Every consultant that you ever meet will tell you that in order to implement any type of operational improvement you will need a project champion.
That is, someone who not only knows what is required but who also is prepared to work to make it happen, push back to the neigh-sayers, help inform and educate everyone involved, and take some responsibility for making it all happen. For many projects one champion can get this done, however, for spare parts inventory management improvement one champion may not be enough.
The Interactions Are Complex
The benefits of improved spare parts inventory management are well documented: reduced working capital, increased parts availability, reduced downtime, or even all three! With so much at stake, companies are usually prepared to invest time and money in the training and development of their staff so that they can make genuine and lasting improvements that reap all those benefits.
However, achieving a company-wide approach to spare parts inventory management requires recognition of everyone involved in implementing the required changes and ensuring that they have the know-how required. Think storeroom, planning, maintenance, procurement, supply chain, and even finance.
Given the range of personnel involved, and the processes required, the daily interactions and decision-making relating to spare parts inventory management can be complex. In this environment appointing and training just one champion across a network of sites or locations does not make any sense. Large companies however will do just this. They make this investment in know-how in just one individual and expect that this person will influence all locations. This might be OK if you are operating a relatively small single site but larger companies that operate multiple sites and/or multiple storerooms and locations need more.
Think About Day-to-Day Execution
The ‘central champion’ is necessary to set direction and ensure a consistent set of policies and processes but improving spare parts inventory management also inevitably requires improved decision making, and a change in mindset. This must take place in-situ where decisions are made in real time, not in a centralized corporate office. To be successful in improving spare parts inventory management you need to involve those ’on the ground’ who are dealing with the day-to-day execution of improvements. A distant champion usually leads to a lack of local ownership
Therefore, larger firms need to involve multiple personnel, at all locations, so that they can realize all of the benefits of standardization, a common language, and continuous engagement. These companies need to ensure that everyone is ‘in the loop’ if they are to achieve consistency of outcomes. And this only happens if you appoint a champion at each location.
It Is An Easy Trap
It is an easy trap for even the most experienced managers. Budget pressures, cost allocation issues, and even uncertainty about the capability of people outside of the direct span of control, all contribute to a limitation in engaging and training all the people that are needed to get the job done.
If your spare parts ‘front line’ is actually many locations, and you want to change the day-to-day decision making around spare parts inventory, then you absolutely must ensure that you appoint and train multiple spare parts management champions. Trying to achieve the necessary changes solely from a position of central control results in fragmented activity, inconsistent application, poor adoption of new tools, and ultimately falling short of your goals.