Inventory management system for effecting an efficient reply of possible future component parts from a component part supplier

In an inventory management system having a database and a network connection interconnected a product manufacturer and at least one component part supplier, a process comprising the steps of:

• estimating possible quantity of component parts supplied from the component part supplier based on spare part records of the component part supplier stored in the database;
• writing the estimation into one of a plurality of documents wherein a quantity, a description, and a proportion of the component parts of a product required in a forthcoming period of time are listed in fields of the document;
• and
• informing the component part supplier of the proportion of the component parts listed in the document through the network connection for confirmation.