Parts and Material Management
An Invaluable Tool for Service Providers
Spare parts management is one of the most important and challenging areas for a service provider – either as a direct service to the customer base or as part of the company's own field service, depot and repair operations.
Efficient spare parts management allows service providers to handle:
- Investment in large spare parts inventory covering a multitude of product configurations and revisions;
- Global inventory management offering both internal and external access and visibility;
- Management of alternate parts/interchangeability;
- Vendor managed Inventory (VMI);
- Efficient replenishment including repair and remanufacture of items;
- Warranty management.
Parts and material management does not just mean selling spare parts. The service provider may also need to add other types of material services to be able to support contracted service levels. This could include component loan out and component exchange service, the latter of which is becoming an increasing business for many service providers. Component loan and exchange offerings can vary but the objective is the same – keeping customers up and running by shortening the lead time for parts replacement services.
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