A spare parts reorder point answers when to buy. For a regularly used item, start with expected demand during the replenishment lead time and add a buffer for the variation your fleet needs to cover. Use the inventory position for the exact stock code, then check dated arrivals against the jobs that need them. The stock code and bin checks matter here because a quantity attached to the wrong variant can make the purchasing system look healthier than the shelf.
Reorder point = expected demand during replenishment lead time + safety stock. Use the same unit of issue throughout. A reorder point is the threshold for opening a purchase review. The amount to order comes from a separate stock target or purchasing rule.
Use the same unit of time for demand and replenishment. If a fleet issues roughly two kits per month and usually waits two months from order approval to stock available, the starting estimate is four kits during the wait. If the fleet chooses a safety stock buffer of two kits, the illustrative trigger is six. The buffer is a planning choice for this example. It does not describe demand, delivery or stock for any item in the catalogue.
Count only units the warehouse can issue as usable on-hand stock. For the dated coverage check, add confirmed receipts expected within the window and subtract commitments that have not already been accounted for. If your stock system includes all open orders in inventory position, keep that total separate from the dated check. Suppose six usable kits are on hand, two are incoming in time and three are already assigned to jobs. If those two incoming kits are also the only units on order, both calculations give five. That falls below the trigger of six and calls for a purchase review.
An average can hide a fleet campaign. If several machines are due for a planned workshop visit in the same month, put those requirements on the dated schedule and check them against available inventory and credible arrivals. Avoid counting the same job once as a commitment and again as incremental forecast demand. For a seldom-issued component, review the actual jobs it covers, the consequences of waiting and the supply alternatives. A documented decision to carry one identified unit can be more useful than an average rounded from a handful of transactions.
Keep superficially similar items separate. The QY55KA-Y horizontal cylinder seal kit P2 and the QY55KA-Y fifth outrigger seal kit W7 illustrate distinct catalogue positions. Build demand from actual issues and verified job allocations for each reference. If the stock report pools them under the crane model, a surplus for one position could hide a shortage at the other. Review the workshop schedule by position before placing either order.
Review the trigger when observed delivery times change, a branch adds or retires a machine, or a supplier changes its minimum order quantity. Record which figure changed and keep the effective date of the updated threshold. If one late shipment was held because of a label dispute, keep that reason in the record. The purchasing team can decide whether the cause is likely to recur or whether the supplier has already corrected it.
Show a delayed receipt on the schedule where it is now expected. If the two kits in the worked example slip beyond the job window, the projected quantity available for that window falls from five to three. Keep the purchase order open while the buyer checks whether the workshop needs an interim supply. A date change can trigger a decision even when the order quantity and shelf count stay the same.
Write the trigger, buffer, unit of issue and date of review on each approved stock record. Keep the inputs easy to reconstruct so a buyer can explain the next suggested order. Then read the projected balances against the actual job dates. The next guide uses those dates to decide when to buy locally, move stock between branches or consolidate an overseas shipment.
Use the stock code and bin rules to keep quantities tied to the exact reference. When a shortage is due before replenishment, use the local buying, transfer and import comparison.
