Spare parts like other inventory items are kept to synchronise demand and

supply. If it was possible to procure spare parts without loss of time, the need to
keep them in stock would therefore disappear.
There is always a delay from need identification and spare parts delivery
technically known as lead time in procurement that needs to be managed.
Such delay is not uniform or constant thereby introducing uncertainty of supply.
On the other hand, demand is also uncertain. Material planners and maintenance
engineers have frequent headaches in determining the optimum quantities of
spares to keep.
It is very difficult to predict with certainty how much spare parts will be required
and laying spares in stock serves as a cushion or shock absorber in the event of
sharp rises in demand of spares.
If no spare parts are kept, uncertainty in demand and supply will put a plant to
halt, increasing ultimate production costs without adding any value to an
organisation. These spare parts come in three classes, insurance spares, unit
replacement spares and consumables.
Insurance spare parts are not normally required for routine maintenance, but
cause long shutdowns of vital equipment or the entire plant in case of nonavailability. They are thus characterised by irregular consumption and not easily
susceptible to closely foreseen events. They are of high reliability of performance
and are also mostly in the high value category.
If we consider motor vehicle spares, a radiator, windscreen and fuel tank will fall
in this category. A fleet manager would ensure that at least one of such items is
kept in stock even if the likelihood of demand might be low.
Unit replacement spares are assemblies and sub-assemblies that are replaced as
complete units to release defective assemblies for repair in order to cut down on
costly idle time of equipment.
Unit replacement items are also known as rotating spares which, in the event of
a defect, the faulty part is removed and replaced with either a new or
reconditioned spare part.
The defective part is then sent for reconditioning to replace the one mounted on
the equipment. On a motor vehicle, spares such as alternators, starter motors
and injector pumps will fall in this category.
The third class of spare parts is the consumable spares. These are the spare
parts that require replacement due to wear and tear.
Their life cycle is inherently short, qualifying them to be consumable spares.
Using same common example, a vehicle service kit, suspension spares and Vbelts would fall in this category.

In order to be effective, spare parts management and consideration of the range

of models of equipment that shall be operated are critical. Large range of
different models of equipment implies that the level of stock holding for the
spares has to increase as well.
This principle is critical across all industries, if the organisation has a range of
models of different equipment, inevitably the spares investments increases.
It is therefore critical to reduce the variety of models of equipment to reduce the
challenges posed by spare parts both operationally and financially.