The optimization of spare parts stocks makes a key contribution to the performance of the maintenance of industrial assets, both economically and in terms of availability and dependability.

While certain anomalies are frequently observed (multiplication of part numbers, erratic consumption of specific parts, quantity of part numbers that have not be used for several years), the complexity lies in the definition of a stocks policy that achieves a good compromise between the unit cost of the parts, stock levels and the availability of these parts to cope with unforeseeable incidents (and their consequences on the production of goods or the availability of assets).

In this case, it is fundamentally important to adapt the stores policy to the criticality of the parts and their predictability. The service specifications (lead times, availability) must be formally defined for each type of part.

ARGON Consulting helps its customers in:

• the analysis of processes and performance in the management of spare parts, in terms of both consumables and repairables: definition of the initial procurement need, forecasts of needs and reorder options, management of repairables, deployment of stocks in the organization (stock in a single location that is distributed between the sites vs. stock in several locations), definition of the service policy on the basis of the criticality and predictability of failures, optimization of stock management modes, planning of repair needs, assessment of consumption forecasts, etc.,
• the identification of the key factors of progress and improvement of performance: actions to be taken as a priority, with rapid results or results in the medium term (e.g., redefinition of contractual terms with strategic suppliers of parts or repair services),
• construction of a business case, valuation of possible gains, that will justify the project and keep track of the gains in relation to the goals,
• the setting of an ambitious target that can be achieved by the existing organization,
• the identification of the key milestones in the implementation of this target,
• taking progressive actions,
• transfer of skills and knowledge to the organization in place.