Industrial Pumps Blog

It is a very difficult decision to make when dealing with customized engineering solutions as to whether the design and construction should be kept in-house or whether to buy the industrial pumping solution externally.  In practice, it is usually a collaborative effort which yields the optimal solution but there are factors which should be considered when dealing with a make-or-buy decision.

Modern engineering solutions frequently call on specialist expertise, which may not be available within the host organization and can only be found with third-party contractors, who have the experience and capabilities to deliver the solution required.

The question is how to choose a third-party partner to deliver the skills and techniques needed to produce an optimal result for industrial pumping requirements.

Cost is obviously a factor in the decision to self-build or buy-in; it is not simply the initial design and implementation costs which should be considered but, as with any project, the total cost of ownership (TCO) which will include assessment of solution efficiency, maintenance and operational parameters.  There is one factor which is usually overlooked even when taking a TCO approach – the skills hand over from experienced third-party specialists to internal staff which helps develop their abilities and fosters the internal adoption of cutting edge techniques and skills for the host company.

Operational requirements of the solution may also demand the use of advanced design and construction methods, or the use of proprietary materials which are not generally available.  A third-party partner may have access or hold proprietary information and materials which the design calls for and which the client company is unable to replicate internally or elsewhere, so mandating a collaboration.

Reliability of the solution can be enhanced by using a third-party partner where they have the experience and track-record of delivering engineering solutions using advanced techniques, designs and materials in the operational environment being considered.  Downtime, failure rates and mean time between scheduled and non-scheduled maintenance will all impact upon reliability as well as the TCO; in many instances, these may all be reduced by using specialist contractors who have the necessary experience of working within the same environment with other clients facing the same problems.

VT Shipbuilder was involved in delivering two shipbuilding contracts but it faced problems with a supplier list which was disparate and uncoordinated. Issues frequently arose when it came to sourcing industrial pumps which were not only the best choice for the immediate build, but would also continue to contribute to the bottom line of both the shipbuilder and its clients when it came to the maintenance and replacement cycles.

The issue was compounded with suppliers being unable to deliver a coordinated or broad product range which was interchangeable, resulting in considerable delays and costs involved with redesign and refit issues throughout the project.  It was impossible to get the agreement of Supplier A to handle pump and valve infrastructure handled by Supplier B, or at least with any meaningful SLA.

Relationships between suppliers was also not as strong as it ought to have been, particularly where contracts relied on strong relationships which would be capable of subsisting for years into the future if maintenance and replacement contracts were to be honored.

VT Shipbuilders embarked on a paring down of the supplier lists and in respect of industrial pump and fluid handling technology, it eventually chose to partner with one large supplier who owned a broad range of brands and products.  This allowed VT Shipbuilders to tap into the design and engineering resources of a partner who had a broad understanding of the differing application, positive advantages and negative aspects of each and every pump installation.  Both positive displacement and centrifugal technology could be employed without competing financial interest of differing suppliers who were more interested in getting a contract irrespective of the operational appropriateness.

By streamlining its industrial pump supplier, VT Shipbuilding strengthened its supplier relationship immensely which brought several advantages, not least the ability to negotiate better financial terms and higher SLA’s for delivery of a wide range of pump and valve technology.