CASE STUDY SS-BM-PC-110 | Procurement/Capital Strategy

Glass Procurement & Supply Chain Transformation

Stabilizing Supply, Improving Quality, and Reducing Total Material Cost

Building Materials | Procurement/Capital Strategy

98.7%

On-Time In-Full Delivery Performance

84%+ ↓

Inbound Defect Reduction

6.2% ↓

Net Direct Material Cost Reduction

Challenge

Supplier Instability, Quality Defects, and Logistics Risk Threatening Production Throughput

Critical Glass Supply Risk: A national window and door manufacturer and premium beverage manufacturer depended on highly specialized glass products requiring consistent quality and precisely timed delivery.
Elevated Quality Defects: Surface damage, dimensional variation, sealing defects, thermal stress, and manufacturing inconsistencies generated scrap, equipment interruptions, rework, and customer-service risk.
Excessive Transit Breakage: Inadequate bracing, pallet protection, and shipping methods drove average glass breakage to approximately 3.8% of transported volume.
Single-Source Exposure: Dependence on regional furnace capacity created vulnerability to furnace rebuilds, maintenance outages, seasonal demand surges, and unexpected supplier disruptions.
Extended Replenishment Lead Times: Forecasting instability and constrained supply increased procurement lead times from approximately two weeks to more than six weeks during peak demand.

Integrated Strategic Sourcing, Supplier Quality, Packaging, and Inventory Transformation

70/30 Dual-Sourcing Strategy: Replaced single-source dependency with qualified secondary domestic suppliers located within a 350-mile logistics radius to improve supply resilience.
Quality-at-the-Source Controls: Established stringent AQL requirements and automated inspection systems to detect surface, dimensional, sealing, finish, and structural defects before shipment.
Supplier Performance Governance: Introduced bi-weekly scorecards linking future volume allocation and commercial agreements directly to defect PPM, dimensional compliance, quality, and delivery performance.
Engineered Packaging Solutions: Implemented reusable steel racks, high-strength tier sheets, improved edge protection, and enhanced load stabilization to dramatically reduce transportation damage.
VMI and Digital Integration: Established regional inventory hubs with dynamic safety stock while integrating ERP and EDI signals for automated replenishment and synchronized supplier dispatch.

Creating a More Reliable, Lower-Cost, and Resilient Glass Supply Network

98.7% OTIF Performance: Integrated planning, supplier capacity alignment, regional inventory buffers, and disciplined replenishment substantially improved delivery reliability to manufacturing operations.
More Than 84% Fewer Defects: Quality-at-the-source controls reduced inbound defects to fewer than 650 PPM, minimizing disruption, scrap, rework, and production losses.
Transit Breakage Below 0.4%: Engineered racks, improved dunnage, stronger pallet protection, and disciplined handling reduced transportation-related product damage from approximately 3.8%.
6.2% Material Cost Reduction: Strategic sourcing, supplier competition, quality improvements, reduced emergency freight, and lower damage generated measurable direct-material savings.
Resilient Supply Model: Dual sourcing, VMI, supplier scorecards, and digitally synchronized replenishment established a scalable procurement framework supporting sustained production growth.