19th FVI Expert Breakfast

Topic: "The Amazon for Spare Parts" – Ending the Supplier Odyssey.

In this session, Marcel Hahn and Jens Reisenweber spoke with Benedikt Moser and Marcel Bülow from SparePartsNow about the revolution in spare parts procurement.

• The "Procurement Light" model: Maintenance personnel often spend hours calling 20 different suppliers to find a coupling or a valve. And then purchasing says: "I won't set up a new supplier in SAP for a 100€ part." SparePartsNow solves this as a "One-Stop-Shop." The customer orders everything through one platform, receives one invoice, one creditor. This massively saves process costs.
• Circular Economy as a lifesaver: When an old control system (e.g., Siemens 840D) breaks down, it is often no longer available new. The manufacturer says: "Tough luck, do a retrofit for 250,000 €." SparePartsNow offers refurbished parts here. This saves the system for 10,000 € instead of 250,000 € and is also sustainable.
• Transparency beats relationship: In the past, you bought from the local dealer ("I know him"). Today, speed counts. Whoever displays stock levels and prices in real-time online (without login barriers!) wins. Maintenance doesn't have time to wait for quotes.
• AI in identification: A big problem is: "I have a part here, but no idea what it is." The platform uses AI-supported image recognition and nameplate OCR to identify parts. However, measuring a ball bearing by photo doesn't work yet. Expert knowledge is still needed (which is why real mechanical engineers are behind the platform, not an anonymous call center).
• Retrofit trap: A retrofit is often more complex than expected ("fairy dust"). New controls have different connectors, different bus systems. A 1:1 exchange with a refurbished part is often the more economical solution to gain time.

Classification: Procurement is part of Operational Intelligence

This episode shows that "knowledge" is not just technical know-how, but also market knowledge ("Where can I get the part?").

• ADAM & Spare Parts: ADAM knows (through the digital life record) which parts are installed. The logical further development is that ADAM directly shows the link to the spare part (e.g., at SparePartsNow) or even fills the shopping cart in case of a defect. This is the vision of autonomous maintenance.
• Obsolescence Management: We remember Episode 3 (Safety Components). If ADAM knows that a part is discontinued, the link to a refurbisher (Circular Economy) is worth gold. We close the gap between "Problem identified" (ADAM) and "Problem solved" (spare part available).
• Data Quality: To order parts automatically, the master data must be correct (see Episode 18). If the system only says "motor," no AI can find the part. ADAM helps to ensure this data quality.

Conclusion: Spare parts procurement is shifting from a "relationship business" to a digital platform business. Those who have their asset data under control benefit the most.