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

This paper investigates the gap between research and practice in spare parts management, with specific reference to durable goods addressed to private or professional customers. The paper provides a critical literature review of theoretical contributions about spare parts classification and demand forecasting for stock control. The discussion of ten case studies, then, allows to analyze the reasons for this gap, by addressing the limitations of models developed in literature, the role of contextual factors and the maturity in companies' spare parts management practices. Four main directions for research are proposed in order to bridge the gap, namely: to develop integrated approaches to spare parts management; to define contingency-based managerial guidelines, to favor the knowledge accumulation process in companies, and to supplement theoretical models with practical relevance.

► We investigate the gap between research and practice in spare parts management.
► We provide a literature review about spare parts classification and demand forecasting for stock control.
► We carry out ten case studies in durable goods industries to analyze the gap.
► Four research directions to bridge the gap are proposed and discussed.