Turning Disruption into Advantage in Spare Parts: Why the “Big Party” Is Over

That era is ending, slowly but surely.

Digitisation, new buying behaviour, supply chain shocks, and marketplace transparency have eroded many of the structural advantages that OEMs and industrial suppliers enjoyed in the spare parts market. The “big party” of easy margins based on opacity rather than excellence is over.

At Spare Parts Business Platform 2026 – Power of 50, Philipp Schmitz from Fastems revealed how organisations can build a competitive advantage by changing how parts are planned, priced, delivered, and experienced. The winners will be those who transform spare parts from a reactive, transactional activity into a data-driven, customer-centric, and speed-focused operation.

From opacity to transparency: how the rules changed  

Historically, several factors worked in favour of OEMs and established suppliers in spare parts:

• Information asymmetry: Customers had limited visibility into part alternatives, prices, and availability. Much of the knowledge sat in the heads of long-tenured employees or in analogue archives, not in systems.  
• Locked-in customers: Once equipment was installed, customers had few practical alternatives for critical parts. If an OEM said a part would arrive in a week, that estimate was rarely challenged.  
• Margins from urgency: “Urgent” often justified significant mark-ups. Customers accepted these because uptime was critical and alternatives were hard to find.  
• Customer experience as an afterthought: The emphasis was on availability, not on how easy, fast, or intuitive it was to identify, order, and receive the right part.

This model held for years in relatively conservative manufacturing environments. Manual processes could still function. Microfilms, archives, and person-dependent knowledge sufficed. Customer loyalty was sustained more by lack of options than by superior service.

Today, search engines can surface part numbers and item data in seconds. Marketplaces list alternatives instantly. Customers benchmark every quote, and procurement teams are trained and incentivised to do so. The information asymmetry that underpinned the traditional spare parts business has eroded, and with it the comfortable margin cushion.

The new buyer: digital expectations in an analogue world  

One of the most under-estimated disruptions in B2B is generational. The digital-native generation that grew up with Amazon, instant price comparison, and frictionless online ordering is now occupying procurement and operational leadership roles.

These buyers:

• Expect Amazon-like behaviour: Availability checks in real time, clear delivery promises, tracking, and fast response.  
• Are comfortable with non-traditional vendors: They do not hesitate to buy from unfamiliar web shops or specialist online resellers if the risk-to-reward ratio makes sense.  
• Benchmark everything: Every quote is evaluated against alternatives, often in seconds. Price is a continuously evaluated variable.

Speed and convenience often matter more than incremental discounts. Response time is now part of the product. If a supplier cannot respond fast enough with a clear, reliable offer, the opportunity is simply passed on to whoever can.

Pricing has become a hygiene factor rather than a standalone strategy. Being significantly overpriced is no longer sustainable. Being merely “in line” is not enough either. Suppliers must justify their price through a visible combination of value, speed, reliability, and support.

When disruption exposes fragile supply chains  

The recent wave of global disruptions did more than temporarily stretch lead times. It exposed how fragile many industrial supply chains truly were.

Heavy dependence on distant production hubs and single-region sourcing left many organisations scrambling. Lead times of up to two years for critical components were not uncommon. In extreme cases, companies resorted to buying consumer products to salvage needed sensors and components, because consumer white goods were more readily available than industrial spare parts.

The experience underscored several realities:

• Proximity has become a competitive advantage: Organisations that could source, stock, or assemble closer to their customers suffered less and recovered faster.  
• Centralisation has limits: Highly centralised, single-hub inventory strategies are vulnerable when global supply lines are disrupted.  
• Flexibility can be monetised: The ability to reroute supply, leverage alternative locations, and quickly adjust stock positions now directly translates into revenue and loyalty.

Many are now reconsidering where warehouses should be located relative to the installed base, how much local decision authority is needed to respond quickly, and which items warrant regional stock versus centralised stock. The answers are increasingly driven by data, not tradition.

From parts to advantage: using data that already exists  

A crucial insight emerging in industrial spare parts is that most companies are already sitting on a goldmine. Relevant data is already there:

• Historical buying behaviour by customer, region, and equipment type;  
• Lead times and reliability performance by supplier;
• Installed base data, which systems are where, in which configurations;
• Field experience on component lifetimes and failure patterns.

Organisations that learn to integrate and leverage this data can move from reactive spare parts firefighting to predictive and proactive operations.

This enables:

• Predictive demand planning: Instead of waiting for urgent calls, suppliers can anticipate when specific parts will reach end-of-life based on usage patterns, shifts, and environmental factors, and align stock and recommendations accordingly.  
• Intelligent substitution logic: When a part is missing, systems can suggest validated alternatives automatically, reducing delays and escalations.  
• Data-backed supplier management: Real performance data on lead times and reliability strengthens negotiations with suppliers and guides sourcing strategies.  
• Smart stocking strategies: Understanding actual consumption patterns allows organisations to position inventory globally around installed base and criticality, rather than relying on generic safety-stock rules.

The future of spare parts is not about having more parts. It is about running much smarter parts operations.

Customer portals and self-service: control without losing the relationship  

As expectations shift, locked-in customer portals and digital interfaces are becoming a central element in spare parts strategy.

Modern portals can provide:

• Customer-specific pricing and visibility;  
• Clear mapping of the installed base, which systems are in place, their status, and their configuration;
• Direct access to spare parts ordering, quotations, and remote support from a single environment;  
• Historical usage and performance data, like uptime, downtime, and previous orders per asset.

Such portals make it possible for maintenance engineers, operators, and procurement teams to initiate requests without lengthy back-and-forth exchanges, especially in high-stress situations where systems are down and time is critical. Many users prefer to “push a button and request the item, instead of calling and waiting.”

Self-service does not have to mean loss of contact or commoditisation. The interface itself can become a value-adding channel. For example:

• Recommended assemblies: Rather than selling a single component into an ageing surrounding, the portal can recommend replacing an entire sub-assembly.
• Lifecycle prompts: Based on accumulated data, the system can suggest when certain parts should be replaced, helping customers avoid overstocking while still ensuring uptime.  
• Cross-functional access: Operators, maintenance, and procurement can share a single view of the same installed base, open orders, and performance.

If a company does not own the interface, it increasingly does not own the customer. Marketplaces, distributors, and third-party platforms are actively stepping into this interface role. OEMs and industrial suppliers that want to remain the preferred partner must claim and continuously improve their own digital front door.

Marketplaces as benchmark, not enemy  

Marketplaces are often viewed with suspicion in industrial spare parts. They are radically transparent, they aggregate alternatives, and they exert downward pressure on commoditised prices. Many OEMs hesitate to share pricing or part data, hoping to avoid direct comparison.

Yet, comparison is already happening.

Customers and procurement teams are using marketplaces whether suppliers like it or not. Refusing to engage does not prevent benchmarking, only excludes the OEM from relevant channels and data points.

A more pragmatic view is to treat marketplaces as:

• Benchmark platforms: A live reflection of market prices, availability, and substitutes.  
• Learning environments: A way to understand which of one’s own parts are being commoditised and where differentiation must come from service, expertise, or bundled offerings.  
• Secondary channels: A place to move obsolete or slow-moving stock, or to reach new customer segments that are hard to serve directly.

There is also a segmentation element. Customers accept that high-value, complex equipment and critical components carry a premium when backed by engineering support, design expertise, and fast, competent intervention. At the same time, they will not tolerate paying 20% more for simple consumables that are easily available elsewhere when procurement is under pressure to reduce costs.

Organisations must decide consciously where to differentiate, where to compete, and where to leverage marketplaces as part of a broader channel mix.

AI in spare parts: from gut feeling to systematic advantage  

As transactional elements of spare parts move online and expectations for speed rise, AI is emerging as a powerful enabler. It scales the judgement of technical experts and accelerates decision-making.

Key applications include:

• Quote automation: Converting incoming email requests into structured quotes automatically, using historical data and rules, shortening response times from days to minutes.  
• Smart recommendations: Proposing the most relevant parts, assemblies, or upgrade kits based on installed base, historical orders, and similar cases.  
• Predictive models: Anticipating component failures and consumption by correlating sensor data, operating hours, and environmental conditions with past failure patterns.  
• Alternative suggestions: Automatically identifying viable substitutions when the requested part is unavailable.

The outcome is fewer internal handovers, fewer escalations, and faster, more reliable answers to customers. In an environment where “the fastest supplier often wins, even at slightly higher prices,” this speed becomes a direct source of margin. Speed is, increasingly, the new margin.

Proximity and empowerment: acting global, operating local  

The disruptions of recent years have led many industrial organisations to revisit their footprint and governance in spare parts, resulting in two primary shifts:

• Regionalisation of inventory: Placing stock closer to major installed base clusters and critical customers, rather than relying solely on central hubs. This shortens last-mile delivery times and reduces exposure to global disruptions.  
• Local decision authority: Empowering regional teams to make decisions on exceptions, prioritisation, and customer commitments without running every decision through headquarters. The people closest to the customer and the situation are often best placed to respond effectively.

Combining global scale with local execution allows organisations to maintain efficiency while significantly improving resilience and customer experience. The familiar notion of “think global, act local” becomes very tangible in spare parts strategy.

A critical question: would you buy from yourself?  

One of the most useful internal tests for any spare parts operation is to ask, if you were your own customer, would you enjoy buying spare parts from your company today?

Answering honestly forces leadership teams to confront the full customer journey:

• How easy is it to identify the correct part?  
• How long does it take to receive a quote?  
• How transparent are prices, lead times, and alternatives?  
• How clearly is the order status communicated?  
• How does the experience compare not just to other OEMs, but to the B2C platforms people use every day?

Customers rarely see the internal effort. They do not see the 10 people working across time zones to locate a part. They only experience the silence or the response time. Making this journey smoother, clearer, and faster is as important as the underlying logistics.

Two strategic paths: resist or redesign  

Industrial spare parts operations essentially face a choice between two strategic paths.

The first path is defensive:

• Protect margins at all costs;  
• Resist transparency;  
• Avoid marketplaces and new channels.

This path may preserve short-term numbers but slowly erodes relevance as customers move towards more responsive, transparent, and digital-first alternatives.

The second path is transformative:

• Redesign the spare parts experience end-to-end;  
• Systematically use existing data and emerging AI capabilities;  
• Win on speed, predictability, and trust rather than opacity;
• Engage customers as partners in designing new services, pilots, and digital tools.

Many organisations are starting to invite selected customers into co-development, testing portals, new service offerings, predictive maintenance notifications, or new stocking concepts. By making customers part of the journey instead of designing solutions in isolation, suppliers increase adoption, loyalty, and practical relevance.

Seeing change as opportunity  

The spare parts landscape in manufacturing and industrial automation is undergoing a structural shift. What used to be a protected, high-margin sector based on information asymmetry is now a contested space defined by transparency, speed, and digital experience.

Every serious player can supply parts. Competitive advantage now depends on:

• Turning rich but underused data into predictive, customer-centric operations;  
• Owning and continuously improving the digital interface to the customer;  
• Using AI to accelerate decisions and reduce friction, without losing expert oversight;  
• Rebalancing global efficiency with local proximity and empowerment;  
• Embracing marketplaces as benchmarks and channels, rather than fearing them.

Innovation is not about technology for its own sake. It is about seeing inevitable change in buyer behaviour, supply chain structure, and digital expectations as an opportunity to build a more resilient, responsive, and valued aftermarket business.

In spare parts, the big party built on opacity may be over. But for those willing to redesign for speed, transparency, and customer value, a more sustainable and strategically important chapter is only beginning.