Spare parts classification and demand forecasting for stock control. Investigating the gap between research and practice

This paperinvestigatesthegapbetweenresearchandpracticeinsparepartsmanagement,withspecific referencetodurablegoodsaddressedtoprivateorprofessionalcustomers.Thepaperprovidesacritical literaturereviewoftheoreticalcontributionsaboutsparepartsclassificationanddemandforecasting for stockcontrol.Thediscussionoftencasestudies,then,allowstoanalyzethereasonsforthisgap, by addressingthelimitationsofmodelsdevelopedinliterature,theroleofcontextualfactorsandthe maturityincompanies’sparepartsmanagementpractices.Fourmaindirectionsforresearchare proposedinordertobridgethegap,namely:todevelopintegratedapproachestospareparts management;todefinecontingency-basedmanagerialguidelines,tofavortheknowledgeaccumula- tion processincompanies,andtosupplementtheoreticalmodelswithpracticalrelevance.