And it's just made life a lot easier for invoicing.

WOULD YOU SAY QUICKSTOCK HAS IMPROVED YOUR BUSINESS?

 

Quentin: The way QUICKSTOCK has improved our business is the fact that I don't have to worry about the run of the mill consumables for the workshop. I can just concentrate on what really makes us money and getting the best prices.

 

Duncan: The ELITE products in the cabinet are fantastic and a good quality. The flapper discs and grinding discs are really good quality and hold up to the job. The cut off discs, especially the one mil ones, are really good. We never have trouble with them exploding or breaking apart like the cheap ones that you buy from other suppliers.

 

WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THE QUICKSTOCK SOLUTION TO OTHER ENGINEERING COMPANIES?

 

Quentin: I would recommend QUICKSTOCK to any engineering shop because the cabinet really fills itself.

 

Duncan: I would recommend QUICKSTOCK. I think it's a fantastic addition to the business. The fact that we have the product we need, when we need it, allows us to continue doing our daily duties and getting our jobs done on time.