In the high-stakes industrial landscape of 2026, Maintenance, Repair, and Operations (MRO) costs have become a critical focal point for organizations navigating unprecedented supply chain and operational complexities.

According to a McKinsey report on the future of maintenance, companies can reduce maintenance costs by up to 30% by improving planning and using more advanced analytics. 

At the same time, research from Deloitte shows that unplanned downtime continues to be one of the largest hidden cost drivers in industrial operations, often accounting for hundreds of thousands of dollars per hour in lost productivity. Together, these studies illustrate why businesses are beginning to rethink how MRO is managed.

What is evolving isn’t simply the technology; it is also the thinking behind how MRO is approached. Rather than reacting to failures or stocking spares in bulk to avoid potential shortages, MRO is being treated as a strategic component.

Managed properly, MRO can provide savings, improved uptime, and decreased operational friction. The following seven methods demonstrate how this evolution is occurring within real-world operations.

1. Standardize and Rationalize Your Spare Parts Inventory

Looking at a typical MRO inventory reveals a surprising degree of duplication. A part exists under several names, with slightly differing specifications or at multiple site locations. The result over time is increased unnecessary spend and added administrative complexity associated with maintaining inventory. Therefore, rationalization/standardization is likely one of the best changes an organization can implement.

After teams initiate the process of rationalizing their inventory, the positive effects typically multiply. Fewer SKUs equal simplified procurement processes, clarity of inventory levels, and less capital being tied up in idle stock. Additionally, rationalized inventory also eliminates confusion for the maintenance teams when selecting between nearly identical alternatives. Teams implementing structured approaches to inventory rationalization/standardization usually tie their efforts to larger asset management frameworks.

• Consolidate duplicate or interchangeable parts
• Introduce consistent naming and classification standards
• Align teams on preferred components and suppliers
• Phase out obsolete or rarely used items

2. Digitize Spare Parts Management with Modern Platforms

Inventory data for spare parts can exist in various formats depending on the environment. For example, some data resides in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, while other data may reside in spreadsheets or exist solely as tribal knowledge. Fragmented inventory data compromises the integrity of the entire supply chain. When teams cannot verify the accuracy of their stock levels, it breeds a culture of hesitation in decision-making. Consequently, to mitigate the risk of a potential stockout, procurement teams often default to ‘safer’ but more expensive behaviors, such as over-ordering or hoarding excess buffer stock. Examples include over-ordering or holding onto excess inventory.

Digital solutions assist in solving this problem by providing a centralized location for storing all spare parts inventory data and enabling a more solid foundation for decision-making. New digital solutions, including platforms such as SPARETECH, enable teams to store spare parts inventory data in a centralized repository and apply standardized structure and maintenance processes. This provides the ability to identify duplicate parts, analyze usage patterns, and recognize areas of inefficiency across the entire organization.

What makes digital solutions so impactful is not merely the creation of visibility but usability. Clean structured data enhances forecasting capabilities, facilitates accurate procurement decisions, and accelerates maintenance workflow processes. Furthermore, digital solutions eliminate dependence on individual knowledge, which represents a hidden risk in MRO operations. When data becomes both accessible and consistent, teams transition from making reactionary decisions to optimizing systems-wide processes.

3. Improve Demand Forecasting with Data Insights

Historically, numerous MRO-related decisions have been influenced primarily by intuition or prior experience. While these types of judgments have merit, they often lead to over-purchasing due to the fear of running low on certain supplies. Supplies are purchased in anticipation of possible demand, and after repeated instances of purchasing for anticipated use, these buffer stocks gradually grow into additional unwanted inventory.

A data-driven approach will produce far superior forecasts than those generated by traditional means. Historical consumption trends, failure rates, and scheduled maintenance activities can all help determine what actual needs are versus perceived needs. Organizations that utilize a more data-driven approach to forecasting will rapidly realize initial successes, particularly related to eliminating slow-moving items from inventory. Predictive maintenance and analytical techniques applied to historical data can significantly enhance forecasting accuracy and mitigate excessive build-up of unnecessary inventory.

4. Optimize Supplier Relationships and Procurement Processes

Discrepancies within procurement processes do not normally present themselves as one singular issue. More commonly, they manifest as minor discrepancies such as inconsistent pricing, late deliveries, or redundant vendor relationships. These minor discrepancies often go undetected during daily operations, yet collectively add to increasing costs and complexity over time. Absent a defined strategy, procurement can become reactionary in nature, with teams focusing on meeting short-term requirements vs. achieving long-term efficiency.

Teams adopting more structured approaches toward identifying optimal suppliers create conditions favorable for developing stronger relationships with fewer suppliers and negotiating better prices through volume leverage. Improved supplier relationships also create more consistency in terms of expected service and delivery times.

Additionally, there is a process aspect to procurement that should be considered. Establishing standards for how purchases are made, approved, and tracked creates consistency in terms of minimizing variability and facilitates identification of potential inefficiencies. When procurement becomes more predictable, it facilitates better planning throughout inventory and maintenance operations, ultimately resulting in reduced total MRO spend.

5. Shift from Reactive to Preventive Maintenance

Reactive maintenance is often viewed as unavoidable in high-speed operational environments. Equipment fails, and teams respond quickly to restore production. Unfortunately, this type of reactive maintenance behavior is often accompanied by hidden costs, including expedited shipping costs and/or production delays.

Preventive maintenance flips this model on its head. Instead of waiting until equipment fails before taking action, teams work to prevent failures from happening initially. Small adjustments in preventive maintenance scheduling can decrease the number of emergency repairs, which account for a significant proportion of MRO expenses. Research cited by the Department of Energy highlights that implementing a properly managed preventive maintenance program can yield 12% to 18% in savings over a reactive model alone, significantly reducing both equipment failures and total maintenance expenditures.

6. Improve Inventory Visibility Across Locations

It is not uncommon for organizations to purchase spare parts that they already possess. However, this does not occur because teams intentionally order too many spare parts. Rather, it occurs due to a lack of transparency or visibility relative to inventory across sites. With limited transparency concerning their respective inventory, teams work independently, making decisions based on their localized perspective rather than looking globally at what might be available elsewhere. This results in duplicate stock, underutilized inventory, and unnecessary purchasing.

Providing better visibility will aid in extracting value from current inventory levels. By providing visibility into shared inventory data across all sites, teams will have a clearer understanding of what inventory is available and where it is located. This will provide opportunities for teams to either transfer or reuse existing spare parts rather than purchasing new ones, thereby greatly reducing costs without negatively impacting operational performance.

The challenge of providing better visibility is not only technical but also cultural, as it requires collaboration across sites, and an understanding that inventory should be viewed as a global resource rather than an isolated, local resource. Many organizations that successfully address this challenge tie their successful implementation of inventory visibility to tenets found within lean manufacturing methodologies, where efficiencies or waste reduction are core principles.

7. Continuously Monitor and Optimize MRO Performance

Cost reduction in MRO is not something that can be solved once and left alone. As operations evolve, new inefficiencies emerge, and old ones resurface. Without ongoing monitoring, it is easy for costs to creep back up. This is why continuous improvement is essential.

Organizations that see lasting results tend to treat MRO optimization as an ongoing discipline. They track performance, revisit assumptions, and refine their approach over time. Instead of large, one-time initiatives, they focus on steady, incremental improvements that compound into meaningful savings.

• Track key metrics such as inventory turnover and stock availability
• Regularly review procurement and stocking decisions
• Identify patterns that signal inefficiencies or waste
• Adjust strategies as operational needs change

Wrapping Up

As operational environments become more complex, managing MRO costs effectively requires a more structured and thoughtful approach. Organizations that invest in standardization, visibility, and smarter planning can significantly reduce unnecessary spending. At the same time, they can improve reliability and ensure that critical parts are available when needed. Over time, these improvements shift MRO from a cost burden into a source of operational strength.