By Barry Morris, Managing Director, Ramko Hydraulics Ltd.
Due to a range of challenging circumstances, supply issues continue to cause constraints for many companies within the manufacturing industry. Problems concerning the sourcing of parts, logistical issues and staff shortages are in some instances leading to unprecedented delays in delivering finished products to customers. The supply of hydraulic cylinders is no exception.
The off-the-shelf model
One solution to this for suppliers is to focus more on the provision of off-the-shelf cylinders. With stock held in larger quantities, this can be an effective solution for many customers requiring cylinders quickly. However, one of the biggest problems with this supply model can be limitations in terms of the range of sizes of cylinders available. It just may not be possible to find a cylinder suitable for the requirements of certain customers within the required timeframe. I believe that, as a manufacturer and supplier of hydraulic cylinders, the most effective solution to this potential supply obstacle is to ensure that the range of cylinders kept in stock is expansive. A move towards increasing the range of cylinders in stock could be in part based on previous customers’ cylinder size requirements, but also more generally with a view to ensuring customer requirements can continue to be met even in particularly challenging times when supply channels, parts and materials and even warehouse and delivery personnel are in short supply.
The right capacity
Of course, to achieve this, providers would need to think ahead, ensuring they have the right level of manufacturing capacity within their production facilities to produce a wider range of cylinders in various sizes to keep in stock for quick delivery as and when required. Of course, another key requirement on the part of suppliers is that they have a suitable level of warehouse capacity suitable to stock such volumes. Additionally, I believe suppliers should think ahead in terms of meeting the logistical demands required to deliver the cylinders to customers within a short timeframe. For example, if their own delivery personnel and vehicles cannot be mobilised within the lead times specified by customers, then third-party carriers may be an effective and highly viable option. This delivery option would be something worth thinking about now in order for the logistical wheels to be easily set in motion as and when needed.
Wider range
For our part, Ramko Hydraulics has for many years recognised the importance of stocking a wide range of off-the-shelf cylinders to serve customers’ requirements speedily and efficiently. Indeed, we have recently expanded our range of stocked hydraulic cylinders further to meet current logistics challenges head on.
This has already helped us to ensure customers’ supply requirements are met with the minimum of delay. For example, we have been actively adding a new range of mid-size stroke cylinders to ensure orders for this type of cylinder can be actioned quickly, providing the perfect fit to customers to the same level of quality that all our other cylinders conform to.
Although Ramko’s cylinders are already available in a wide range of dimensions, with sizes available from 32mm bore right up to 125mm bore and stroke sizes from 100mm up to 1500mm, the addition of over 50 new stroke sizes makes our range of cylinders one of the most comprehensive on the market.
The importance of e-commerce
Furthermore, we believe that any supplier of hydraulic cylinders should have an effective easy-to-use e-commerce channel as well as their traditional lines of communication with customers such as phone, email and trade counter. For example, Ramko’s website ensures we can process online orders quickly and deliver within a very short lead time – often by the next day.
In these challenging times, we believe it is critical to ensuring customers’ requirements continue to be met. This not only protects the supplier’s reputation, it also keeps the wheels of UK industry turning.
This article originally appeared in Hydraulics & Pneumatics Magazine March 2022
