How reliable is a just-in-time parts system for a small fleet?

[PaulVJ]

I’m trying to figure out if it’s worth switching our small fleet to a just-in-time parts delivery system. We keep running into situations where a truck is down waiting for a simple gasket or sensor, but I’m worried about the reliability of getting those critical items exactly when we need them.

[Scarlett.L]

We actually tried a just-in-time setup for a few parts. One time a sensor didn’t arrive and a truck waited, so we added a tiny on-site buffer and that helped a bit, but the risk is real when a supplier goes quiet.

[MasonC]

Reliability comes down to the vendors. If one link slips, the whole chain slows.

[Tyler54]

We started tracking downtime in hours per incident and the number of backorders. After stocking a small stock of high-turn items, downtime dropped from about 6 hours per month to 2, but backorders ticked up and cash was tied in inventory.

[Eric45]

Sometimes it feels like we’re treating the symptom instead of the real bottleneck. Maybe the problem is planning windows or maintenance scheduling rather than the delivery model itself; is that the actual bottleneck here?