For the supply of spares and parts for its big installed base of pumps and valves across Africa, pumps and valves product manufacturer KSB Pumps & Valves employs a customer-first approach with the company’s dedicated service, maintenance, and spare parts division SupremeServe prioritising a stock holding of spares and parts.

SupremeServe’s stockholding caters for tens of thousands of pumps including decade’s old pumps that are still in operation across water utilities, power stations, mines and chemical plants as well as smaller plants on farms, municipalities and businesses.

The company’s history spans over 50 years of supplying critical infrastructure to the private and public sectors.

“KSB Pumps & Valves employs sophisticated logistics techniques based on enterprise and manufacturing resource planning software from [software company] SAP, which has been specially adapted for the company’s needs,” says KSB Pumps & Valves SupremeServe sales manager Johannes Tokwana.

KSB Pumps & Valves also relies on a decentralised stockholding model backed by a central support base in Johannesburg, which ensures all branches in South Africa are capable of supplying pumps and valves customers with sufficient stock.

Service parts consist of wear components, seals and hydraulic parts that must be checked and replaced at regular intervals under certain conditions.

While keeping these fast-moving items in stock is easy, having them in the right place at the right time is essential – this is the key role of the company’s structured supply chain and forecasting discipline, he adds.

Apart from its branch network in South Africa, KSB Pumps & Valves’ footprint covers operations and partners in Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia, Namibia and Angola, along with agency support in Ghana.

Many of these markets are heavily mining driven while others are in water-scarce areas where authorities are under sustained pressure to improve access to water and wastewater handling capability.

“For us, the human factor is vitally important, with our branches and sales partners still required to regularly visit their customers and identify fast-moving and critical items,” explains Tokwana.

This, he notes, is so KSB Pumps & Valves can accurately gauge requirements and hold these items on site to ensure they are replenished by its staff at SupremeServ before they are depleted.

The same principle applies to partner operations throughout the region where fast-moving parts are identified based on installed base data and service history.

Additionally, critical components are prioritised and, where necessary, emergency logistics are arranged to protect uptime.

“In areas where, for example, municipalities are battling ageing infrastructure and water shortages, or production plants rely on liquid pumping circuits, this type of responsiveness is essential,” says Tokwana.

In these instances, where pump or valve downtime cannot wait for overseas lead times, having KSB Pumps & Valves’ local manufacturing plant is beneficial, he highlights.

However, the company’s aim always remains to collaborate with its customers to establish preventative maintenance routines that work for them and ensure their pumping infrastructure remains dependable.

The strategic advantage, he notes, lies in proximity, which is why KSB Pumps and Valves has invested heavily into its African network as well as having service and support situated in close proximity to its customers.

“By supporting customers from within the continent and coordinating regionally, the company reduces its dependency on longer international supply chains. This is particularly important in remote African operations where logistics can be unpredictable,” says Tokwana.

“That is the critical role that KSB SupremeServe plays to close the loop between manufacture, installation and long-term operation. That means ensuring the right part is available in the right place at the right time, whether that is [Johannesburg], Cape Town, Kitwe or Nairobi,” he concludes.