Research on the spare parts inventory

The equipment management, maintenance and repair included, has been proven as an important task in operation. Spare parts inventory can exert great influence on the operation. Spare parts storage is directly linked to system performance since insufficient stocks can lead to extended equipment downtime. However, excessive or insufficient stocks lead to large inventory carrying cost and risks of not having then when they are needed. Therefore, in the management of spare parts inventories, one has to seek a balance and make a compromise between the cost of stocking the parts and the cost and risks of not having them when they are needed. In the thesis, characteristics of spare parts are listed by comparing with WIP and final products. Classifications of spare parts are introduced for different inventory methodologies. At the end of the thesis, a model for single depot is introduced for optimization.