If your organization has not applied a useful identity standard for MRO parts, you do not have effective control of key system records supporting operation and maintenance of your physical assets. How much chaos is this causing in your MRO operations and production processes, how bad will it get?
I chose my third career to change how companies control MRO material / item records in their ERPs or CMMSs. Far too many companies that rely on physical assets being productive in core value chains do not have a useful way to know if a newly requested item is already represented in the catalogue.
The same was true at various system cut overs, new capital project start ups, and merger projects. “Just load what we have” is a common command given to the master data load teams when the Project Manager realizes the dreams of a clean rationalized catalogue can’t be met without a Go Live delay. The problem has always been the concepts for comparing if multiple records represent the same real-world item are not up to the task, allowing many records to represent the same real-world thing.
My first career was a Navy Marine Engineering Officer serving as sea operating and maintaining steam powered warships, and ashore in ship maintenance. While not making me an MRO expert, I lived and breathed the terminology of mechanical, pipe, electrical and control systems, as well using the quite rigorous (and expensive) NATO codification system for material support.
My second career was as a functional consultant implementing procurement and inventory business processes with SAP software, often in an MRO context supporting Maintenance. From executing merger projects, capital project in-service phase start ups, and supporting routine new MRO material requests I learned the material master gaps that harm productivity. I thought about and worked on how to fix the problem.
My third career is helping clients rationalize their MRO catalogues and have the rules in place to prevent future problems.
The difference between a poorly controlled MRO catalogue and one with a good item identity standard is the difference between using a dull and a sharp saw blade. One takes a lot more work to get the job done.
Let’s talk about your MRO
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