What is a material shortage log?

A list of parts that will not be available when production needs them, with the need date, the impact on the line, the reason, the supplier, the ETA, the owner and the escalation level, reviewed every shift.

How do you prioritize material shortages?

By impact and time: a line stopped first, then shortages whose ETA is after the need date or that have no ETA, then the ones covered by an ETA. The gap between ETA and need date shows how urgent each one is.

What are the common causes of material shortages?

Suppliers delivering late or short, lots held or rejected by quality, inventory records that show stock that is not there, schedule or demand changes, and transfer or picking errors.

When should a shortage be escalated?

When the ETA is later than the need date, when there is no ETA within an agreed time, or when the line has stopped or will stop. Agree the levels and who is called at each with production and purchasing beforehand.

Free template

Material shortage log

A material shortage log is the list of parts that will not be at the line when they are needed, kept by materials or planning and reviewed at the start of every shift. For each shortage it shows when the part is needed, what happens to the line without it, why it is short, who is chasing it, the ETA and whether it has been escalated. Comparing the ETA with the need date is what tells you which shortages need action now. Counting shortages by reason over a few weeks shows whether the problem is supplier delivery, quality holds, inventory record errors or schedule changes. Page 1 of this template is the log with a reason key, an impact circle (stop, risk, workaround) and the escalation level. Page 2 has an example escalation guide to replace with your own rules, a weekly count by reason and a daily review. The Excel version gives each shortage a status (line stopped, no ETA, ETA after need date, covered by ETA or resolved), the days between the ETA and the need date and the days open, with counts by status, reason and supplier.

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Page 1 of the material shortage log: fields for site, week and keeper, a reason key, and a table with part, description, quantity short, need date, line, impact circle, reason, supplier and PO, ETA, owner, escalation level and resolved date. — Part and quantity shortNeed dateLine impactReason codeSupplier and ETAEscalation levelCounts by reason

When to use it

When to use a material shortage log

When lines stop or run out of sequence because parts are missing.
When shortages are chased by phone and email and nobody has the full list.
To review shortages in the daily or tier meeting with production and purchasing.
To find whether shortages come from suppliers, quality, inventory records or planning.

How to fill it in

1
Log it as soon as it is known
Part, quantity short, the date and shift it is needed, and the line affected.
2
Say what happens without it
Line stopped, line at risk, or a workaround in place. This sets the priority.
3
Give it a reason
Supplier late or short, quality hold, inventory record wrong, demand or schedule change, transfer or picking error.
4
Get an ETA you can trust
From the supplier or the source, with a PO and an owner who chases it.
5
Escalate by your rules
When the ETA is after the need date, or there is no ETA, escalate to the next level without waiting to be asked.
6
Review and fix the causes
Review open rows every shift and count the reasons each week. Fix the reason that comes up most.

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example: open shortages at the start of a Tuesday shift (illustrative).

Bracket P1: needed tomorrow, ETA in 3 days, ETA after need date, line at risk: escalated to level 2 and the job re-sequenced.
Cover P2: needed in 5 days, ETA in 2: covered by ETA.
Fastener P3: the system showed 2,000 in stock but the bin was empty; line stopped: escalated to level 3 and a cycle count ordered.
Gasket P4: on quality hold with no ETA, workaround in place with an approved alternate.

Over four weeks the count by reason showed inventory record errors as the second biggest cause after supplier delivery, which led to tighter cycle counts on the fastener family.

Common mistakes

Logging only line stops
By the time the line stops it is too late. Log the shortage when it is first known.
Accepting any ETA
An ETA without a PO, a ship date and a carrier is a hope. Ask for the details.
Escalating late
Agree escalation rules in advance so nobody waits for permission to escalate.
Never looking at the reasons
Chasing each shortage without counting the causes means the same shortages next month.

Download the template

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Run this template in LeanSuite

In LeanSuite anyone on the floor raises an issue as a tag, rules route it to an owner by tag type, area, department and priority with a due date, and a tag that cannot be fixed locally is escalated to tier 2 or tier 3 with its history.

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