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What is Spare Parts Management?

June 9 Phillip Slater

Spare parts inventory management is the process of making decisions about the stocking, control, and use of spare parts that support physical assets and equipment. Its objective is to balance operational risk, service requirements, and inventory investment. Why Spare Parts Are Different Unlike retail inventory: * Demand is often irregular.

Glossary

Multi-Echelon Inventory Management Definition

June 26 spkhadmin

A multi-echelon inventory management system occurs when multiple storerooms are part of a spare parts inventory management and supply system. For example, where a company on a large site has a central storeroom and then one or more satellite storerooms that are located closer to the operational activity. Another example:

Glossary

Satellite Stores Definition

June 26 spkhadmin

A Satellite Storeroom is a small storage area that is separate from the main or central storeroom. What differentiates satellite stores from squirrel stores is that a satellite storeroom is an official storage location where the items located there are subject to the record keeping and management controls set out

Glossary

Squirrel Stores Definition

June 26 spkhadmin

Squirrel stores are the unofficial hoarding of items outside of the official storeroom management system. Squirrel stores are usually established out of good intent but they are to be avoided because their existence has a detrimental effect on inventory levels, reliability, and obsolescence. The existence of these stores is usually

Glossary

Sparesology Definition

October 3 spkhadmin

Sparesology ® is a term coined as a shortcut for the discipline of optimizing the physical, financial, process, and human resource management of spare parts. Sparesology is more than just inventory optimization Sparesology requires an understanding of the complete ecosystem within which spare parts are managed, and it seeks to

Glossary

Spare Parts Inventory Management Acronyms and Abbreviations

October 3 spkhadmin

spare parts inventory management acronyms and abbreviations

Acronym Explainer What happens when one person uses spare parts inventory management acronyms and abbreviations and another person either doesn’t know what is meant, or worse they think that it means something different? Expensive mistakes and wasted time. Not to mention the potential embarrassment! To help you navigate this confusing

Glossary

Insurance Spares Definition (Video)

May 18 spkhadmin

In this 2 Minute Tutorial Phillip Slater defines and discusses insurance spares, their main attributes and how they are different from other types of spare parts. Understanding these issues helps you in determining why you hold the spare parts that you hold.               Click

Glossary

Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) Definition and Explanation

September 24 spkhadmin

Understanding the definitions used in spare parts inventory management is vitally important. For without a common understanding of terms it is difficult to communicate effectively. Imagine what happens when someone uses a term such as SKU in a conversation or email and the person listening or reading doesn’t understand that

Glossary

Insurance Spare Definition and Explanation

August 8 spkhadmin

It is important to specifically categorize insurance spares in your inventory. If you don’t categorize insurance spares you may find that you stock a lot of value in this type of spare part but cannot segment those spare parts and therefore subject them to appropriate scrutiny. With appropriate scrutiny you

Glossary

Inventory Accuracy: Extract from Webcast

July 29 spkhadmin

The following video is an extract from a recent webcast on inventory accuracy and Why it Matters. Here Phillip Slater discusses two different definitions of inventory accuracy. Understanding that, from an inventory management  perspective, we need to be concerned with accuracy at an individual item level tells us that to

Glossary

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Make Better Spare Parts Decisions

Decide what to stock, how much to hold, and how to tackle excess inventory using practical tools, templates, and specialist guidance.
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Get Your Team Making Consistent Decisions

Align maintenance, procurement, engineering, and stores around shared spare parts decision principles to improve inventory performance. Explore Foundations for Teams...

Turn Improvement Goals into Results

Reduce excess inventory, improve stocking policies, or standardize practices across sites with a targeted program combining team development, practical tools, and implementation support. Explore Capability Programs...

Latest Blog Posts

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  • Spare Parts Capability Cannot Reside in One Person
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