Spare Parts Know How

Spare Parts Inventory Management Training

  • Log-In
  • Start Here
    • Open Access
    • Foundation Playbook
    • Operations Playbook
    • Practitioner Playbook
    • Foundations for Teams
  • Expert Advisory Support
  • Enterprise Solutions
    • Inventory Optimization
    • Data Management
  • Knowledge Hub
    • Digital Library
    • Books
    • Obsolescence Risk Calculator
    • Criticality Assessment Tool
    • Playbook Selection Tool
  • Contact
  • About
    • Past and Current Users
    • Testimonials
    • FAQs
    • Phillip Slater

Foundations Playbook Content


Spare Parts Management Questions Answered in the Foundations Content

 
The Foundations Playbook is divided into separate Focus Areas.

As the name suggests each Focus Area addresses a key issue relating to the foundations of spare parts inventory management.

The following is a list of the Focus Areas and the spare parts management questions that they will help you answer.

Once you join you can go straight to the focus area that addresses your immediate concern or you can work through this in the order presented.
 
Focus Area: Introduction to Spare Parts Inventory Management

  • How to differentiate spare parts inventory from other types of inventories?
  • Which common supply chain techniques should not be used with spare parts inventory?
  • How does spare parts management fit into the big picture of operations management?
  • What are the key financial principles for spare parts management?
  • How do I calculate the cost of holding spare parts inventory?

 
Focus Area: Criticality and Deciding What to Stock

  • How to identify critical spare parts?
  • How to differentiate between machine critical and inventory critical spare parts?
  • What is the relationship between the Planning Horizon and Lead Time?
  • What questions need to be asked before deciding to stock an item in inventory?
  • How do we select spare parts for new capital equipment (first time buy)?

 
Focus Area: Setting Stock Levels

  • What is the difference between theory and reality with determining spare parts requirements?
  • What are the problems with using traditional calculation methods for determining spare parts re-order points and re-order quantities?
  • How do we calculate re-order points and re-order quantities?
  • What are simple and logical techniques for calculating the ROP and ROQ?

 
Focus Area: Managing Obsolescence

  • What is the difference between vendor-led and owner-led obsolescence and the implications of each?
  • How do we develop an End-Of-Life (EOL) plan and calculate Last-Time-Buy requirements?
  • What are the issues involved in managing spare parts disposal?
  • What are the different disposal options and the benefits of each?

 
Focus Area: Spare Parts Management Best Practices

  • What are best practices for spare parts inventory management?
  • How many do we need to implement to make a difference to our results?
  • How have best practices been defined and identified?
  • What are squirrel stores and why are they important?

 
 
 

Click Here to return to the Foundations Playbook page.

Join a Global Community

Trusted by:
+20,000 professionals in
+130 countries
See a sample of companies HERE

Open Access

Open Access to 20 Years of Spare Parts Management Know-How. No email required. No data collection. Just pure know-how.
Read more...

Foundations Playbook

Our Foundation Playbook is designed to answer question relating to the essential knowledge, tools, and techniques for effective spare parts inventory management.

Read more...

Operations Playbook

The Operations Playbook is the decision support resource for people who need to go beyond the basics and perhaps even revolutionize their company’s systems and approach.
Read more...

Practitioner Playbook

The Practitioner Playbook provides the most complete access to decision support resources, tools, and advanced content.
Read more...

Foundations for Teams

Foundatiosn for Teams is a live, online, interactive, team-based delivery of our Foundations Playbook content designed to provide your team with a common understanding of the basics of spare parts inventory management. Read more...

Latest Blog Posts

  • The Foundations Playbook is Now Live
  • A Shift in How Spare Parts Knowledge Is Delivered
  • Doing the Hard Things Makes Spare Parts Management Easier
  • Why Every Plant Thinks Its Spare Parts Challenges Are Unique (and Why They Aren’t)
  • Avoiding Survivorship Bias in Spare Part Procurement: From Efficiency to Resilience
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2026 IPIAIGHT PTY LTD.