Preventing Stock Outs: Use Your CMMS to Automate Spare Part Reordering

Stock Outs Are Expensive

Picture two realistic scenarios:

1️⃣ A scheduled shutdown: Your team is ready, the production line is set to halt for maintenance, and everything is in place. Suddenly, a critical machine has worn beyond expectation and must be replaced. You have no spare parts on hand. Do you extend the shutdown to wait for the new part, or restart the line and risk an unplanned failure before the next maintenance window? Either choice could cost over $100,000.

2️⃣ An unscheduled failure: A key pump fails and needs new bearings. You have none in stock. Production stalls, costing more than $10,000 per hour, and a rush order from your supplier will take over three hours to arrive. That’s just the delivery time, not including the additional time required to repair and realign the pump.

Both examples demonstrate how inadequate spare‑part inventories can erode margins rapidly. Failing to keep a replacement part in stock when it’s needed is known as a stock out.

Stock Outs Are Preventable

With an automatic reordering system, stock outs can be avoided. The system tracks parts in real time; when the inventory falls below a predefined threshold, it automatically sends a reorder notification to you and your supplier. All you need to do is define that threshold and the system handles the rest.

Preventing Stock Outs with Your CMMS

A CMMS is your single source of truth for inventory usage. Simply record the quantity of each part used in every work order, and the CMMS will automatically decrement your stock levels. Once the count drops below the set threshold, the system can generate an RFQ to your supplier.

Setting this up in Fiix CMMS is straightforward:

• Add each part and supply item to the inventory module.
• Define a critical reorder level for each item.
• Track usage by logging parts against work orders.
• When inventory is low (but not yet exhausted), the system will send an automatic RFQ.

Give it a try—Fiix’s parts and supplies feature is designed to be intuitive and powerful.