How Obsolete Parts Are Caused and Why They Are Problematic

Obsolete parts in your EAM/CMMS system and in inventory can pose problems for your maintenance activities if they aren’t managed proactively. Obsolete parts occur naturally over time as vendor’s release updated versions of equipment and recommend new spare parts for old equipment.

Factors Causing Obsolescence

Poor Demand Projections

Predicting demand for spare parts is complicated and requires both expertise and effective use of your EAM/CMMS system. If demand for a spare part is lower than anticipated, it can become obsolete before all the parts in inventory are used.   

New Equipment

Improvements in equipment may result in some of the spare parts from older models becoming obsolete.  Vendors may also improve some of the parts for existing equipment and recommend against using older versions of the parts rendering them effectively obsolete especially if there is a safety concern.

High Lead Times

Parts with high lead times that you need in inventory increase the risk of the part not getting used before it becomes obsolete.

Issues Caused By Obsolescence

Delays

If you aren’t proactive in managing obsolete parts then maintenance activities can be delayed and result in unecessary downtime and lost revenue.

Stranded Inventory

If obsolescence of parts isn’t managed efficiently you can end up with expensive stranded inventory that will need to be written off.

Solution

Find out how you can manage obsolescence of spare parts more efficiently and proactively.

Contact us to book a demo and learn more.