Or how to get visibility so the problem gets solved?

Poorly identified MRO materials IS a real problem in asset intensive industries. It’s a weak spot that has existed since the dawn of enterprise systems, sitting in no mans land. Software developers and implementation consultants say “that’s a business problem”.

In the early days it was often owned by IT, now likely it’s SCM. The people most impacted are often in maintenance. The friction and mistakes caused are felt broadly resulting in higher costs, increased safety risk and when things go really bad, lost production.

If a survey of SCM leaders was made, it is unlikely poor MRO material identities would make the top cut of issues. Users that suffer the effects need to speak up and let the owner know. The problem is solvable by applying a coherent identity taxonomy to currently needed materials (more than mapping to UNSPSC). Add a governance process to keep it right.

The key thing is that the problem must make it to the attention of the owners. The owner needs to do discovery to learn it’s an economically solvable problem. Finally, the owner needs to put it in their goals, so it becomes real.