Getting Oriented: Your Site and Priorities

• Tell me about the site we would be supporting, including facility type, number of buildings, and the key production lines we must keep running.
• How many maintenance technicians and storeroom staff are on site on a typical shift? Options: 1-3, 4-10, 11-25, 26-50, 51+
• Which three product categories currently consume the largest share of your MRO spend? Options: Bearings & power transmission, Electrical components & motors, Hydraulics & pneumatics, Fasteners & hardware, Cutting tools & abrasives, Safety & PPE, Plumbing & fittings, Janitorial & facility supplies
• Estimate your average monthly MRO spend for this site, and the percent tied to emergency unplanned purchases. Options: Under $5k, $5k-$20k, $20k-$50k, $50k-$150k, Over $150k
• Who approves emergency purchases outside the storeroom, and what approval threshold triggers that process?
• Walk me through the last time a stockout stopped production, what part failed, how long repairs took, and whether that experience would prevent you from piloting a new supplier.

When Supply Gaps Stop the Line

• If a single part failure would force a production line stop, which part would make you walk away from the current supply approach immediately?
• How often do unplanned outages happen because a needed SKU was not on hand? Options: Weekly or more, Monthly, Quarterly, A few times a year, Rarely
• Which downtime event last year had the highest direct cost in labor and lost output, and roughly what was that cost?
• Describe the secondary impacts you see after a stockout, for example expedited freight, overtime, missed shipments, or safety reviews.
• Would a 95% on-time fill rate and same-day availability for emergencies change your maintenance scheduling or spare levels? Options: Yes, significantly, Yes, moderately, No change, Unsure
• If you cannot guarantee access to that critical part within your target window, would you continue the pilot or pause it? Options: Continue with mitigations, Pause until guarantees are provided, Stop evaluation entirely, Unsure

What Lives in Your Storeroom

• Walk me through how you currently manage high-turn spares, from bin cards and par levels to reorder triggers, and where that process breaks down.
• How many unique SKUs are stocked in your main storeroom, and how many of those are designated critical spares for safety or uptime? Options: Under 500, 500-1,500, 1,501-5,000, 5,001-15,000, 15,000+
• List the top 20 SKUs by issue frequency and include part number and short description for each.
• Are there items subject to restricted access, controlled inventory, or hazardous materials rules that require special handling? Options: Controlled access items, Hazardous materials, Restricted vendor approvals, No special restrictions, Other
• Who currently owns reorder decisions, and how often do you audit par levels and stock turns?
• Would a vendor-managed vending solution that reduced your storeroom SKUs by around 30% but required a 3-week seed period be something you would consider? Options: Yes, No, Maybe with guarantees, Need more information

How You Judge a Supplier

• What single supplier failure in the last year caused leadership to question your vendor strategy?
• On average, how do you benchmark vendor fill rate and delivery, and what target do you consider acceptable during a trial?
• Share the current figures you track for fill rate, average lead time, and emergency delivery performance for your top categories.
• Rank the top three supplier attributes that would make you switch vendors Options: Fill rate, Emergency delivery speed, Technical/application support, Price, Invoice accuracy, Integration ease, Local inventory availability
• How quickly could procurement approve a vendor who meets your KPIs but is 5% higher than the incumbent? Options: Immediately with evidence, Within 2 weeks, Within 1 month, Longer than 1 month, Cannot say

Alternatives You Are Considering

• List the alternatives you are evaluating now, including your incumbent, internal procurement options, or marketplace channels.
• What would have to be true about your current approach for you to decide to stay with it instead of switching to an external partner?
• Has anyone internally proposed solving this without an outside partner, and if so, who would lead that effort and what headcount would it require? Options: Yes, maintenance proposed it, Yes, procurement proposed it, No internal proposal, Unsure
• Rank the risks that would make you reject an external vendor Options: Compliance concerns, Integration effort, Operational disruption, Price, Vendor reliability, Loss of internal control
• Name the single improvement from your incumbent that would make you cancel plans to pilot with a new vendor.

Can Your Systems and Team Support Change?

• Describe the systems that must integrate with a supplier platform, who owns each system, and which systems already expose APIs or EDI endpoints.
• Identify the system you use as the source of truth for parts masters and purchase history, and name the data owner who can provide extracts.
• How clean is your purchase and SKU data for the last 12 months, and are vendor part numbers mapped consistently? Options: Mostly clean and mapped, Partially clean, needs mapping, Poor quality, requires cleanup, No consolidated data
• Do you currently support EDI or API integrations, and which team would manage technical onboarding? Options: Yes, EDI only, Yes, API only, Yes, both EDI and API, No integrations currently
• Estimate the internal FTE or hours needed to support onboarding, including data mapping and receiving process changes. Options: Under 40 hours, 40-160 hours, 160-320 hours, 320+ hours
• Can your IT commit the necessary 8 weeks to integrate and validate connections on our proposed timeline, yes or no? Options: Yes, No, Maybe, needs discussion

Site Access and Physical Constraints

• Identify any site access or facility constraints that would block an installation or vending deployment, such as loading dock hours, hazardous zones, or background checks.
• Provide your receiving procedures and the facility contacts we must coordinate with, and indicate if permits or background checks are required for vendor staff.
• Select your standard delivery windows Options: Same-day morning, Same-day afternoon, Next-day morning, Next-day afternoon, Business hours only, After hours with notice
• Are there forklift, staging, or restricted storage limitations we should plan for? Options: Forklift access limited, Staging space limited, Restricted storage requirements, No significant limitations
• Could you host installation only during a planned shutdown window, yes or no? Options: Yes, No

Who's Holding the Keys

• Name the individuals or roles required to approve a trial and the final agreement, and indicate who typically raises the hardest objections.
• How do procurement, operations, and plant engineering typically share decision authority for vendor pilots at your site?
• Please provide the primary day to day contact for inventory decisions during a pilot, and the team that will receive invoices.
• On a scale, how quickly can the procurement team process a supplier onboarding and PO change, from identification to signed agreement? Options: Under 1 week, 1-2 weeks, 2-4 weeks, More than 4 weeks
• Explain the internal steps or decision points that could delay contract signing even if the pilot meets KPI targets.

Acceptance Criteria and Trial Signals

• Specify the measurable trial outcomes that would trigger immediate approval to scale the program at this site.
• Select the KPIs we should track during the 60 to 90 day pilot Options: Fill rate for trial SKUs, Emergency fulfillment time, On-time delivery accuracy, Invoice accuracy, SKU count reduction, Cost per order, Stockouts avoided, Downtime hours prevented
• How often do you want business reviews during the trial, and who from your team should attend? Options: Weekly, Biweekly, Monthly, At major milestones only
• Provide your typical cost per hour of downtime for the primary production line, and how many downtime hours last year were caused by parts unavailability.
• Can you approve a one time setup fee from your existing budget if pilot KPIs are met, yes or no? Options: Yes, No, Needs additional approvals

Next Steps and Timing

• Set the target go no go date for proving supply performance that would allow a rollout this year.
• Outline the internal milestones that must be complete before a pilot can start, such as PO approval, data export, safety orientation, and receiving validation.
• When are you ready to start the pilot? Options: Immediately, 2-4 weeks, 1-2 months, 3+ months, Unsure
• Share the names and roles to include on the kickoff meeting to ensure site, operations, and procurement are aligned.
• Indicate the internal approval that could accelerate signing if the pilot meets targets, for example delegated procurement authority or a pre-approved deployment budget.

• Operational Walkthrough

• Confirm the current state and its cost to your team
• You confirm the demonstrated fulfillment routing and SLA remove the downtime exposure you described.
• Deliver a proposed routing map, SLA matrix, and sample trial fill-rate projection for the buyer's prioritized SKUs within five business days.
• You confirm the vending configuration, reorder thresholds, and triggers meet your replenishment needs for the trial SKUs.
• Walk through regional fulfillment and SLA mapping against a real downtime scenario
• Provide a prioritized list of critical SKUs, recent stockout examples, site receiving windows, and primary facility contact information.
• Demonstrate on-site vending and automated replenishment for your priority SKUs
• You agree on the trial KPIs and the evidence required to move from trial to deployment.
• Agree on trial acceptance KPIs, including target fill rate, delivery SLA, and measurement method, and document them for the trial plan.
• Walk through the integrated supply workflow and consolidated invoicing impact
• Validation checkpoint, confirm this maps to what you need

• Operational Walkthrough, Seller-Led
• Operational Walkthrough Deck
• Solution Brief — Operational Walkthrough

• meeting
• slides
• document

• Same-Day Emergency Parts Delivery
• Next-Day Scheduled Parts Delivery
• On-Site Vending Machine Installation
• Vending Machine Automated Replenishment
• Vendor-Managed Inventory (VMI) Stocking
• Managed Storeroom Stocking and Replenishment
• Kanban Replenishment and Parts Kitting
• Consolidated Purchasing with Single PO
• Consolidated Invoicing and Payment Reconciliation
• Regional Distribution Center SKU Allocation
• Technical Application Support Onsite
• Cycle Count and Stock Level Replenishment

Same-Day Emergency Parts Delivery

• For emergency repairs, which sites require same-day delivery windows (site name or plant area and typical receiving hours)?
• List the top critical SKUs (part number or description) that must be eligible for same-day fulfillment.
• How many emergency dispatches do you average per month for critical assets identified on your preventive maintenance (PM) schedule? Options: 0-5, 6-15, 16-30, 31+
• Provide your maximum allowable response time for emergency delivery measured in hours (e.g., 4 hours).
• Where are your primary receiving points for emergency shipments (dock number, storeroom, maintenance shop)?
• Are there site access constraints for same-day couriers such as security escorts, badge pre-registration, or lockout/tagout (LOTO) procedures? Options: Yes, No

Next-Day Scheduled Parts Delivery

• Which facilities or zones should be included in next-day scheduled deliveries (list plant codes or addresses)?
• Describe your preferred scheduled delivery windows and cutoffs for orders placed (e.g., orders by 2 PM for next-day morning delivery).
• How many distinct delivery stops are typically on a route to each facility on a scheduled day? Options: 1, 2-5, 6-10, 10+
• Indicate any receiving constraints for scheduled deliveries such as fork truck availability, dock scheduling, or confined space procedures. Options: Yes - dock scheduling, Yes - forklift limit, Yes - other, No constraints
• List the product categories (bearings, electrical, hydraulics, safety, fasteners) that should always be stocked for next-day fulfillment. Options: Bearings, Electrical, Hydraulics, Pneumatics, Safety, Cutting tools, Fasteners, Janitorial, Other
• Estimate the average order size (line items and total SKU count) for next-day scheduled replenishment at a typical site. Options: 1-5 SKUs, 6-20 SKUs, 21-50 SKUs, 51+ SKUs

On-Site Vending Machine Installation

• For each site you want vending at, specify the physical locations for machines (building, room, storeroom bay) and available power/footprint details.
• Which SKU families will be prioritized for vending machine stocking (fasteners, PPE, bearings, cutting tools)? Options: Fasteners, PPE, Bearings, Cutting tools, Electrical, Other
• Describe any site safety or installation constraints we should plan for such as seismic anchoring, washdown areas, or intrinsically safe locations.
• Who on your site will be the vending machine primary owner for daily access, replenishment approvals, and inventory disputes?
• Provide your preferred installation lead time window and any required facility permits or contractor coordination details.
• Are there existing on-site electrical circuits, network endpoints, or floor anchors we can use for installation? Options: Power only, Power and network, No existing services, Other

Vending Machine Automated Replenishment

• Which automated reorder triggers do you prefer per SKU in vending machines (par level, minimum quantity, usage velocity measured against PM tasks)? Options: Par level, Min quantity, Daily velocity, Weekly velocity, Manual reorder only
• Specify the expected fill-rate acceptance for vending replenishment during trial measured as percent of picks fulfilled from vending stock.
• For replenishment frequency, choose the cadence you require for vending restock deliveries. Options: Daily, 2-3 times/week, Weekly, As-needed based on triggers
• How will you provide access credentials for remote vending telemetry (site network endpoint details, or will machines use cellular)? Options: Use site network, Use cellular connection, Manual data export, Other
• Identify the on-site contact responsible for adjudicating vending usage exceptions and disputed charges.
• Which measurable acceptance criteria will confirm successful automated vending replenishment at the end of the trial (example: ≥95% vending fill rate, restock within 24 hours of trigger)? Options: Fill rate threshold (specify %), Replenish lead time (specify hours), Telemetry uptime ≥ 99%, Other acceptance metrics

Vendor-Managed Inventory (VMI) Stocking

• List the SKUs or bill of materials (BOM) you propose to include in the VMI pool with part numbers and average monthly usage.
• For VMI, indicate the forecast horizon we should use to size stocking levels (daily usage, 30-day, 90-day consumption). Options: Daily usage, 30-day, 60-day, 90-day
• Describe your preferred ownership model for VMI inventory (we hold ownership until consumption, consigned, or you own on delivery). Options: Vendor owns until pick, Consignment, Buyer owns on delivery, Other
• Estimate the storage footprint and environmental controls required for VMI SKUs at each site (shelf space in cubic feet, temperature control).
• Which trial KPI will you use to evaluate VMI success for stocked SKUs (fill rate, stockout days, mean time to replenish)? Options: Fill rate, Stockout days, Replenish lead time, Other
• Which evidence will validate VMI readiness—examples include a completed initial seed inventory count, signed placement map, and agreed par levels. Options: Seed inventory completed, Placement map signed, Par levels agreed, Other evidence

Managed Storeroom Stocking and Replenishment

• Specify the storeroom locations (building and bin numbers) and whether restricted access or sign-out procedures apply.
• Which SKU families should be managed by the storeroom program versus left to traditional POs? Options: Bearings, Electrical, Hydraulics, Fasteners, Safety, Other
• Indicate your preferred cycle count frequency for managed storeroom items (daily pick audit, weekly, monthly, quarterly). Options: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly
• Specify the receiving and replenishment workflow you require (scan on receipt into bin, reconcile against PO, seed vs delivered ownership).
• Who will be the on-site storeroom approver for releases, returns, and bin transfers?
• Are there any regulatory or hazardous materials handling rules that affect storeroom SKUs (e.g., MSDS, flammables cabinet)? Options: Yes - MSDS/hazardous, Yes - special storage, No

Kanban Replenishment and Parts Kitting

• Which assemblies or PM tasks would you like supported by Kanban or pre-kitted parts (include PM task IDs or equipment tags)?
• For kits, list the typical kit contents by SKU and the expected kit consumption rate per week or per PM event.
• Specify the visual or electronic Kanban signal you prefer (bin cards, RFID, vending telemetry reorder, or kanban board). Options: Bin cards, RFID tags, Vending telemetry, Kanban board, Other
• Where will kits be staged relative to the equipment or PM work cell (maintenance cart, central storeroom, machine-side)? Options: Machine-side, Maintenance cart, Central storeroom, Other
• Estimate the acceptable kit build lead time from order to pick and deliver for scheduled PMs. Options: Same day, Next day, 2-3 days, Custom lead time
• Indicate any labeling or kitting standards required such as barcode format, part grouping rules, or single-line kit lists. Options: Barcode labels, Part grouping by BOM, Single-line kit list, Other

Consolidated Purchasing with Single PO

• Do you want a single consolidated purchase order for all MRO spend at a site or consolidated at a corporate level? Options: Site-level single PO, Corporate-level single PO, No consolidation desired
• Which internal PO approval workflow must the single PO integrate with (ERP module name or approval step count)?
• Specify invoice requirements to match consolidated PO lines (line-level receipt matching, GL codes, cost center tags).
• Who will be the AP or procurement contact responsible for approving the consolidated PO reconciliation?
• Are there any spend thresholds or commodity exclusions that must remain on separate POs (capital equipment, third-party services)? Options: Capital equipment excluded, Third-party services excluded, No exclusions, Other
• Estimate the monthly PO volume and average invoice lines you expect under consolidated purchasing. Options: 0-50 lines, 51-200 lines, 201-500 lines, 500+ lines

Consolidated Invoicing and Payment Reconciliation

• Which invoice format does your accounts payable system require for consolidated invoices (single invoice per site, per period, CSV line-level, EDI 810)? Options: Single invoice per site, Periodic consolidated invoice, CSV line-level, EDI 810, Other
• Provide the GL coding or cost center mapping method we should use to route line items on the consolidated invoice.
• Which payment terms do you intend to use for consolidated invoices during the trial (net 30, net 45, early pay discounts)? Options: Net 30, Net 45, Early pay discount, Other
• Indicate whether automated remittance feeds or AP system integration will be required for reconciliation. Options: Require automated remittance feed, Manual reconciliation only, Other
• Who will be the AP contact for resolving invoice exceptions and disputed line items?
• Are purchase order numbers required on each invoice line for automatic reconciliation? Options: Yes - PO on each line, PO on invoice header only, No PO required

Regional Distribution Center SKU Allocation

• Which DC coverage areas should serve your sites; provide zip codes or region names for allocation planning.
• List the core SKUs you expect to be kept in the regional distribution center for immediate dispatch with part numbers and min on-hand quantities.
• Specify allowable lead times from the regional DC to each site for both same-day and next-day delivery.
• Indicate whether cross-dock or direct DC-to-site shipments are preferred for bulky or palletized items. Options: Cross-dock preferred, Direct DC-to-site, Mix by item
• Provide any SKU lifecycle constraints such as serialized spares, vendor-managed lead times, or obsolescence rules that affect allocation.
• Estimate the percentage of your high-turn SKUs that should be mirrored at the regional DC versus held only at site storerooms. Options: 0-25%, 26-50%, 51-75%, 76-100%

• Master Services Agreement (MSA)
• Statement of Work (SOW) — Trial & Deployment
• Purchase Agreement / Order Confirmation
• Service Level Agreement (SLA)
• Trial Addendum / Pilot Acceptance
• Invoicing & Payment Schedule
• Deployment Order & Site Authorization
• Data Processing & Integration Addendum (DPA/Integration)
• Change Order Agreement
• Termination & Exit Agreement
• Confidentiality Agreement (NDA)
• Regulatory Compliance Addendum (conditional)

• Go-live Health Check (weeks 1-4)
• First Measurement Review (weeks 4-10)
• Acceptance Gate Decision (around day 90)
• Quarterly Business Review (ongoing)

• Publish the quarterly KPI summary and the agreed action tracker for the next review cycle.
• Deliver a remediation plan listing specific fixes, expected metric improvements, and completion dates.
• Adjust replenishment thresholds or delivery routing where identified and document the configuration changes.
• Restate acceptance criteria and evidence sources
• Each acceptance criterion recorded in Solution Scope is judged pass or fail with evidence recorded.
• Formal acceptance decision is documented with the buyer's named signatory or the agreed acceptance record.
• Any failed criteria have a remediation plan with dates and verification steps scheduled.
• Publish the acceptance report with pass/fail results and include the buyer's named signatory or the documented acceptance record.
• Create and distribute remediation tickets for any failed criteria with resolution owners and deadlines.
• Confirm and enable the shared issue and restocking channel with agreed response SLAs for ongoing use.
• KPI trend review
• Confirm whether fill rate and delivery SLA compliance remain within acceptable bounds against Solution Scope targets.
• Prioritize and schedule resolution for the top operational incidents and restocking requests from the shared channel.
• Maintain a clear enhancement backlog with agreed near-term delivery items and timelines.
• Update reorder thresholds or inventory levels for locations with repeated stockouts and publish the changes.
• Close or escalate the top three open issues from the shared channel with target dates for resolution.
• Reconfirm success criteria and owners
• Deployment components are verified as complete and functional or have documented remediation plans.
• Owners for each acceptance criterion recorded in Solution Scope are confirmed and contactable.
• A short-term monitoring plan and the dashboards that will report trial KPIs are agreed and scheduled.
• Publish the go-live issues log with each open item, temporary workaround, and target resolution date.
• Enable or validate monitoring feeds that report fill rate and on-time delivery rate for the first measurement review.
• Share training completion evidence for onsite owners and a list of any outstanding enablement needs.
• Run an inventory cycle count for seeded vending locations and report discrepancies versus system counts.
• Present first-period results
• Clear diagnosis of why fill rate or on-time delivery rate differ from targets recorded in Solution Scope.
• A prioritized corrective action plan with target completion dates that will be tracked to the acceptance gate.
• Confirmed data window and evidence sources for the acceptance gate evaluation.
• Present outcome data against each criterion
• Operational incidents and root causes
• Root-cause diagnosis for gaps
• Deployment verification
• Document pass or fail per criterion and record decision
• Replenishment and inventory accuracy review
• Shared channel and restocking queue review
• User onboarding and training status
• Agree corrective actions and timeline
• Early operational signals and open issues
• Agree remediation plan for any failed criteria
• Enhancement and continuous improvement items
• Confirm readiness timeline to acceptance gate
• Immediate remediation and short-term monitoring plan
• Confirm operational handover and ongoing cadence
• Agree quarter actions and shorten next check if stable