The Power of Prediction

摘要

Service parts inventory management can be daunting. You can all relate to needing your car repaired. Say you need a new water pump. You really don't care that demand for your particular model of water pump is low volume, intermittent and difficult to forecast. You also don't care that the supplier of this water pump does not necessarily deliver on time to the regional service parts warehouse. You just want the car fixed-and fast. Quality in service parts management means availability without excess inventory. In the service parts business, low-volume demand can dry up, leaving you holding the bag with excess and obsolete inventory write-offs. While my service parts inventory management experience is in the electronic test business, this situation is directly analogous to the all-too-familiar need for a new water pump in a car.