Manchester firm launches e-marketplace for unused parts and machinery
2 August 2021
Machine Compare has launched an Amazon-esque marketplace where manufacturers with unused inventory can list items for sale and buyers can search a database of over £12m worth of parts.
The company has spent the last four years evaluating the huge quantities of spare parts that are left in factory storerooms, finding that millions of parts are being sent for scrap each year.
To date, it has identified a staggering £5 billion worth of unused stock in the UK, at a time when supply chains are under increasing pressure from long lead times and sourcing difficulties.
CEO of Machine Compare Ben Findlay, who recently penned an open letter urging the manufacturing sector to rethink its practice of destroying unused inventory, explained:
“Each year an average medium-sized manufacturer with a site portfolio of 150+ will send around £100,000 worth of spare parts to scrap per site. This wasteful and expensive practice is because there is no suitable outlet to sell these unused spare parts on, as well as the belief within manufacturers that purchasing newer, similar or even the same models is how they should operate.”
The Machine Compare Marketplace supports a circular business model, allowing buyers to access lower priced parts and enabling sellers to generate new revenue streams by turning surplus stock into capital, while simultaneously reducing carbon footprints and lead times. Mr Findlay continued:
“We need to rid the negative connotations associated with buying unused and instead highlight the positives of using what resources and materials are readily available. OEMs need to face their responsibility of promoting better ways of buying, reusing, refurbishing, and encouraging customers not to buy more, but to buy better.”
Last year, Machine Compare was named one of the North West’s 'most exciting companies’ by Insider, and more than 22 multinational manufacturers have now partnered with the business to sell their surplus inventory.
One of these companies is paper and packaging manufacturer DS Smith. Alex Jennings, Group Chief Procurement Officer at DS Smith, said:
“We want to see products and materials kept in use for as long as possible and support the wider manufacturing industry to reduce its need for landfill. By partnering with new, circular platforms like the Machine Compare Marketplace to support this process, we have been able to release capital and create significant improvements in operational efficiencies, proving this concept to be both sustainable and profitable.”