Trinity Industries – February 2020

TRANSFORMING MANUFACTURING STRATEGIES

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TRANSFORMING MANUFACTURING STRATEGIES

FEBRUARY 2020

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TRINITY INDUSTRIES

MIKE HEGEDUS, VICE PRESIDENT OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT AND PROCUREMENT OF TRINITY INDUSTRIES, REVEALS THE ORGANISATION’S EVOLVING APPROACH TO MANUFACTURING RAILCARS

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rinity Industries’ operations extend across a broad range of railcar related services, as Mike Hegedus explains: “Trinity is a

full service railcar provider. We provide leasing services, new car building and maintenance ser04

vices. We’re an integrated provider and it gives us a lot of flexibility in what we offer to our customers.

Increasingly we’re focusing on differentiating our products and our services in the marketplace.”

As Vice President Supply Chain Management, Hegedus’ role encompasses several key functions. “My role is leading the supply chain, which includes procurement, supplier quality, supply planning and logistics.” Hegedus’ attention is currently directed towards an ongoing evolution in the business. “We’ve traditionally been fairly vertically integrated, making a lot of sub-assemblies and parts, but that is changing. We are becoming more innovation-focused, doing more final assembly and moving more and more each year to outsourcing sub-assemblies.”

FEBRUARY 2020

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1933

Year founded

$2.51bn Revenue in US dollars

11,515 Number of employees

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TRINITY INDUSTRIES

“ TECHNOLOGY HAS BEEN KEY IN IMPROVING VISIBILITY, SYNCHRONISATION AND COLLABORATIVE PLANNING WITH SUPPLIERS” — Mike Hegedus, Vice President Supply Chain Management and Procurement, Trinity Industries

Much of that evolution has been in strategy. As with many manufacturers, offshoring is increasingly becoming a crucial part of the mix. “We segment our supply chain and certain parts make sense for offshoring such as commodity parts. We really leverage, for example, the low cost of steel and castings and forgings in China.” The attendant process of nearshoring is also increasingly a focus. “The larger the parts and sub-assemblies need to be, the more efficient it is to use nearshore suppliers. We’ve migrated

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our production from the U.S. to Mexico and we continue to manufacture more in Mexico every year. We’re not just nearshoring to take advantage of low cost labor and manufacturing, it’s really about localising to get them near to our manufacturing plants.

“In fact, we’ve gone a step further, where we’re now moving into a phase where we are co-locating suppliers on our facilities for even larger subassemblies – things that might not be effectively shipped on a truck.

Making railcars, some of these subassemblies can be very large, so it makes sense for us.”

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CLICK TO WATCH : ‘TRINITY CRAFTSMANSHIP’ 07 With a finished item as complex

hatches to load on the top and then

as a railcar, individual components

gates to discharge in the bottom,

demand differing approaches and

totally different to a rail car that car-

treatments. “Standard parts go on

ries automobiles, which has its own

many dozens of different types of

specialty items. All those are very car

railcar,” says Hegedus. “Every railcar

specific and those I can’t put on VMI.

has, for example, eight wheels, four

I just have to really monitor the lead

axles, brakes – basically the under

times. Our overall supply chain lead

part of the car is fairly consistent. That

times are defined by those specialty

is a supply chain where we can and

items.” Outside of these considera-

do set up vendor managed inventory

tions are raw materials such as steel,

(VMI) programs so those parts flow

and the aforementioned outsourced

in.” Specialty parts, those specific to

sub-assemblies, which he describes

different car types, prove trickier.

as “probably the fastest growing seg-

“A hopper car, for instance, will have

ment of our sourcing supply chain.” w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

TRINITY INDUSTRIES

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“ WE’VE TRADITIONALLY BEEN FAIRLY VERTICALLY INTEGRATED, MAKING A LOT OF SUB-ASSEMBLIES AND PARTS, BUT THAT IS CHANGING” — Mike Hegedus, Vice President Supply Chain Management and Procurement, Trinity Industries

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TRINITY INDUSTRIES

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Enabling the increasing complexity of

Partners vital to the ongoing

an outsourced and co-located supply

transformation include the likes of

chain has required the assistance of

Expeditors International. “They’ve

technology, as Hegedus explains. “We’ve

been influential in helping us with our

put in RapidResponse from Kinaxis.

first foray into global logistics,” says

There’s a module within that which helps

Hegedus. “Offshore Asian Business

us to collaborate more closely with

Consultants has been our partner in

suppliers. That technology has also

setting up virtual sourcing offices. I’m a

enabled all of our VMI processes. A

believer that when you offshore sourc-

significant part of our supply chain is on

ing you still need someone local on the

VMI, but we’re still going down that path.

ground to proactively manage the qual-

Technology has been key in improving

ity.” The first supplier to be co-located

visibility, synchronisation and collabora-

on site was Amsted Industries. “They’re

tive planning with suppliers.”

providing truck assembly, the wheels,

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E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Mike Hegedus Mike has been Vice President of Supply Chain Management and Procurement at Trinity Industries since 2013. Mike helps organisations transform their supply chains to meet strategic priorities. He connects the end to end supply chain from suppliers and procurement through logistics. Mike started his 25 plus year career at IBM. Prior to Trinity, Mike was the supply chain and procurement executive at the Chamberlain Group and general manager of Sears’ home delivery and repair parts business. He holds a Ph.D. in industrial Engineering from Northwestern University where is major was optimisation.

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It’s what’s inside that keeps us at the forefront Celebrating 125 years of leadership in railcar components.

Learn more at: minerent.com

axles, side frames, completely assembled to our lines right on site. They’ve paved the way.” Another key to Trinity’s enduring success can be found in its close collaborative relationship with key railcar component suppliers such as Miner Enterprises, Inc. Founded in 1894, Miner is renowned for its product development expertise, as well as its highly responsive global supply chain.

“For Trinity and Miner, this relationship is a personal commitment on every level,” explains Ric Biehl, Miner’s

“ INCREASINGLY WE’RE FOCUSING ON DIFFERENTIATING OUR PRODUCTS AND OUR SERVICES IN THE MARKETPLACE” — Mike Hegedus, Vice President Supply Chain Management and Procurement, Trinity Industries

president and general manager. “Both

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TRINITY INDUSTRIES

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FEBRUARY 2020

companies share an innovation-driven mindset that’s focused on perfecting railcar performance. And as one of the few privately owned, global suppliers of railcar components – from draft gears and outlet gates to hatch covers, side bearings, running boards, brake beams and more – Miner is able to be flexible, agile, and responsive to the changing market and customer needs. We work hand-in-glove with Trinity to make it easy for customers to do business.”

The future will see Trinity continue on its journey, while also exploring new avenues. “We’ll continue outsourcing sub-assemblies so that we can focus on final assembly and convert our resources to focus on other parts of the value chain such as product innovation,” says Hegedus. “At the same time, our lease fleet and maintenance network has grown which has seen our aftermarket parts business become more important than ever. We’re embarking on creating an integrated supply chain across all those different parts of the business.

That’s going to be fundamental.”

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Trinity Industries 2525 N. Stemmons Fwy, Dallas, TX 75207 T 800-631-4420 www.trin.net