Subject Area: Spare parts decision support, training, resources, and advisory
Why was SparePartsKnowHow.com created?
SparePartsKnowHow.com was created because spare parts are different.
Most inventory management methods were developed for retail, wholesale, or production inventory. Spare parts do not behave that way. Demand is often intermittent, consequences of stockouts can be severe, and many items are held not because they move frequently, but because the cost of not having them can be unacceptable.
Phillip Slater, the founder of SparePartsKnowHow.com, developed tools, frameworks, and practical methods specifically for MRO and spare parts inventory management. The site now brings those resources together in a structured decision support platform for individuals, teams, and organizations that need better spare parts decisions.
How is managing spare parts different from managing other inventory?
With standard inventory, slow movement is often treated as a signal to reduce or remove stock.
With spare parts, slow movement may be exactly what you expect.
Some spare parts are held as insurance against failure. You may not want them to move, because movement usually means something has failed. The question is not simply, “How often does this item sell?”
The better question is,
“What happens if we need this part and do not have it?”
That is why spare parts inventory management needs its own decision logic.
The goal is not just to reduce inventory.
The goal is to balance availability, risk, cost, criticality, lead time, obsolescence, and operational consequence.
What is SparePartsKnowHow.com today?
SparePartsKnowHow.com is a spare parts decision support platform.
It provides structured learning, practical frameworks, tools, reports, templates, articles, and expert guidance for people who need to improve MRO and spare parts inventory management.
The site is no longer just a collection of training courses.
It is being organized around the decisions that people need to make: what to stock, how much to stock, how to control inventory, how to reduce risk, how to improve systems and processes, and how to build internal capability.
What is meant by “decision support”?
Decision support means helping you make better spare parts decisions in a structured and repeatable way.
Instead of relying on habit, opinion, gut feel, or generic inventory rules, SparePartsKnowHow.com provides practical guidance that helps you understand the decision, the trade-offs, and the consequences.
This is important because many spare parts decisions involve uncertainty. There may be little demand history, long lead times, poor data, conflicting priorities, or pressure from maintenance, operations, finance, and procurement.
Decision support helps bring structure to those situations.
What are the main access levels?
The site is being organized into clear access levels so you can choose the level that best matches your current need and capability.
Open Access
Ungated articles, videos, tools, and archive content available without joining.
Foundations
Structured learning for people who need the core concepts, language, and decision logic of spare parts management.
Operations
Practical focus areas for people who need to improve how spare parts are managed in practice, including topics such as policy, governance, optimization, data, systems, and process improvement.
Practitioner
Deeper decision support for people who need access to the full resource base, practical tools, detailed guidance, and broader professional reference material.
Foundations for Teams
A team-based option designed to give a group a common language, common understanding, and aligned approach to spare parts management.
What is Open Access?
Open Access is the part of SparePartsKnowHow.com that is available without joining or logging in.
It includes the Open Archive and other freely available material developed over many years. This gives visitors access to practical insight before making any commitment.
Open Access is useful if you are exploring a topic, looking for an article, or trying to understand whether SparePartsKnowHow.com is relevant to your situation.
What is the Foundations level?
Foundations is for people who need to understand the essentials of spare parts inventory management.
It explains why spare parts are different, introduces the core decision logic, and provides the practical concepts needed to make better decisions. The content is structured in manageable sections so you can follow it as a learning pathway or go directly to the topic that addresses your immediate issue.
Foundations is suitable for people who are new to spare parts management, have grown into the role without formal training, or need a clearer basis for day-to-day decisions.
What is the Operations level?
Operations is for people who already understand the basics and now need to improve how spare parts are managed in practice.
This level focuses on applied topics such as inventory optimization, policy development, governance, materials data, systems, processes, barcoding, and implementation issues.
Operations is especially relevant for people who are responsible for improving performance, reducing excess inventory, improving availability, introducing better controls, or moving their organization away from ad hoc decision-making.
What is the Practitioner level?
Practitioner is for people who need deeper access to the full range of SparePartsKnowHow.com resources.
This level is intended for people who are expected to provide internal guidance, solve more complex problems, support improvement projects, or become the person others turn to for spare parts management advice.
Practitioner access may include advanced resources, practical tools, calculators, reports, templates, and deeper decision support material.
How do I know which level is right for me?
Choose the level based on the problem you are trying to solve.
If you need to understand the basics, start with Foundations.
If you need to improve the way spare parts are managed in your operation, look at Operations.
If you need deeper resources, tools, and broader decision support, look at Practitioner.
If you need a team to build a shared understanding and common language, look at Foundations for Teams.
If you are not sure, use the Course Selection Tool or review the membership options page.
Is this still training?
Yes, but not only training.
Some content is structured as learning. Some is designed as reference material. Some supports practical decision-making. Some helps with implementation. Some is intended for teams and organizations.
The new structure recognizes that people do not always need a “course.”
Sometimes they need a clear explanation.
Sometimes they need a tool.
Sometimes they need a framework.
Sometimes they need a policy example, a checklist, or access to expert guidance.
How does the self-paced content work?
After joining the relevant access level, you can log in and work through the content at your own pace.
The material is designed so that you can follow a structured pathway or go directly to the section that addresses your immediate problem. Many sections are provided in short, focused segments so that you can make progress without needing to set aside large blocks of time.
This means you can use the site as training, as a reference source, or as practical decision support when a specific issue arises.
Do I have to complete everything in order?
No.
If you are new to spare parts management, it is sensible to start with the Foundations material and work through it in sequence.
If you already have experience, you can go directly to the topic that is most relevant to your situation. The content is designed to support both structured learning and problem-driven access.
What if I do not have time to study?
That is one reason the content is being structured into smaller, more focused sections.
You do not need to complete everything at once. You can work through the material when it suits you, return to topics later, and use the resources when a specific issue comes up at work.
The aim is not to make you “do a course” for the sake of it. The aim is to help you build capability and make better spare parts decisions.
What about team training?
Foundations for Teams is designed for organizations that want a group of people to develop a common understanding of spare parts management.
This is useful because spare parts decisions are rarely made by one person alone. Maintenance, procurement, storeroom, planning, finance, engineering, and operations can all influence outcomes.
When a team shares the same language and decision logic, it becomes easier to improve policy, challenge assumptions, reduce friction, and implement change.
Who is this for?
SparePartsKnowHow.com is for people and organizations involved in MRO and spare parts inventory management.
This includes people working in or with:
• Storerooms and warehouses
• Spare parts management
• Maintenance and reliability
• Procurement and purchasing
• Supply chain
• Planning
• Engineering
• Finance
• Asset-intensive operations
• Improvement and transformation projects
It is also relevant for people who have been given responsibility for spare parts inventory but have never been formally trained in how spare parts differ from other types of inventory.
Is this relevant if I work in procurement or supply chain?
Yes, provided your role involves MRO or spare parts inventory.
Procurement and supply chain teams often influence supplier selection, purchasing rules, reorder settings, cataloguing, lead times, inventory policy, and data quality. These decisions have a direct impact on spare parts availability and inventory value.
However, spare parts cannot be managed well using purchasing logic alone. The best results come when procurement, maintenance, operations, and inventory teams understand the same spare parts decision framework.
Is this relevant if I work in maintenance or reliability?
Yes.
Maintenance and reliability teams are often closest to the operational consequences of spare parts decisions. They understand equipment criticality, failure consequences, and the real impact of not having the right part available.
SparePartsKnowHow.com helps connect that operational knowledge with inventory decision-making, so that stock levels, policies, and priorities are based on risk and consequence rather than habit or guesswork.
Is this relevant for finance teams?
Yes, if finance is involved in inventory value, working capital, write-offs, or stock reduction targets.
A common mistake is to treat spare parts inventory as if it is simply excess working capital. Some of it may be excess, but some of it protects production, maintenance, safety, and operational continuity.
The challenge is to distinguish between inventory that is necessary, inventory that is excessive, and inventory that is obsolete or poorly controlled. That requires spare parts-specific decision logic.
Do you provide certificates?
Where a certificate is available, it will be linked to completion requirements for the relevant learning pathway, focus area, or assessment.
Certificates are useful because they provide evidence that a person has completed the relevant material and demonstrated understanding. They are not a substitute for experience, but they do help individuals and organizations show progress in building spare parts management capability.
The specific certificate options will depend on the access level and content area selected.
Can this count toward CPD?
In many cases, yes.
SparePartsKnowHow.com content may contribute to your Continuing Professional Development where your professional association allows self-directed learning, online learning, or industry-specific professional development.
Requirements vary between organizations, so you should check with your own professional body or employer. Where relevant, you should keep your own record of time spent, topics completed, and certificates received.
What support do I get?
Support depends on the access level or service selected.
For structured content, support may include guidance on using the material and clarification of content-related questions.
For more specific or complex issues, Expert Advisory may be more appropriate.
The purpose of the support is to help you apply the material correctly, not just consume information.
What is Expert Advisory?
Expert Advisory provides direct access to specialist guidance from Phillip Slater.
It is not another membership level and it is not a replacement for the structured content. It is for situations where you need an expert view on a specific issue, decision, project, policy, or internal challenge.
This may include reviewing your approach, helping clarify a decision, discussing implementation options, or providing independent guidance when your organization is unsure what to do next.
Do you provide consulting?
SparePartsKnowHow.com provides expert guidance and advisory support. The exact format depends on the issue.
Some organizations need a short advisory session. Others need support with policy, governance, optimization, data, training, or implementation planning.
If your issue is specific to your organization, the best next step is to make contact and describe what you are trying to achieve.
Do you provide software?
SparePartsKnowHow.com is not primarily a software company.
However, we do have relationships with selected partners that provide software and services in areas such as inventory optimization and materials data management.
The important point is that software should support the decision. It should not replace clear thinking, sound policy, or good data. Where partner software is relevant, we help position it within the broader spare parts decision support framework.
What is inventory optimization software?
Inventory optimization software helps organizations review stocking decisions, inventory levels, availability risk, reorder settings, and related trade-offs.
For spare parts, this needs to be handled carefully because many items have intermittent demand, long lead times, high consequence of stockout, or limited usage history.
Optimization is most useful when the organization understands the decision logic, has suitable data, and knows how the software output will be used.
What is materials data management?
Materials data management focuses on the quality, consistency, and usability of spare parts data.
Poor descriptions, duplicates, incomplete records, inconsistent naming, and weak cataloguing rules make it harder to find parts, control inventory, optimize stock levels, and make reliable decisions.
Better data does not solve every spare parts problem, but poor data will undermine almost every improvement effort.
How do I register and pay?
Registration is completed online through the relevant access-level or service page.
Choose the option that best matches your needs, follow the joining or enquiry link, and complete the required details. Where online payment is available, access is usually provided after registration and payment are completed.
For team, advisory, enterprise, or partner-related enquiries, contact us so we can understand what you need and direct you to the most appropriate option.
Can I upgrade later?
Where upgrade options are available, they will be explained on the relevant access or membership pages.
The new structure is designed to make progression clearer: you may start with Foundations, move into Operations, or choose Practitioner access if you need deeper resources and tools.
What if I joined under the previous course structure?
Existing access arrangements will be handled according to the terms that applied when you joined.
As the site is updated, some names, pages, and structures may change. The purpose of those changes is to make the platform easier to use and better aligned with how people actually solve spare parts management problems.
If you are unsure how the changes affect your access, contact us.
What are your mission, vision, and values?
Mission
To provide practical spare parts decision support that helps individuals, teams, and organizations improve availability, reduce waste, manage risk, and make better inventory decisions.
Vision
To be the global go-to platform for spare parts inventory management decision support, learning, tools, and practical guidance.
Values
Leadership: We are prepared to say what matters, challenge conventional thinking, and focus on the decisions that drive results.
Integrity: We are honest, practical, and guided by what works in real spare parts environments.
Service: We aim to provide clear, useful, and responsive support.
Insight: We develop pragmatic, implementable content, tools, and frameworks.
Collaboration: We recognize that spare parts outcomes depend on cross-functional alignment.
Results: Our work is aimed at measurable improvement in spare parts management performance.
What if I have more questions?
Simple just contact us and ask!
If your question is about which access level is right for you, start with the membership options page or the selection tool.
If your question is about a specific business issue, decision, or project, Expert Advisory may be the best starting point.