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Inside MRO – Blog Series Part 3
In the previous installment of Inside MRO: Lessons from the Frontlines of Spare Parts Strategy, we explored the cultural blind spots that keep spare parts on the sidelines in many organizations. As Andrew Jordan explained, spare parts management is rarely seen as strategic—leading to stagnation, bloated inventory, and preventable downtime. There is huge untapped potential for MRO optimisation.
But not every organization falls into this trap.
In this post, we look at what good really looks like in MRO strategy. Drawing from Jordan’s experience working with companies across industries, we explore two real-world examples: one that showcases operational excellence at scale, and another that stands out for its honesty, discipline, and commitment to change on their journey towards MRO optimisation.
MRO Strategy Excellence Through Execution: The Pharma Benchmark
When asked to describe the best example of spare parts management he’s encountered, Jordan points to a pharmaceutical client whose success in MRO optimisation came not from flashy technology, but from deep organizational alignment.
“They took the time and they built out a proper item master structure.They equally invested in making sure that they had the governance in place to keep that clean.”
This organization understood that spare parts were part of a larger operational web. They developed accurate bills of materials (BOMs) for every operating asset, and they maintained the discipline to retire related parts when those assets were decommissioned. Nothing was accidental. Everything was structured in their MRO strategy.
“They were ruthless about the operating procedures… when they retired an asset, they knew the associated parts and they just dispositioned them. I’ve only seen this once.”
What set them apart wasn’t just data quality—it was leadership commitment to MRO optimisation. From the top down, there was a shared belief that getting MRO strategy right was integral to uptime, compliance, and operational excellence.
Change by Choice: The Power of Honest Self-Assessment
Jordan also highlights a very different organization—one that lacked maturity but possessed something even more valuable: self-awareness. This privately held lime quarry company was not best-in-class, but it had the clarity and courage to admit it—and to do something about their MRO strategy.
“They’re not terribly mature, but I would say it’s one of the best examples of people that recognise the fact that they're not prepared—and they make those hard decisions.”
What impressed Jordan most wasn’t where they were, but how seriously they took the journey towards MRO optimisation. They made tough choices, invested in inventory optimisation solutions, and adopted a long-term mindset. In an industry where it’s easy to defer action due to complexity or cost, this level of intentionality stood out.
“They have a measured approach. They’re looking at it over the horizon and they know where they want to go—and they’re not letting up.”
Their humility was their strength. They didn’t try to fix everything at once. They didn’t assume they were best-in-class. Instead, they leaned into a structured improvement plan—one informed by health checks, internal assessments, and a willingness to be uncomfortable in the short term.
Inventory Optimisation: What Top Performers Have in Common
While the two examples of MRO optimisation differ in size, industry, and maturity, they share three essential traits:
- Clarity – They understand that spare parts are connected to everything else: uptime, compliance, planning, and profitability.
- Governance – They put inventory optimisation processes in place to maintain clean data and enforce consistency across the asset lifecycle.
- Leadership Buy-in – They elevate spare parts from an afterthought to a strategic priority—and resource it accordingly.
Jordan’s takeaway is simple: excellence doesn’t require perfection. It requires commitment.
“If you understand and recognise that it’s all connected—and you behave in that way—and that’s supported within the management... you can get a lot of things done.”
That’s exactly the kind of end-to-end visibility Sparrow supports—through solutions like Sparrow.CLEAN for master data standardization, Sparrow.PLAN for aligning maintenance and inventory planning, Sparrow.STOCK for dynamic stocking decisions, and Sparrow.POOL for sharing critical parts across sites. Together, they help enterprises turn spare parts from a fragmented function into a coordinated, optimised system.
Coming Up Next: Tools, Tech, and the Limits of ERP
In Part 4 of Inside MRO, we’ll move from best practices to the role of technology. Andrew Jordan will break down where traditional ERP systems fall short, what modern tools can (and can’t) solve, and how to avoid using automation to scale up bad processes.
Stay tuned for:
“Don’t Blame Your ERP systems: What MRO Really Needs from Tech”