Spare parts without a spreadsheet

Why it matters

A machine open on the floor and the part not on the shelf is the most expensive hour in maintenance. The spreadsheet did not lie on purpose; it was never told about the last three takes. Stock is right only when recording a take is easier than not recording it, and when the system, not a person, notices the minimum.

How it works in LK Up

1. A part is a record with a bin and a label. Code (the server numbers it), name, bin, unit, unit cost, a Minimum and a Maximum, category, manufacturer part number, vendor, the machines it fits. Print labels puts a QR and the bin, large, on the shelf.
2. Taking a part happens on the work order. Use a part… on the work order (or scan the bin label) takes it off the shelf and books it to the job and the machine; it works offline and syncs later. Reserve a part… holds it for an open work order before the job starts, so Available is on hand minus what open work orders have claimed.
3. The lamp does the watching. Red below the minimum, amber at it, green above. The list narrows to Below minimum, Over maximum or Not moved for 180 days, and the part's page says how many to Reorder to reach the maximum, with the preferred vendor, its price and lead time.
4. Reorder in one move. Reorder everything below min… turns the Reorder column into one draft purchase order per vendor and site. An administrator can let the server start those drafts every day by itself; they show Drafted by the server until a manager reviews them.
5. Purchase orders, start to finish. Draft, Submit (approved at once under the site's amount, else a manager approves), Mark sent, Receive… into a storeroom, keep the invoice, PDF for the vendor. A receipt links its order in the part's movements.
6. Several storerooms, counts on the phone. A crib at the line, a van, a second building, each with its own stock and limits; Transfer… between them. A stock count is done with phones, offline too, by scanning bin labels and typing what is on the shelf; blind for technicians if you want; the manager closes it and the differences become movements.

Why we built it this way

• The take is recorded where it happens. On the work order, on the phone, by scanning the bin. A separate "issue parts" screen in the office is a spreadsheet with extra steps.
• Minimum and maximum, not just a reorder point. The minimum says when; the maximum says how many. Without the second, every reorder is a phone call.
• Reserved is not used. A part held for Friday's PM must stop a Thursday breakdown from taking the last one silently; it must also not be booked as spent before it is. Two numbers, on hand and available, are the smallest honest answer.
• Opening stock is a receipt or an adjustment, never a typed field. Every quantity has a movement with a reason and a person behind it, so the history explains the number.
• A blind count is optional. Some plants want the counter to see the expected quantity, some know that showing it produces a copy. Both are a tick away; managers always see it.
• Parts count as spend when received. The budget sees the money leave when the box arrives, not when the seal is used six months later. The report notes say so.

What it does not do

LK Up does not send purchase orders to the vendor by itself; it gives you the PDF and the CSV, and a webhook can hand the event to your ERP. It does not know vendor prices until you add offers or import a price list. Bins, storerooms, counts and purchasing in detail: chapter 9 of the user manual.