Machine Compare Marketplace Makes the Whole World Your Spare Parts Storeroom 

Anyone working in manufacturing, regardless of sector, will at some point have walked through a spare parts storeroom, weaving through shelves stacked with replacement spares intended for machinery maintenance. And most would agree, these storerooms can quickly turn from sources of tremendous calm to infuriating distress when needed parts are unavailable once a breakdown occurs.

These fears surrounding stockouts and missing spares has led numerous manufacturers to overstock on items, tying up hefty amounts of capital inside their warehouses. A total price tag, estimated to be around £5B, according to the industrial tech start up Machine Compare.

For the last four years, the company has evaluated this underreported area of manufacturing and engineered a way to reverse the supply chain upon finding that millions of unused parts are being sent for scrap each year.  

In 2021, Machine Compare, home to one of the world’s largest databases for new and used machinery, launched its sister site Marketplace, a B2B e-commerce platform trading unused, refurbished as well as new spare parts. 

And the platform is quickly transforming how industry trades, globally.

Turning industrial supply chains into supply circles 

Generally, spare parts inventory management and supply chains operate in one way. That is, to put items into inventory and then into the hands of the user. However, when products fail to sell or be used, few companies have in place the needed processes for removing obsolete items from the inventory and re-circulating them. Yet this task is fundamental to managing spare parts obsolescence and, by extension, critical for avoiding unnecessary overstocking. 

In the corrugated sector alone, this is leading the average mid-sized corrugated plant to hold approximately €285,000 worth of deadstock spare parts. Zooming out further, European plants with corrugators hold an estimated €183,000,000 worth of deadstock spare parts inside their warehouses according to Machine Compare’s data estimates.

Tackling the issue head on, Machine Compare Marketplace allows manufacturers across industry sectors to turn surplus spares into capital, transforming previously linear supply chains into supply circles by redirecting parts back into the market. 

And there’s a clear appetite for change, with hundreds of industrial manufacturers already listed on Marketplace including Stora Enso, Smurfit Kappa, BHS, Nestlé, JBS, SUN Automation and BHS.  

Another early adopter includes DS Smith, a global plastic-free packaging solutions provider.

“By listing our surplus spare parts stock on Marketplace, we have released capital and improved operational efficiencies on a major level, proving this concept to be both sustainable and profitable. We would highly recommend Marketplace to any company that wants to increase sales and regenerate the products and materials that may otherwise be destined for landfill,” says Andrea Morselli, Category Divisional Manager.

 In addition to generating new revenue streams, sellers also benefit from reaching millions of verified buyers across the globe, while reducing their carbon footprints – the new golden standard in the post COP26 era.

Switching from buying new to buying better  

A key driver of the changing landscape is the ever-changing of B2B buyers which are quickly tipping in favour of sustainable, digital-first experiences.  

The Marketplace platform offers buyers an intuitive path towards this greener and digital future, allowing those in need of parts to search a growing database of electrical and mechanical spare parts across categories such as semiconductors, capacitors, circuit protection, bearings, bolts and gears.

And the site does not fall short of brands either, showcasing an extensive list of spares from the likes of Allen Bradley, SKF, Bosch, ABB, Baldor, Emerson, Intel, INA, Mitsubishi, Panasonic and much more.

This provides buyers not only with plenty of choice, but the chance to access hard to find and obsolete spares for affordable prices. Like sellers, buyers also help redirect parts back into circulation, earning significant brownie points beyond their own production runs.

  A new way to conduct business on our planet 

The global community of industrial buyers and sellers on Marketplace is growing, with every virtual basket of spares unloading a heavy burden off of mother nature’s shoulders. And it’s bringing about a new way of conducting more sustainable and ethical business. 

Become part of this community and join the movement in changing how industry trades, globally.  

  Website: https://marketplace.machinecompare.com/