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Effective spare parts management is crucial for manufacturing companies. Poor management can lead to long downtimes, high inventory costs and unforeseen expenses. With D&TS, you can overcome these challenges and optimize your spare parts management. By integrating digital processes and using accurate product master data, we offer solutions that increase your efficiency and minimize downtime.
The product life cycle of spare parts in manufacturing companies is closely linked to the life cycle of the machines and products for which the spare parts are required. As spare parts play a key role in ensuring operability and minimizing downtime, their life cycle follows specific phases that are strongly aligned with the needs of the manufacturing industry.
Special features: Spare parts must be available in the long term, tie up capital through storage costs and are influenced by technological developments.
Careful planning of the availability, storage and decommissioning of spare parts is crucial to optimize costs and ensure operational capability.
This goes through five main phases:
- Creation/introduction: Spare parts are procured in parallel with new machines and added to the inventory. Spare parts consumption is initially low, maintenance plans are drawn up and stocks are built up.
- Growth: Demand increases with the increasing use of the machines. Optimized warehousing and reordering processes are crucial here.
- Maturity phase: Spare parts reach peak demand. Efficient warehousing and service contracts are important strategies for meeting machine availability.
- Decline: As machine usage declines, so does the demand for spare parts. Stock levels must be reduced and sales planned.
- Destruction: The production of the machine is discontinued, the associated spare parts are no longer needed and tend to become stockpiles. The spare parts must be sold off or scrapped to avoid storage costs.
What is a material system?
The material system in the ERP system is a central process in spare parts management. It manages all relevant spare parts data to ensure smooth production and maintenance.
A material system includes amongst other things the following points:
- Central data management: All commercial (e.g. price, supplier) and technical data (e.g. dimensions, compatibility) is recorded centrally in the ERP system to ensure fast and error-free processes.
- Efficient planning and procurement: The material system enables precise inventory planning so that spare parts can be ordered in good time and stock levels can be optimized.
- Maintenance support: Through integration into maintenance plans, the ERP system ensures that all required spare parts are available for preventive and corrective maintenance measures.
- Cost control: Optimized warehousing and procurement of spare parts reduces storage costs and minimizes capital commitment.
The material system in the ERP is crucial for the availability of spare parts, optimizes procurement and maintenance, and helps to reduce costs and avoid production downtimes.
The classification
It is the process of dividing objects or data into categories based on common characteristics. It can be carried out both manually by experts and automatically with the help of algorithms and machine learning. A special form is the spare parts classification according to ECLASS, which enables a standardized classification of spare parts and takes both commercial and technical characteristics into account.
Commercial characteristics such as material number, supplier, price, minimum order quantity and stock level help with procurement, cost control and inventory management. Technical characteristics such as dimensions, material, temperature resistance, compatibility and service life ensure the correct application and quality of the spare parts.
Classification helps companies to structure data and materials, optimize warehousing and costs and ensure the availability of spare parts. It contributes to efficiency and facilitates analysis and decision-making. Challenges lie in the complexity of the data and the definition of the categories, whereby regular adjustments are necessary to ensure the relevance of the classifications.
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Why end-of-life plays an important role.
End-of-life (EOL) of spare parts means that they are no longer supported or produced by the manufacturer. This poses challenges for the maintenance and operation of your own machines.
Important aspects of the discontinuation process:
- Spare parts availability:
After the announcement of an impending discontinuation, it becomes more difficult to procure necessary spare parts. Companies must replenish existing stocks or find alternatives in order to continue to maintain the machines. - Inventory planning:
Companies need to optimize their spare parts inventory to meet the needs for the remaining life of the machines. Too much stock ties up capital, too little leads to downtime. - Customer communication with manufacturers:
Early coordination with the manufacturer is important in order to be informed about possible successors in good time and to plan alternative solutions. - Retrofitting or machine replacement:
Companies often have to decide after phase-out whether to upgrade machines to new standards or replace them altogether to ensure long-term operability. - Introduction of change management:
Change management for expired replacement parts involves the structured adaptation of obsolete parts to new alternatives to ensure operability and compliance with regulatory requirements such as the FDA. This includes identification, documentation and risk assessment to minimize downtime and comply with regulatory guidelines.
A manufacturing company must proactively plan for discontinued spare parts, optimize inventory and look for alternatives to ensure the operability of its machines and avoid downtime.
BUT: how do you get the information about a discontinued spare part at an early stage and how do you ensure that this information reaches the maintenance department?
We work with you to set up your end-of-life process.
With our innovative ClassCOCKPIT AI solutions, we ensure a seamless process for handling end-of-life products. Our technology processes and categorizes all incoming information and forwards it efficiently to the relevant systems. In this way, we ensure that all processes relating to the supply of spare parts run smoothly.
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Contact us now!How can we help with our ticket system?
Our “ClassCOCKPIT Ticket” solution from is a specialized system for managing material master data in companies. It enables the outsourcing of master data maintenance processes through a structured workflow within the ticket system, which leads to an optimization of data quality and an increase in efficiency. The system offers comprehensive functions, including classification and material creation of data, role concept, various data services, controlling options and an ERP system connection. An intuitive user interface illustrates the ease of use and benefits of the system.
Learn moreThe ClassCOCKPIT Search
ClassCOCKPIT Search is a powerful search solution that has been specially developed for the efficient search for spare parts. It enables hierarchical searches in classification systems such as ECLASS and offers functions for viewing stock levels, stock locations and comparing product specifications. The search can be manual, image-based or by part number and is supported by flexible filters to make the process more efficient.
Advantages:
- Fast and precise search: Optimized search algorithms speed up the process considerably.
- User-friendly: Intuitive operation without lengthy training.
- Adaptable: Scalable for large and small data volumes.
- Secure integration: Can be seamlessly integrated into existing systems with robust security functions.
ClassCOCKPIT Search reduces search times and improves the efficiency of your spare parts management.
What are exchange products?
Replacement products/ alternative spare parts that are not original from the manufacturer (OEM – Original Equipment Manufacturer) can be determined on the basis of technical specifications. These are often produced by third-party suppliers and are often cheaper than original parts, but can offer similar or even the same quality. They are often used when the original parts are difficult to obtain or price is an issue. When selecting replacement products, it is important to pay attention to compatibility and quality in order to ensure the functionality of the machine or system.
Contact us nowWhy is warehouse optimization so essential?
Stock optimization is crucial in spare parts management in order to reduce costs and increase efficiency. Inventory/warehouse cost optimization must be well planned in order to minimize capital commitment while ensuring that the necessary spare parts are available to keep machines and systems operational at all times.
Important aspects of stock optimization for spare parts:
- Inventory reduction:
- Description: By reducing perceived high inventory levels, companies can free up capital and reduce storage costs. Spare parts should be procured based on demand forecasts and frequency of use in order to keep only the required parts in stock.
- Strategy: Use demand analysis, e.g. ABC analysis, to prioritize which spare parts need to be kept in stock in larger quantities and which should only be ordered when needed.
- Inventory cost reduction:
- Description: Warehousing causes costs for personnel, space and administration. By optimizing order quantities and just-in-time procurement for maintenance, companies can reduce these costs without jeopardizing the availability of critical spare parts.
- Strategy: Introduce just-in-time processes in close coordination with suppliers to minimize inventory levels while ensuring fast deliveries. Kanban and consignment can also be possible storage strategies.
- Spare parts availability and risk assessment:
- Description: Reducing inventory levels too much can increase the risk of spare parts not being immediately available in the event of a machine breakdown. It is therefore important to keep critical spare parts for production machines in stock at all times to avoid costly production downtime.
- Strategy: Establish safety stock levels for critical parts that are essential for the maintenance and repair of key machinery.
- Data-based decisions:
- Description: Effective spare parts management requires the use of data analytics and ERP systems to closely monitor inventory levels, lead times and frequency of parts usage.
- Strategy: Regularly review spare parts usage and adjust inventory strategy based on actual usage data to avoid unnecessary inventory costs.
Efficient warehouse optimization is crucial in spare parts management. Targeted optimization of stock levels and storage costs, combined with good demand planning and risk management, can reduce operating costs and ensure machine availability. This leads to greater efficiency and minimizes the risk of prolonged machine downtime, which can lead to high production downtime costs and ad hoc orders.
Contact us now!Why do duplicates complicate spare parts management?
Duplicates in the context of spare parts refer to the presence of multiple entries of the same spare part in a warehouse management system or in physical warehousing. These duplicates can occur in both material master data and physical inventories and often lead to various problems that can affect a company’s efficiency and cost structure.
Causes of duplicates in spare parts:
- Manual data entry:
- Description: Incorrect or redundant entries in the material master system, often caused by inconsistent designations or different names for the same spare part.
- Example: A spare part could be created under different names or article numbers, e.g. “Gasket type A” and “Gasket A type”.
- System mergers:
- Description: When merging databases or integrating new ERP systems, duplicates can occur if identical spare parts from different sources are not merged correctly.
- Example: Two companies merge and their spare parts lists are merged without eliminating duplicates.
- Missing material classification:
- Description: If spare parts are not classified or categorized, multiple entries may occur because employees do not recognize that the part already exists.
- Example: Different departments create the same spare part in their respective systems under slightly different designations.
- Inaccurate forwarding:
- Description: If information is only forwarded conditionally, it is not possible to find out in the system whether these products are actually duplicates of each other.
- Example: Machinery manufacturers deliberately pass on less information about the spare part so that they can further increase their profits. If a spare part needs to be replaced, the manufacturing company approaches the machinery manufacturer and the machinery manufacturer usually benefits from a 300% margin.
Problems due to duplicates of spare parts:
- Increased storage costs:
- Description: Duplicates often lead to unnecessary stock levels, which increases storage costs. Companies may hold more of a spare part than is actually needed.
- Consequences: More warehouse space, higher administrative costs and tied-up capital due to excess inventory.
- Confusion and inefficiency:
- Description: Employees may have difficulty finding the correct spare part if multiple entries exist, reducing efficiency and causing delays in maintenance and repair processes.
- Consequences: Lost time, increased error rate in parts retrieval and potential incorrect orders.
- Lack of transparency:
- Description: Duplicates make it difficult to track and analyze spare parts inventories, which can affect decision-making in purchasing and inventory planning.
- Consequences: Unclear inventory overviews and difficulties in demand planning.
- Inaccurate demand planning:
- Description: If duplicates are not recognized, demand planning could use incorrect data, resulting in either overstocks or shortages.
- Consequences: Increased costs due to unnecessary reordering or production downtime due to missing parts.
Measures to avoid and eliminate duplicates:
- Data cleansing and consolidation:
- Description: regular review and cleansing of material master data to identify and merge duplicates.
- Tools: Use of software tools such as ClassCOCKPIT Ticket for duplicate detection and cleansing, such as database matching programs and deduplicating algorithms.
- Standardization of the material system:
- Description: Introduce clear guidelines and processes for material assets to ensure that spare parts are named and classified consistently.
- Strategies: Use of standardized designations, material classification systems (e.g. ECLASS) and central approval processes for the material system.
- Training and sensitization:
- Description: Training of employees to raise awareness of the importance of correct master data and the avoidance of duplicates.
- Focus: Uniform naming conventions (standard names), careful checking before creating new items and use of existing data sources.
- System integration and harmonization:
- Description: In system mergers and ERP integrations, it is important to identify and clean up duplicates at an early stage.
- Approach: Use of data migration and integration strategies that ensure the consistency and uniqueness of material master data.
Duplicate spare parts can have considerable operational and financial disadvantages. By taking targeted measures to avoid and eliminate duplicates, companies can optimize their inventories, increase efficiency and reduce costs. A carefully managed spare parts warehouse with consistent and clear master data makes a significant contribution to operational reliability and the optimal use of resources.
The MRP process
The MRP process for spare parts is crucial for manufacturing companies to ensure the availability of spare parts and reduce storage costs at the same time. There are various procedures that can be used depending on the needs and company requirements.
Important MRP procedures:
- Reorder point procedure:
- Spare parts are reordered as soon as the stock reaches a specified reorder point. This ensures that there are always enough parts in stock to avoid bottlenecks.
- Ordering frequency procedure:
- Here, reordering takes place at regular intervals, regardless of the current stock level. This method makes it easy to plan, but can lead to excess stock if demand fluctuates.
- Demand-driven replenishment:
- Procurement is carried out exactly according to production and maintenance schedules. This ensures precise coordination with actual demand, avoiding excess stock.
Advanced scheduling approaches:
- Plan-driven MRP method:
- This method is based on production plans and sales forecasts. Spare parts are procured in advance according to plan, particularly useful when demand is stable and predictable.
- Consumption-based replenishment method:
- Based on actual consumption, spare parts are reordered as needed. This is ideal for materials whose consumption is irregular and difficult to predict.
Advantages of these processes:
- Ensuring machine availability: downtimes are minimized through precise planning and needs-based procurement.
- Cost optimization: Stocks are reduced to the necessary level, which lowers storage costs.
- Increased efficiency: Optimized scheduling processes enable better planning and more efficient maintenance.
An optimized MRP process, whether it is plan-controlled, consumption-controlled or based on fixed order points, ensures a reliable supply of spare parts and reduces storage costs at the same time. It makes a decisive contribution to machine availability and cost efficiency, which is of central importance in the manufacturing industry.
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