83% of UK manufacturers report maintenance delays due to unavailable parts

Research from Fluke Corporation found that one in five UK manufacturers experience these parts-related delays regularly. The findings come against a backdrop of widespread operational disruption, with 68% of manufacturers experiencing unplanned downtime in the past 12 months.

Yet the data suggests manufacturers are not necessarily short of spare parts. On average, 22% of their spare parts inventory is already obsolete, highlighting a mismatch between the components businesses hold and those they actually need to keep assets running.

The result is a dual challenge: manufacturers remain exposed to operational disruption while simultaneously carrying the cost of inventory they may no longer need.

Supplier concentration could be adding to this exposure. One in five UK manufacturers single-source critical components or materials per region, while 32% identify supply chain volatility as one of the most likely causes of operational disruption over the next 12 months.

However, manufacturers do not see supplier diversification alone as the solution. When asked which change would most improve their organisation’s ability to withstand future disruption, just 11% selected diversifying or reshoring suppliers, while 14% selected balancing globalisation with reshoring.

Paraic O’Lochlainn at eMaint, a Fluke brand said: “UK manufacturers are facing a striking contradiction: maintenance teams are being left waiting for critical parts while businesses are already carrying significant volumes of inventory that have become obsolete.

“This isn’t simply a question of how much stock a manufacturer holds. The bigger challenge is knowing which parts are critical, where they are, and whether they will be available when an asset fails.

“The same applies to suppliers. Diversification can reduce dependence on a single source, but adding suppliers without greater visibility can introduce new complexity and cost rather than delivering genuine resilience.”

The financial impact of disruption is also being felt across manufacturers’ supply chains. More than a third (35%) identify cross-border shipping and logistics as posing the greatest cost risk from disruption, while 32% point to supplier unreliability or geopolitical risk. Almost a third (31%) cite downtime caused by a lack of serviceable parts or long lead times.

The findings indicate that building greater resilience will require manufacturers to connect supply chain decisions more closely with maintenance and asset strategy, rather than treating inventory and supplier diversification as standalone solutions.

O’Lochlainn continued: “Resilience isn’t simply about adding inventory or adding suppliers. Manufacturers need to connect sourcing decisions with what is happening on the factory floor.

“That means being able to see what they own, understand which assets and components are most critical, and anticipate what they are likely to need next. Without that connection between supply chain and maintenance strategy, businesses risk spending more on resilience without becoming more resilient.”

www.fluke.com/en-gb