Spare Part Inventory Management:
– A Challenge Even for Logistics Experts
In the B2B aftermarket, customers often prioritize parts availability over pricing, especially in the short term. Delivery is expected for both frequent consumables and rare strategic and critical parts. The urgency also varies significantly—ranging from readily available parts needed for a non-critical machine overhaul next summer, to a unique part required immediately to resolve a breakdown that halts an entire production line.
You may need to cover products 20 years old or more. It can be really challenging to meet expectations without ending up with a huge inventory, and experience both slow and none-moving parts.
Therefore, effective inventory management is crucial. In our experience, traditional inventory strategies like ABC classifications don’t work well enough. Experts used to setting production or new sales inventories find it hard to grasp the complexity of the aftermarket. A thorough study of current and expected sales, product lifecycles and spare part properties is needed.
Meeting customer needs (and setting their expectations) for availability is essential for success of your company. It mostly directly affect customer satisfaction and thus your ability to retain existing customers and win new. Let’s discuss how we can assist you.
We can help with:
- Analysing of historic, current and expected future sales
- Matching it against current inventory
- Defining part classifications and stock parameters
- Clarify customer expectations and any guarantees given
- Defining what customers can expect. Communicate it both internally, to partners and selected customers
- Simulating the physical and financial impact of a new strategy versus the existing one
- Assisting with implementation
- Suggest ways to get reduce excess inventory and non-moving /obsolete parts without resorting to scrapping
