The Problem with a Goal-Focused Approach Most organizations set goals like: Reduce inventory costs by 10% Achieve 98% fill rate Minimize stockouts to fewer than 3 per month These are all worthy objectives. But problems arise when the focus remains on the result without designing the systems needed to achieve and sustain it. A […]
Spare Parts Management Training: The Power of Curiosity and Commitment
Why Spare Parts Management Requires More Than Talent Spare parts management is a complex discipline. It involves balancing operational needs, forecasting demand, maintaining optimal stock levels, and ensuring that inventory aligns with maintenance schedules. Even those with natural organizational or analytical skills may struggle to navigate its challenges without the proper mindset. Talent might […]
Spare Parts Inventory Management: Small Wins and Compromises
The Danger of Small Compromises Compromises in spare parts inventory often begin innocuously. For instance, a manager might decide to skip a routine review of stock levels. A few weeks later, a vital component is out of stock, halting production and incurring costly downtime. Similarly, expediting the creation of stock items with little or […]
Spare Parts Inventory Management Training: Letting Go of Ego
The Ego Barrier in Learning Spare parts inventory management involves intricate concepts such as demand forecasting, stock optimization, and lifecycle management. It’s a domain that blends technical skills with strategic decision-making. However, even the most skilled professionals can hit a learning roadblock when their ego gets in the way. Ego manifests as the fear […]
Best Practice Spare Parts Management
How do you determine exactly what constitutes best practice spare parts inventory management? One problem with ‘best practice’ is that while it may be possible to define a ‘best practice’ for almost everything that you do, implementing these practices may not actually make any difference to your overall results. Another problem is that discussions on […]
How to Make Better, More Transparent, Inventory Holding Decisions
The reality is that the classic inventory management theory does not provide realistic answers for determining the Reorder Point (ROP) and Reorder Quantity (ROQ) for spare parts inventory. To effectively manage spare parts inventory, it is important to understand why the classic inventory management theory doesn’t work. This will stop you from the temptation of […]
Why A Critical Machine Part is NOT the Same as a Critical Spare Part
Before deciding how many of an item should be stocked, the first question to ask is: should the item stocked at all? One of the issues with managing spare parts inventory, used for operations and maintenance support is that deciding what to stock can often be an emotional rather than a rational decision. This is […]
Four Common Techniques to NOT Use With Spare Parts Inventory
An important part of any strategy, including your spare parts inventory management strategy, is to know what not to do. By understanding which inventory management techniques you should not apply to your spare parts management (and why) you might just save your company a bundle of money (and yourself a lot of heartache). Spare parts […]
The Latest Trend in Spare Parts Training
Subject area: spare parts training Online training has been evolving for some years now. And of course, the pandemic years led to a change in attitude to both remote working and remote training. However, in 2023 we experienced a change that might just be the latest trend in spare parts training. This is what I […]
Spare Parts Management Procurement: The Impact of Goal Misalignment
Subject area: Spare Parts Management Procurement Procurement plays a crucial role in spare parts inventory management, ensuring the availability of parts while minimizing costs and waste. By effectively sourcing, negotiating, and managing the supply of spare parts, procurement services contribute to streamlining inventory, enhancing decision-making, and reducing costs. However, achieving these outcomes requires an alignment […]