OVERVIEW For over three decades, Terry Wireman has specialized in the improvement of maintenance and reliability. As an international expert in maintenance management, he has assisted hundreds of clients in North America, Europe and the Pacific Rim to improve their maintenance effectiveness. Through a new 10-volume Maintenance Strategy series, the author makes his expertise in the field accessible to industrial and facility organizations everywhere. The second volume in the series, Inventory and Purchasing, shows the reader how to develop an inventory and purchasing program for MRO spares and supplies as part of an overall strategy. Specifically, the text focuses on the importance of a well organized storage location and part inventory numbering system detailing to the reader the most effective ways to accomplish this goal. The receiving and parts issues disciplines are discussed in detail with a focus on the value proposition for spare parts controls and justification of storeroom overhead. In addition, the appendixes provide examples of parts and detail storage conditions that can be utilized in developing or refining an inventory storage location.