A Northeast Commuter Railroad Struggles to Optimize Its Spare Parts Inventory

摘要

Figuring out which replacement parts to stock for a busy commuter railroad seems an impossible task. Retailers base their inventory levels on intelligent predictions about what consumers will buy. But how do you forecast demand when you're dealing with equipment failure-the kind of thing that is, by its very nature, unpredictable? The challenge is especially daunting for Metro-North Railroad, the nation's second-largest commuter railroad. Serving the New York City metropolitan area, MNR carries 275,000 passengers a day, running 1,193 engines and railcars over 765 miles of track. To support that operation, it stocks some 40,000 active service and spare parts, worth nearly $100m.