Spare parts logistics

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The spare parts logistics deals with the timely provision of spare parts and their storage .

It belongs to the procurement logistics of the spare parts consumers and to the sales logistics of the spare parts manufacturers.

As a result of service contracts , spare parts for machines and devices must be ordered in good time (in some cases automatically via a dedicated line ) so that they can always be kept available (regardless of external availability ).

Advances in additive manufacturing could have a major impact on spare parts logistics. In the future, spare parts could be printed by companies and consumers as required, which would eliminate storage .

tasks and goals

The tasks and goals of spare parts logistics often overlap with the general tasks and goals of logistics .

The main task is to provide the spare parts required for the maintenance of machines and systems. This also includes the storage and handling of these spare parts.

Furthermore, with the help of spare parts logistics, attempts are also made to bind customers to the company and thus to strengthen the company's position in the competition. The delivery properties are also a point worth mentioning. Short delivery times , a high level of readiness to deliver , delivery reliability for existing customers and high delivery flexibility are almost a prerequisite.

In addition, companies must always find the right balance between sufficient storage and the lowest possible capital commitment. If too many spare parts are stored, the result is a high capital tie-up and thus a capital loss, but the probability that a spare part is not in stock when a customer inquires or orders a part is very low. If too few parts are stored, the capital tie-up costs decrease, but it is more likely that spare parts will not be available and thus customer satisfaction will suffer. This point also applies to the recipients of the spare parts. If too few parts are stored, the capital tie-up costs are low, but there is the possibility that if a part fails in production, downtimes and thus sometimes immense costs and capital losses are incurred by the company. If too many spare parts are stored, there are higher capital tie-up costs, but the costs resulting from the failure of a part are kept low because the right spare part is already in stock.

For this very reason, the question must always be asked, what must, should and can be in stock in what quantities?

Legal obligations

Contractual obligations

The manufacturers of primary products must comply with contractual performance obligations. Customers can make use of warranty services (BGB §§ 305, 157).

Furthermore, the obligation under warranty (BGB §§ 459-492, §§ 633-640, § 138, § 242) means that companies have to ensure the supply of their customers with spare parts within the statutory warranty obligation.

Post-contractual secondary obligation

In addition, companies must ensure the supply of spare parts for durable consumer goods (§ 242 BGB, principle of good faith).

The duration for this depends on the consumer good. The yardstick, however, is the average service life of the goods.

For example, automobile manufacturers still have to ensure that spare parts are available 10 to 12 years after the vehicle series has been discontinued.

Problems resulting from this

Due to the ever shorter product lifecycles, the stocks of spare parts threaten to grow.

This can be clearly seen in the example of the automotive industry. As already written above, the automobile manufacturers have to ensure the supply of spare parts for approx. 10 to 12 years and in combination with the short life cycles of the products, the manufacturers always have to store a huge amount of dead and living spare parts.

Forecasting in spare parts logistics

Forecasting in the automotive industry

Forecasting means planning in advance to prevent possible risks so that they cannot arise. This is a special task, especially for spare parts logistics, in order to keep the problems as low as possible in the case of initial investments in new goods and in the after-sales business. When developing new products, data must be collected in order to be able to produce optimally in a manufacturing company. This requires evaluations of work processes as well as the size and weight of the individual parts to be processed. In the case of goods that are structurally identical to their predecessors, this is easier to evaluate than with completely new products, since evaluations and data are already available for the previous models and these only need to be supplemented. This method can be found most often in the automotive industry, when developing new car models. There comparative data of the work processes are collected, such as the assembly of the individual spare parts and the time required for this. This data is retrieved for a new car model and new workflows are worked out with initial estimates for the parts and operations not yet documented.

Forecasting in regular spare parts logistics

An important point of economic success is to keep order lead times as short as possible so that many orders can be processed. This not only applies to spare parts logistics, but also to all other areas of logistics. The distance between the goods issue of the delivery center and the goods receipt of the customer is determined as the central control variable in order to then determine the required warehouse locations. Linked to this are the transit times of the transport, which are divided into two sub-areas. The triggering of the order which is made by a fixed reorder level in the system as well as the availability in the warehouse itself. Spare parts logistics networks should be expanded across Europe so that one can offer an adapted service and thus serve the customer (s). If a machine breaks down at a manufacturer, it is usually known and agreed in advance how important the repair is and how high the resulting damage will be. With this knowledge, it is easier for the service provider to plan a smooth repair or maintenance process. As a prerequisite for effective central spare parts logistics, as in other areas of logistics, it is important to create a forecast of the quantities and order processes based on the deliveries. Defining the goods in the overall range into the categories of fast-moving and slow-moving goods helps to create optimal and time-efficient processes. Fast-moving parts are the parts that are most important and leave the warehouse quickly, whereas slow-moving parts are the opposite. However, slow-moving items can still be important parts.

Life cycle orientation for needs

Due to economic crises, the robustness of the spare parts business and fluctuations in sales, the spare parts market is now a sought-after and competitive market. Companies have to maintain and expand market shares in order to meet these demands. Therefore, in addition to the forecast of spare parts planning and the reduction of inventory costs, it is also important to consider the life cycle of the spare parts requirement. The need for spare parts depends on various factors related to the primary product, the spare part itself, maintenance and the spare parts market. The need for spare parts is a derivative demand, so the demand for spare parts is a fundamental requirement. The more primary products are on the market and are used, the higher the potential demand for their spare parts. Further factors that relate to the primary product are the age structure due to the ever advancing improvement process and development of the products as well as the recycling through market elimination. In addition to the service life of the primary product, that of the spare parts is also important. An increased service life of the spare parts leads to a lower demand, but the need for spare parts is influenced by the range of spare parts available. An increased use of norm and standard parts, or the combination of several spare parts in one module can increase the demand and thus improve the planning. In maintenance, the operator can use various strategies that can influence both their own spare parts requirements and those of the manufacturer. These strategies are based on damage, time and condition. In the case of damage orientation, the parts are only replaced after a failure, which has a sporadic effect on demand. In the second strategy, the parts are replaced after a defined period of time, regardless of their condition. This results in less urgency and increased planning security. In the condition-based maintenance strategy, the parts are checked during inspections and the time of failure can be determined. By using early information systems, it can be estimated when there will be a need for the worn parts. The need for spare parts is therefore stochastically determined by the maintenance strategy. The life cycle is based on an analysis of the spare parts planning. The cycle itself contains four phases, after which the meaning of the spare parts is derived and these are divided into A, B or C parts. In the introductory phase of the product, the spare parts are very important and are therefore classified as A-parts. The parts are consumed sporadically and seasonally. Spare parts are of high and medium importance in the consolidation phase of the life cycle. The spare parts with medium importance are called B-parts. Half of the consumption in this section is still sporadic but is changing into a trend. The third phase, the degeneration phase, is of increasingly less importance for their spare parts. Therefore, after a certain period of time, the B parts are referred to as C parts and, based on the consumption model, are more stationary. The consumption character now changes from medium to strong, as the product has a certain lifespan and, depending on the maintenance strategy, has more damage and defects. As the last life cycle phase, scrapping, the spare parts are of the least importance, are also classified as stationary and assigned to the category zero or rare in terms of consumption. These analyzes can be used to prematurely eliminate time and problems for forecasting and the resulting planning strategy.

Outsourcing

The trend towards outsourcing services that are not part of the company's core competency is still unbroken today. Many companies use other logistics service providers to maintain the service level of maintenance and repair and to reduce the costs of providing logistics services. In 2013, a little more than half of the companies did not use external service providers, which shows that there was still considerable potential for outsourcing in spare parts logistics. If a company makes use of external logistics services, these service providers must meet certain company-specific framework conditions, such as: B. IT equipment and IT competence. According to an evaluation from 2013, other criteria such as the storage systems used, the storage technology or the transport fleet are of lesser importance when selecting the service provider for the company. Through the outsourcing, other parts of Europe can also be covered with the company's service without building or renting additional warehouses. Many manufacturers use their OEM parts for this, which they themselves or third parties produce exclusively for the automobile manufacturer. These parts are more expensive than replicas from other suppliers.

Changes

Logistics is a constantly evolving area of ​​the economy and spare parts logistics will continue to change. In a company, it is used for control, implementation and clarification and has therefore made it its task to ensure that products are brought to the customer in the right quantity and quality at low cost. The goals of spare parts logistics are clearly defined, because they should create a high level of customer satisfaction and, at the same time, customer loyalty, strengthen the company's competitive position on the market and improve profitability in this company. Furthermore, it aims to achieve a very short delivery time and high delivery quality, as well as guaranteeing high product quality and thereby maintaining delivery reliability for existing customers and being flexible when important orders are received. Another task that spare parts logistics has to fulfill is to ensure adequate readiness for delivery, short delivery times also with regard to subsequent deliveries as well as the identification of the products and the resulting constant availability of spare parts. As the market continues to expand, these requirements have arisen for spare parts logistics and are based on active management and efficient processing of returns and other pending processes. The changes in spare parts logistics are often divided into two groups and are usually clearly foreseeable. These can be divided into the manufacturer group and the customer group. On the part of the manufacturer, changes in the increasing demands on the banking market and the increasingly difficult economic conditions can be recognized. A great variety of products is also required and the consequent increasing importance of strategic procedures. On the customer side, changes such as constantly increasing cost pressure, greater readiness and the securing of the maximum available funds can be seen, which have an impact on the procurement of spare parts. These changes increase the costs and requirements during production at the manufacturers, as well as a precise review of the processes carried out, an increasing need for stocks and storage locations and good organization. On the customer side, the reduction in spare parts stocks and the availability of spare parts are changing. In addition, readiness for delivery should be possible throughout the day and a shorter delivery time is required of the company. These entire processes and requirements are often combined as a service process. The procurement of materials, the execution of supplier management, the production of the spare parts resulting from the needs assessment as well as the processing of offers, returns and orders and their distribution are the most important elements and main components of spare parts logistics. Logistics is a constantly evolving area of ​​the economy and spare parts logistics will continue to change. In a company, it is used for control, implementation and clarification and has therefore made it its task to ensure that products are brought to the customer in the right quantity and quality at low cost. The goals of spare parts logistics are clearly defined, because they should create a high level of customer satisfaction and, at the same time, customer loyalty, strengthen the company's competitive position on the market and improve profitability in this company. Furthermore, it aims to achieve a very short delivery time and high delivery quality, as well as guaranteeing high product quality and thereby maintaining delivery reliability for existing customers and being flexible when important orders are received. Another task that spare parts logistics has to fulfill is to ensure adequate readiness for delivery, short delivery times also with regard to subsequent deliveries as well as the identification of the products and the resulting constant availability of spare parts. As the market continues to expand, these requirements have arisen for spare parts logistics and are based on active management and efficient processing of returns and other pending processes. The changes in spare parts logistics are often divided into two groups and are usually clearly foreseeable. These can be divided into the manufacturer group and the customer group. On the part of the manufacturer, changes in the increasing demands on the banking market and the increasingly difficult economic conditions can be recognized. A great variety of products is also required and the consequent increasing importance of strategic procedures. On the customer side, changes such as constantly increasing cost pressure, greater readiness and the securing of the maximum available funds can be seen, which have an impact on the procurement of spare parts. These changes increase the costs and requirements during production at the manufacturers, as well as a precise review of the processes carried out, an increasing need for stocks and storage locations and good organization. On the customer side, the reduction in spare parts stocks and the availability of spare parts are changing. In addition, readiness for delivery should be possible throughout the day and a shorter delivery time is required of the company. These entire processes and requirements are often combined as a service process. The procurement of materials, the execution of supplier management, the production of the spare parts resulting from the needs assessment as well as the processing of offers, returns and orders and their distribution are the most important elements and main components of spare parts logistics.

The Kano model

After-sales services are becoming more and more important in spare parts logistics, as a higher profit margin can be set and realized with spare parts than with the primary product itself. Only through this service such as maintenance, repair and sale of the parts themselves are profits made. The side effect of this after-sales service is an increase in the company's reputation and reputation, which means that more customers can be made aware of the company. This is important for the manufacturers of primary products, since the market potential in many markets can only be determined by the spare parts business and customers should therefore be bound to the company through good service and spare parts logistics. In order to satisfy spare parts customers, it is possible to define which services are important to them. The so-called Kano model can be used for this, in which various performance criteria are divided into categories. The first category are the basic factors which, for example, require the intactness and functionality of the parts, as defective or damaged spare parts lead to customer dissatisfaction. In the second factor, the performance factor, delivery reliability, delivery duration, processing time and order acceptance must be taken into account. These services have to be convincing so that the customer is satisfied. The last factor in the Kano model is the enthusiasm factor, which is intended to enhance the service benefit for the customer. This is achieved through services that the customer does not expect, such as free delivery, payment on destination and the long availability of spare parts.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ citable URL (/Archiv/82517/ Ersatzteillogistik-v4.html) for spare parts logistics (Version: 4) In :wirtschaftslexikon.gabler.de; Retrieved July 6, 2017
  2. ^ Christian F. Durach, Stefan Kurpjuweit, Stephan M. Wagner: The impact of additive manufacturing on supply chains . In: International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management . tape 47 , no. 10 , 25 September 2017, ISSN  0960-0035 , p. 954–971 , doi : 10.1108 / ijpdlm-11-2016-0332 ( emeraldinsight.com [accessed January 2, 2018]).
  3. ↑ Prof. Dr. Winfried Krieger: Definition: spare parts logistics. gabler Wirtschaftslexikon, February 15, 2018, accessed on July 31, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Werner Hess: Spare parts logistics - ACS Spedition. All car shipping GmbH, accessed on July 31, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Adrian Weiler: Agile optimization in spare parts logistics - mastering the supreme discipline. In: Creditreform Magazin. January 23, 2018, accessed on July 31, 2019 (German).
  6. ↑ Sebastian Stanger: Logistics branch: spare parts logistics. Juniper & Sons GmbH, March 26, 2019, accessed on July 31, 2019 .
  7. ^ Stephan Mohr: GRIN - spare parts logistics. Tasks and design options. GRIN Verlag, March 26, 2019, accessed on July 31, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Adrian Weiler: Agile optimization in spare parts logistics - mastering the supreme discipline. In: Creditreform Magazin. January 23, 2018, accessed on July 31, 2019 (German).
  9. ↑ Sebastian Stanger: Logistics branch: spare parts logistics. Juniper & Sons GmbH, March 26, 2019, accessed on July 31, 2019 .
  10. ↑ Optimized spare parts logistics through forecasting and flexible capacity management | Reinhard Baune | Thomas Westphal | Rhenus
  11. ↑ Optimized spare parts logistics through forecasting and flexible capacity management | Reinhard Baune | Thomas Westphal | Rhenus
  12. ↑ Life cycle-oriented planning strategies for spare parts requirements | Georgios Loukmidis | Holger Luczak | RWTH Aachen, Research Institute for Rationalization
  13. ↑ Potential of spare parts logistics for manufacturing companies in the Berlin / Brandenburg region | Discussion Paper No 7 | Fulda University of Applied Sciences | ISSN: 2194-7309
  14. ↑ Werner Hess | All car shipping GmbH | 05/20/2015 | https://www.spedition-transporte.de/logistik-glossar/ Ersatzteillogistik.html, March 26, 2019, 3:26 pm
  15. ↑ Stephan Mohr (author), 2007, spare parts logistics. Tasks and design options, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/78782