Why It’s Smart to Have Spare Parts on Hand for Your Manufacturing Process

There’s not a single piece of equipment involved in the manufacturing process that will last forever. All of them need regular maintenance and most of them will need replacement parts at some point. Below are a few reasons why you might want to keep extra repair parts on hand instead of only buying them when they are needed. 

Quick Repairs 

One of the most obvious reasons to keep spare parts on hand is to reduce the potential downtime in your facility. If you have an important machine that breaks, it will take time to get fixed. You certainly don’t need to add to this downtime by having to go out and search for a part, so keeping a few extra spares on-hand will help you to get back to work a bit faster. 

Avoiding Part Shortages 

If recent events have taught the business world one thing, it’s certainly that the supply chain is not invulnerable. One good way to make sure that you don’t get stuck waiting on parts because shipping has slowed down or mail has gotten backed up is to keep your own extra parts on-site. This not only frees you up from having to rely on unreliable shippers, but it gives you a margin of safety that your competition may not be able to match. 

Better Pricing 

Part prices fluctuate over time. While parts like stainless steel valves might seem reasonably priced today, shortages or rising metal prices might cause those costs to skyrocket in the future. As it’s highly unlikely that replacement parts for manufacturing equipment will fall in the near-term, investing in spare parts today is a good way to protect your budget in the future. Having your own stockpile is a fantastic guard against any future increase in pricing. 

Planned Obsolescence 

Finally, you must consider the fact that planned obsolescence is part of the industry. In time, the machines you use are going to be phased out with new counterparts. Unless you’re committing to totally replacing your machinery every time new models come out, you’ll have to deal with the fact that your replacement parts are going to become scarcer over time. The best way to avoid this is to have enough on hand to make you through until you’re ready to transition to new equipment. 

It’s never a bad idea to keep some spare parts on hand. Not only will it make your facility more efficient, but it’s a great safeguard against rising prices and scarcity. If you’re willing to pay a little extra now, you can save your business quite a bit in the future.