Spare Parts Optimization – Bio-Diesel Production
The Challenge:
A bio-diesel facility maintained $420K in spare parts inventory with poor visibility into usage patterns and criticality. Stock-outs of critical parts occurred quarterly causing extended downtime, while 30% of inventory hadn’t moved in 2+ years representing tied capital and obsolescence risk.
The Solution:
Implemented Fabric-based inventory analytics integrating maintenance history, equipment criticality, and supplier lead times. Azure AI recommended optimal stock levels and reorder points. Power Apps enabled technicians to request parts with automatic approval workflows via Power Automate, while Power BI dashboards tracked inventory turns and obsolescence risks.
Result:
Spare parts inventory reduced by 32% freeing $135K in working capital, stock-outs of critical parts eliminated completely, and inventory turns improved from 1.8 to 3.2 annually. Parts-related downtime decreased by 85%, and obsolescence write-offs reduced from $45K to $8K annually.