Supply chain optimisation is crucial in the mining industry, and Geographe has worked night and day to ensure it can help the industry meet its needs.
For Geographe, supply chain optimisation is simple: it means finding the most effective manufacturing, procurement or transport solution while ensuring rigorous quality standards are being met.
“We regularly evaluate our processes, solicit feedback from customers and stakeholders, and implement targeted improvements to enhance efficiency, reliability, and customer satisfaction,” Geographe’s Head of Supply Chain Alex Poezyn told Australian Mining.
“By consistently reviewing our supply chain, we are able to lower our lead times and service our customers’ planned and unplanned maintenance events, and remain agile and responsive in addressing parts shortages.”
Supply chain disruptions can cause major downtime for a mining operation. And that equals lost productivity.
“The opportunity cost for mining operations when they have a machine down is massive and Geographe recognises this,” Poezyn said. “Any delay in machine maintenance can lead to significant production and financial losses to the mine site.
“Ensuring a robust supply chain reduces the likelihood of not having stock, which in turn reduces the length of downtime for miners.
“We understand that a reliable supply of parts ensures our mining clients can maintain their operations without prolonged disruptions, fostering trust and strengthening relationships with our customers.”
Geographe is constantly looking at developing its supply chain to improve its stock availability and lead time.
The fact the company manufactures in Australia is also helpful, insulating it from global disruptions.
Image: Geographe
“The mining industry is subject to fluctuations in demand, market trends, and technological advancements,” Poezyn said.
“Geographe’s flexible and responsive supply chain allows us to quickly adapt to these changes, ensuring we can meet evolving customer demands.
“While there are products that we source globally – such as our raw material – we manage these risks by having multiple suppliers that we work closely with to ensure ongoing availability of parts and specialised tooling solutions.
“Also, given our agility as a business, we are able to make decisions quickly and with limited red tape when we see there are potential disruptions on the horizon.”
Geographe leverages technology and innovation in order to truly optimise its supply chain, .
“Since 2002, Geographe has been using SAP (an enterprise resource planning software),” Poezyn said.
“Then in 2018, we adopted S4Hana Cloud to improve our digital infrastructure and provide further automation for our administrative roles.
“However, we have also invested in our own technical capabilities and our own software to further our automation capabilities.
“We integrate our in-house-developed software with SAP, ensuring a fully compatible digital architecture.”
And with a robust investment in robotics, Geographe is able to keep its production facilities running 24–7.
“As we’re a manufacturing business, we have full traceability on our products, from the raw material that was used and its chemical composition right the way through to the production order the item was produced on,” Poezyn said.
“Every manufactured product has the Geographe production order number engraved on it, along with the Geographe part number.”
Any amount of downtime can be detrimental to a mine. But Geographe’s commitment to innovation means the sector is one step closer to eliminating supply chain woes for good.
This feature appeared in the May 2024 issue of Australian Mining.
