September 2026 marks 25 years since I established Initiate Action Pty Ltd.
When I started the business in 2001, I was focused primarily on consulting: working directly with organizations to reduce excess spare parts inventory, improve availability and establish more disciplined management practices.
At the time, I could not have predicted exactly how the business would develop.
But one theme has remained constant:
Better spare parts outcomes depend on better decisions.
From consulting projects to accumulated know-how.
Every consulting project produced a result for the client.
It also produced learning.
Some organizations had sophisticated systems but weak processes.
Others had experienced people but little documentation.
Some carried excessive inventory because nobody trusted the supplier lead times.
Others experienced shortages because general inventory rules had been applied to irregular spare parts demand.
There were repeated lessons about:
• criticality;
• inventory optimization;
• catalogue quality;
• supplier risk;
• repairable items;
• policy development;
• governance;
• teamwork;
• implementation.
Over time, these lessons became practical methods, tools, templates, articles, books and training materials.
Around 2011, SparePartsKnowHow.com began making more of this accumulated knowledge available beyond individual consulting engagements.
