Business owners ask us all the time how they can make their operations more efficient and improve their profits. The answer: proper spare parts inventory management.
Essential Parts Inventory Management
1. Keep Spare Parts On-Hand
One of the key motivations of inventory management is keeping spare parts on-hand to prevent delays in production. Without the proper parts for your machinery and equipment, your business could shut down for hours or even days at a time. Having spare parts on-hand aids with outage prevention and helps reduce the risk of equipment failure. We suggest having a plan A, B, C, and D to help keep your business on track during the busy times. It’s similar to having a backup for the backup plan.
2. Staying on Track
Often, incorrect inventory levels result in expensive storage fees. Or, if you have too much of one part, but not enough of another, maintenance slows and downtime increases. Your business can’t afford downtime. You need to hit the deadline every time. Unfortunately, there still may be some situations that occur that are out of your control. However, you should work to prevent as much downtime as possible to ensure your customers remain satisfied.
3. Perform a Strategic Evaluation
Performing a strategic evaluation helps you prioritize your spares, so they are there when you need them. This evaluation includes parts for both planned and unplanned equipment maintenance. Not having the right spares available prevents your facility from achieving maximum efficiency. Conversely, having the right inventory available helps you complete maintenance tasks promptly and speeds up production time.
4. Looking at the Facts (bonus tip)
We suggest becoming very familiar with your machinery. Check the failure history of specific parts and determine how essential they are to your business operations. Considering these facts for your assets and equipment will help you with inventory and prevent mechanical malfunctions and equipment failures. Some machinery might have to be replaced depending on the severity of the damage, so don’t wait until the last minute to learn about the equipment your business relies on.
Parts Inventory Management from GP MaTe
Proper parts inventory management is not optional. Without this management, your business won’t operate and perform at its best. At GP MaTe, we provide critical spare parts inventory management solutions for organizations of all sizes in the manufacturing and process industries. Our support and implementation are unmatched. Contact us today to learn about our services and let us help you today.
About GP MaTe
GP MaTe is a user-friendly maintenance and material management system that facilitates maintenance management solutions, work orders and critical spare parts management. Our product has many optional modules that support Safety (PSM, MOC and LOTO), Budgeting, Multi-plant information sharing, and Operator Tours and Data Collection. The system is available in many languages and interfaces with most accounting and ERP systems.