Unique Differentiator

Is It Equipment or a Spare Part? We Detect Both

Equipment records mixed in with spare parts inflate your inventory counts, break your analytics, and make BOM linking impossible. Most MDM vendors can't tell the difference — we can.

Four Categories, Zero Ambiguity

Every record in your material master is classified into one of four categories based on NMQ taxonomy and description analysis.

Equipment

Capital assets installed at a functional location. These are WHERE parts are used.

PUMP, CENTRIFUGAL
MOTOR, ELECTRIC
COMPRESSOR, SCREW
HEAT EXCHANGER

Spare Part

Replacement components for equipment. These are WHAT you stock in inventory.

BEARING, BALL
SEAL, MECHANICAL
VALVE, GATE
FILTER, OIL

Kit

Assemblies or sets of parts used together. Often sold as a single unit.

SEAL KIT, HYDRAULIC
GASKET SET
REPAIR KIT, VALVE
O-RING KIT

Consumable

Items consumed during maintenance. Not linked to specific equipment.

LUBRICANT, GREASE
ADHESIVE, EPOXY
TAPE, TEFLON
CLOTH, CLEANING

Why Separating Equipment from Spare Parts Matters

Inventory Value Distorted

A $500,000 centrifugal pump counted as "inventory" massively inflates your spare parts stock value. Executives make wrong decisions based on wrong numbers.

Procurement Grouped Wrong

Equipment and spare parts have completely different procurement workflows, approval levels, and supplier contracts. Mixing them causes chaos.

BOM Linking Impossible

You can't link spare parts to equipment if you don't know which records ARE equipment. This is the foundation of any BOM analysis.

Before & After Classification
Mixed material master (before)
PUMP CENTRIFUGAL 150HP ?
BEARING BALL 6205-2RS ?
SEAL KIT HYDRAULIC CYL ?
MOTOR ELECTRIC 75KW ?
GREASE LITHIUM EP2 ?
Classified (after)
PUMP CENTRIFUGAL 150HP EQUIPMENT
BEARING BALL 6205-2RS SPARE_PART
SEAL KIT HYDRAULIC CYL KIT
MOTOR ELECTRIC 75KW EQUIPMENT
GREASE LITHIUM EP2 CONSUMABLE

How We Detect It

NMQ Classification

Our 1,800+ NMQ entries classify every part type. PUMP CENTRIFUGAL is equipment. IMPELLER is a spare part. The taxonomy inherently knows the difference.

Pattern Matching

Descriptions containing power ratings (75KW, 150HP), serial numbers, or model numbers are strong equipment indicators. Weight, dimensions, and material specs point to spare parts.

Human Review

Ambiguous records are flagged for human review. We'd rather flag 100 uncertain records than misclassify one piece of equipment as a spare part.

The BOM Connection

Equipment records are WHERE spare parts are used. Separating them is step one of BOM analysis. Once you know what's equipment and what's a spare part, you can link them together — and that's where inventory intelligence begins.

Equipment
BOM Linkage
Spare Parts

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can't my ERP tell equipment from spare parts?
Most ERPs store all material master records in the same table with a simple material type field. But when data is imported from legacy systems, merged across sites, or manually entered over decades, equipment records get mixed in with spare parts. The material type field is either blank, wrong, or inconsistently applied.

What categories do you classify into?
We classify records into four categories: EQUIPMENT (capital assets installed at a functional location), SPARE_PART (replacement components for equipment), KIT (assemblies or sets of parts sold/used together), and CONSUMABLE (items consumed during maintenance — lubricants, rags, adhesives, safety gear).

How accurate is the classification?
Our NMQ dictionary contains classification hints for every noun-modifier combination. PUMP CENTRIFUGAL is equipment. BEARING BALL is a spare part. SEAL KIT is a kit. LUBRICANT GREASE is a consumable. For ambiguous cases, we flag records for human review rather than guessing.

What happens to equipment records once identified?
Equipment records are separated from spare parts and can be used to build or validate your equipment hierarchy. They become the anchor points for BOM linkage — connecting spare parts to the equipment they support. This is the foundation for inventory intelligence.

Does this work without BOM data?
Yes. Classification is based on the NMQ taxonomy and description analysis — it doesn't require BOM data. However, once you have clean equipment records AND spare parts, providing BOM data lets us link them together for full inventory analysis.

Find out what's really in your material master

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