Rubber conveyor belt manufacturers want to streamline their stock management: Here's how

The technology behind rubber conveyor belts continues to evolve and grow smart with time. As more solutions require different approaches, manufacturing the belts on time and to specification has become a growingly important concern. Stock management and improved services must be at the core of manufacturing strategies, especially for companies handling rubber conveyor belts for different operations (such as mining or those required to be food grade). So, how can you streamline those processes and give yourself a competitive advantage?

In this article, we look at the current state of the rubber conveyor belt manufacturing industry, and the challenges being faced when managing stock. We will assess the importance of accurate stock management and the trouble poor management can cause, before discussing the tools and technologies you need to be using to make your stock management work for you.

An overview of the rubber conveyor belt manufacturing industry

At present, according to Future Market Insights, the rubber conveyor belt market has an estimated value of $3,526.6 million (USD) in 2024, and is expected to reach $4,693.60 million (USD) by 2034. According to their demand analysis, there are expected to be significant opportunities in transporting and warehousing and an increase in retailer warehousing and distribution facilities has helped to grow demand for the products.

Industry Research lists the top manufacturers in the global industry to be:

• Sempertrans
• T-Rex Rubber International
• Cobra Europe
• Trelleborg
• Fenner

and see the market largely segmented between industrial, agricultural, construction, food and beverage, automotive, and other applications.

Mordor Intelligence looked at some of the challenges and key trends that were impacting the industry. They identified a fluctuation in raw material costs, shortages of manpower, material supply chain restrictions, and a lack of new facilities as being some of the challenges, but see the industry trends as being:

• Investment in the mining industry raising new customers and orders.
• Mobile functionality and smart technology innovating production and company operations.
• Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology adoption.
• Innovation in food grade conveyor belts that are bacteria-resistant and capable of detecting microscopic pieces.

The industry as a whole is moving towards more innovative and technologically driven applications, and as a result, the business processes supporting the industry are being re-evaluated and refined, to be more developed and allow for more accurate processing and applications.

TEB Apps works with carefully designed and data-driven automation, allowing for business process automation to handle tasks with efficiency, legal compliance, and reliable accuracy.

Many manufacturing companies are turning to TEB Apps to provide real-time and near real-time support with business operations, so they can focus their time, effort, resources, and finances where it will better benefit business growth.

The challenges rubber conveyor belt manufacturers face when they are managing their stock

There are a variety of challenges which rubber conveyor belt manufacturers need to overcome when it comes to managing their stock. Some are very specific to the industry and regulatory conditions, such as ensuring the quality of specific products and making sure the actual materials used are specifically graded, suitable for the construction of the products, and that the final products are not only created up to standard, but stored and shipped in appropriate conditions.

There are some stock management issues that impact manufacturers in multiple niches, but they are no less of a concern to rubber conveyor manufacturing. Some of these key issues include:

• Supply chain complexity.
• Limited visibility of resources and raw materials.
• Limited visibility of on-hand stock and any specific variations.
• Over or under established operations management making processes difficult.
• Lack of expertise in stock management causing avoidable human errors.
• Changing demand making stock out-dated or over requested.
• Bad inventory management leading to incorrect recording of materials and final products.
• Overstocking leading to the need for reduced pricing to clear the excess.
• Inventory loss being improperly recorded.
• Time consuming tracking methods leading to poor inventory management and a loss of sales.
• Tracking, locating, and identifying stock over multiple locations.

Being supported by technology, and embracing it into the heart of your business can see company-wide improvements, not only in stock management and lead development, but with automation of sales tasks, and increased employee productivity.

The importance of efficient accurate stock management

Effective stock management is a process that impacts both your internal activities and your external customer engagements. It is a process that is absolutely crucial for business, and even more so for manufacturing industries that operate in highly competitive environments.

The key benefits of effective and accurate stock management for rubber conveyor belt manufacturers include:

• The ability to supply the right items within contracted delivery times.
• Improved productivity and lead conversion with teams able to accurately determine what can and should be quoted for, based on inventory access and stock review.
• Ability to use accurate data to increase or decrease production based on seasonal variations.
• Ensuring positive cash flow and sufficient stock levels.

What difficulties can poor stock management cause?

The issues that poor stock management can cause are significant, and costly, and could even lead to loss of customers and legal problems (especially if you are creating conveyor belts to contract).

Issues that poor stock management can directly or indirectly lead to include:

• Loss of brand reputation and consumer trust.
• Damaged credibility and inability to secure large contracts.
• Legal issues due to violation of contract/s or specific quality standards .
• Repeated overstocking situations leading to reduced pricing and loss of profits.
• Increased holding costs.
• Issues with cash flow with stock tied up.
• Issues with cash flow with raw materials having to be purchased at higher costs for rush orders.

The tools and technologies you need to make your stock management a success

In order to make stock management a success for your business, you need to have the right tools and technologies. You also need to embrace a culture of data-driven performance, that supports your employees and enables them to do their jobs, whether that is in the office or on the manufacturing line, in a way that is most efficient and effective.

Tools and technologies you will need for great stock management include:

• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software
• CRM with mobile support (as applicable)
• Team management tools
• Customer journey visualisations
• Reporting and monitoring software
• Integrated multi-team calendars and alerting
• Database support for stock (including multiple variations)
• Multi-currency functionality (for overseas purchasing or selling)
• Automated opportunity management
• AI and automation (as appropriate)

How you can use TEB Apps to streamline your stock management

Bring TEB Apps into your business, and discover how you can make stock management more effective, simplified, and accessible to the teams that need the data.

With TEB Apps you will have:

• Item-wise reports.
• A holistic user-friendly funnel view of items to pinpoint where they are in the sale funnel.
• A clearly mapped and visualised customer journeys and opportunity management to help you determine what ordering and stock levels will be required.
• A database support for thousands of products.
• Multiple currency support and payment integrations, so you can ensure your costs are carefully recorded, and your stock is recorded appropriately.

Book a demo today, and discover for yourself how TEB Apps can move your rubber conveyor belt manufacturing to the next level.