Over the years I have discovered something interesting.
There are many spare parts inventory managers that do something a little different at this time of the year.
No, I don’t mean that they plan how they can move budget allocation from one fiscal year to another (although some do that!).
What they do is reflect!
One of the positive side-effects of another year ending is it creates a reason for spare parts inventory managers to pause for a moment and evaluate how and where they are going with respect to improving their service and results.
Too many managers mistakenly believe that they cannot afford to slow down, or perhaps even stop, to reflect on what they are doing and where they are going.
Instead, they choose to continue to grind away, moving blindly from one year into the next.
I guess that their hope is that making it to another year will be the catalyst for a magical transformation in management fortunes.
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The Reality for Spare Parts Inventory Managers
Here is the reality.
If you want to better manage your inventory: reduce stock outs, increase service and availability, optimize your holdings, or reduce the impact of obsolescence, then it’s going to take more than the year on your wall calendar changing.
The sad fact is that most spare parts inventory managers will begin 2018 with the same strategies they finished this year with, without having reviewed or reflected upon the effectiveness of those strategies.
In all likelihood, managers who fail to review their operational habits and performance will experience, at best, the same results as this year – but more likely will actually experience a diminished return for their effort.
If you want some things to change in your spare parts inventory management, you need to stop looking at the calendar and start looking in the mirror. The change you are looking for starts with you.
The question is: Are you ready?