Production Standstill – What Now?

Unexpected material or spare part shortage is not just an operational issue. It’s one of the major challenges faced by businesses all over the world. And this is where Conrad come in.

Unexpected shortages in production – identify the cause, find a solution
Professional response based on an adequate strategy and the right business partner
Checklists, white papers and everything in between: tackling unexpected shortages the right way

How to deal with unexpected shortages caused by equipment downtime is currently the main focus of the Conrad Sourcing Platform.

Hirschau, May 2025. Production is in full flow, all team members are working flat out, deadlines are approaching. Suddenly, everything comes to a standstill. Scenarios like this put everyone involved under immense pressure. And they are by no means rare occurrences. “Unexpected shortage caused by equipment failure in manufacturing and production are the rule, not the exception,” says Michael Schlagenhaufer, expert at Conrad Electronic who looks after the Manufacturing & Maintenance section. This is why the Conrad Sourcing Platform is now focusing on the issue.

Equipment failure affects 67 percent of businesses across the industries

Schlagehaufer’s assessment is supported by recent studies, ABB’s Value of Reliability Report among them. 67 percent of all manufacturing businesses log at least one standstill each month despite preventive and predictive measures being in place. And if the downtime lasts more than 3 days, companies may rack up losses of up to €70,000 gross. In other words, and totalled up across the industries, equipment downtime costs Germany’s economy €147,000 per hour.

Adequate response to unexpected shortage

So, how to prevent unexpected shortage? And what to do if it happens? “Clearly, predictive maintenance is one way to pre-empt equipment failure,” explains Schlagenhaufer. “However, there are many other factors unrelated to MRO that can result in costly downtime and unexpected shortage.”

Choose the right partner to minimise stress and costs

Considering what is on stake, worst-case-scenarios tend to put everyone involved under immense pressure. This is precisely why you need a sourcing partner who operates in a holistic way, and who provides workable solutions quickly. “For 25 years, we’ve been supplying components, test equipment and accessories for industrial equipment and plant,” Schlagenhaufer continues. “In doing so, we both fulfil bulk orders for warehousing purposes, and send you whatever single part you need when bad comes to worse. Means we know a lot about the main causes, requirements and adequate solutions when it comes to downtime as a result of equipment failure. Moreover, we are happy to share our knowledge about how to deal with unexpected shortages.”

Main topic: unexpected shortages, their causes and risks, checklists and a white paper

If you want to stabilise processes in the long term, you need to get to the root of the problem and come up with a preventive strategy. This is why Conrad’s latest information pages now centre around “Unexpected Shortages in Production”, providing valuable insights into planned warehousing, strategic purchasing and smart forward-planning. This not only helps troubleshoot shortages; it helps prevent them happening in the first place. In addition, a checklist allows you to assess your operational procedures with regard to unexpected shortages, and a white paper that explains how to use predictive maintenance, to ensure a smooth manufacturing process.

Learn more? Read on here: conrad.de/schnell-reagieren