Arena Simulation of Spare Parts Inventory Management: A Case of A Telecom Managed Service Provider

Abstract

Telecommunications and utilities companies, among other large service organisations, confront a slew of decision-making challenges, many of which are connected to the management of a variety of different resources. The management of spare parts and inventories is one of the most difficult resource management concerns that an organisation has to deal with on a regular basis. Their prompt availability may have a significant influence on the overall quality of the service and the level of client satisfaction. The purpose of the study was to assess the Spare Parts Inventory Management of XYZ company operating within the Ghanaian telecommunication ecosystem. Data on demand and inventory stock level was collected from the procurement department of XYZ company. The study adopted the use of the Arena Simulation model to analyze data collected from the XYZ company. The results of the analysis indicated that the procurement department is unable to meet the spare parts demand of the Passive department where the average order received from the department in a day is 6.08. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that the procurement department put in measure to receive and process orders in time. The reason for the delay in processing orders could be the less poor inventory management practices of the company. The study recommends that systems be adopted to track the inventory level of the company. Due to the stochastic nature of the demand from the passive department, the company should be proactive in the management of the demand by keeping the right stock level in order to meet the demand of the department in order to reduce the long down time. Key words: Spare parts, inventory, Arena Simulation, telecommunication DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/14-12-10 Publication date: June 30 th 2022