4 Best Practices for Warehouse Spare Parts Success

Get a Recommended Spare Parts List (RSPL)

An RSPL is a document from the equipment manufacturer listing all the recommended spare parts to keep in stock. An operation’s RSPL can be a combination of lists from many manufacturers and brands supplying the warehouse equipment. Maintaining and effectively using these lists can be a significant undertaking because each manufacturer has its own terms of service and ordering platforms. Working with a supply chain partner like FORTNA can help you combine these lists into one RSPL that can be easily accessed and leveraged for seamless operations.

A RSPL can also result from a third-party assessment, where an expert technician or team of technicians provides a system health check onsite. The evaluation can include a parts cage assessment where they identify opportunities to improve spare parts’ storage and re-stocking practices and procedures.

Identify Critical Spare Parts

Almost as important as the RSPL, identifying critical spare parts is vital. Using historical parts ordering, spare parts replacement timing and maintenance data, an operation can recognize routine parts replacement windows, identify parts that may wear at a faster rate, and parts that are operationally crucial that need to be stocked at an appropriate level.

This step’s importance is magnified even more as lead times for some base parts and parts that include electronics continue to grow longer.