ABSTRACT
Discussions of spare parts, inventory/materials management and purchasing are almost always emotionally charged. Interestingly, if you go ask the materials/stores managers about what is wrong and why you hear so many complaints about materials, you often hear that maintenance never says what they need in a timely manner. The experience in dealing with this in hundreds of operational sites the world over is that both complaints are valid, but the root cause of the problems often lies in poor (or no) planning within the maintenance department.
