Seventy-six percent of 2014 Supply Chain Resilience  survey  respondents disclosed they experienced at least one instance of supply chain disruption the previous year, with unplanned IT and telecommunications outages being the primary source for disruption 52.9 percent of the time. The report also revealed the increased cost of working and losses of revenue due to disruption were more common among respondents than the previous year. The report underscores the severe negative consequences that can result from supply chain disruption and downtime. And as demonstrated by the Supply Chain Resilience Survey, IT breakdowns – which include equipment failure – are the main culprits of downtime. Further compounding this, downtime ultimately leads to supply chain disruptions. Slipshod quality equipment poses great risk to operations and accelerates the potential for downtime. While it is tempting to purchase warehouse and industrial equipment from a general website that offers deep discounts, the decision may end up proving more costly in the end if the equipment fails. Some manufacturers place priority on designing equipment that will sell because it is cheap. Producing substandard quality items costs manufacturers less as well, because they often skimp on materials. For example, one of the easiest ways to reduce production costs is to decrease steel quantity. This happens frequently and is problematic in situations such as industrial distribution. The comparatively lightweight equipment is not fit to support the heavy loads common in warehouse operations. Inefficient support leads to post and caster failure, which results in repair and replacement costs. Without the knowledge that specialized industrial equipment online stores offer, shoppers can far too easily select products not suited for their applications – further increasing the risk of equipment failure. The repercussions of using general purpose equipment are not always severe. However, failures can slow down operations. When shopping for […]