What is a plan for every part (PFEP)?

A table with one row per part number that holds everything about how the part is bought, packed, stored, delivered and used: supplier, pack quantity, container size and weight, usage, lead time, storage and point-of-use locations and the replenishment method. Market sizes, delivery routes and kanban card counts are worked out from it.

At least the part number and description, supplier and location, usage a day, pack quantity, container type, length, width, height and weight, lead time, delivery frequency, market location, point of use, lineside location and replenishment method. The Lean Lexicon lists most of these; this template adds unit cost for the ABC class and the stock on hand.

How do you calculate the number of kanban cards from a PFEP?

Cards = demand × loop time × (1 + safety factor) ÷ pack quantity, rounded up. For the supplier loop the loop time is the days between deliveries plus the lead time, so the example motor needs 160 a day × 2.5 days × 1.10 ÷ 8 = 55 cards.

What are the ABC cut-offs?

There is no standard. A common convention puts the parts up to 80% of the cumulative annual usage value in A, the next 15% in B and the last 5% in C, which makes 6 of the 40 parts in the worked example class A. Set your own on the Settings sheet.

How is this different from the kanban sizing calculator?

The kanban sizing calculator sizes one loop from numbers you type. The PFEP holds the part data those numbers come from, works out both the supplier-to-market and the market-to-line loops from the delivery frequency and the route interval, and adds the ABC class and the space and weight checks. Both use the same card formula, so their counts agree.

Free template

Updated October 9, 2026

Plan for every part (PFEP) template

A plan for every part (PFEP) is one table that holds everything about how each part is bought, packed, stored, delivered and used: part number, supplier and where it is, pack quantity and container, size and weight, usage a day, lead time, where it is stored, where it is used and how it is replenished. The Lean Enterprise Institute's Lean Lexicon defines it as a plan for each part that sets out every detail of how it is handled and used, and the market sizes, delivery routes and kanban cards are worked out from it. Page 1 of this template is the part list to fill in. Page 2 ranks the parts by annual usage value into A, B and C classes and sizes each part's two loops, supplier to market and market to line. Page 3 has the steps, the formulas, which replenishment method suits which part and a lineside space check, and page 4 is a worked example for a 40-part assembly cell. The Excel version classifies every part with cut-offs you set (80 / 15 / 5 by default, a convention), works out the supplier cards for the market and the containers for the line from the delivery frequency and the route interval, the hours of cover at the line, the volume each lineside location needs against the space it has, containers over your lift limit and stock above the plan, with a Pareto chart and a summary.

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 plan for every part template — One row per partABC classes by valuePareto chartMarket (supplier) cardsLine containersLineside space checkLift weight checkStock above planWorked example

When to use it

When to use a plan for every part

When setting up a parts market (supermarket) and timed deliveries for a cell or a line.
Before a material flow kaizen, to have every part's data in one place instead of split between the ERP, the shelf and people's heads.
When the line runs short of parts while the warehouse is full, or the racks at the line overflow.
When usage, a supplier, a pack size or the route changes and the card counts need checking.

How to fill it in

1
Collect the part data
Every part number used in the area, from the bill of materials and a walk of the line. Take usage a day from recent actual use, measure the pack and the container on the shelf, and take lead time from orders actually received, not from the catalogue.
2
Classify by annual usage value
Usage a year × unit cost, ranked highest first. A is the few parts that carry most of the value (up to 80% of the cumulative value by default), B the next 15% and C the rest. The 80 / 15 / 5 split is a convention, so set your own.
3
Choose the replenishment method for each class
Start from the class: A and B parts in standard totes on kanban with short delivery intervals, cheap C parts on two-bin. Then let the part decide: many variants go sequenced, and bulky parts and packaging can come direct to the line.
4
Size the market and the line
Market cards = usage a day × (days between deliveries + lead time) × (1 + safety factor) ÷ pack quantity, rounded up. Line containers = the full containers that cover two route cycles of use (the wait to be collected plus the next trip), plus the one in use.
5
Locate the parts and check the space
Give every part a market address and a lineside location. Add up the container volume each location needs against the space it has, and check that no container a person lifts is over your weight limit.
6
Review it
When usage, a supplier, a pack or the route changes, and every month for the A parts. Change the PFEP first, then the cards, and take a card out when the stock never falls below a full container.

Replenishment methods

Which replenishment method for which part

The class is the starting point; the part's size, variety and weight decide. The Excel version sizes all four.

Method	How it works	Suits	How the template sizes it
Kanban	A card or the empty container goes back for each container used, and the route brings a full one.	Most A and B parts that come in standard totes.	Market cards for the supplier loop. Line containers: the full containers for two route cycles, plus the one in use.
Two-bin	Two bins at the line. When one empties it goes back to be refilled while the other is used.	Cheap, small, high-use C parts such as fasteners and labels.	2 bins at the line; flags a bin too small to cover two route cycles.
Sequenced	Parts arrive in build order on each trip.	Parts with many variants (by voltage, color or customer) that would fill the line if every variant sat there.	Like kanban: the full containers for two route cycles, plus the one in use.
Direct to line	The supplier delivers to the point of use, with no market.	Bulky parts and packaging on a frequent milk run.	No market cards; the line holds the whole supplier loop.

Kanban
How it works
A card or the empty container goes back for each container used, and the route brings a full one.
Suits
Most A and B parts that come in standard totes.
How the template sizes it
Market cards for the supplier loop. Line containers: the full containers for two route cycles, plus the one in use.
Two-bin
How it works
Two bins at the line. When one empties it goes back to be refilled while the other is used.
Suits
Cheap, small, high-use C parts such as fasteners and labels.
How the template sizes it
2 bins at the line; flags a bin too small to cover two route cycles.
Sequenced
How it works
Parts arrive in build order on each trip.
Suits
Parts with many variants (by voltage, color or customer) that would fill the line if every variant sat there.
How the template sizes it
Like kanban: the full containers for two route cycles, plus the one in use.
Direct to line
How it works
The supplier delivers to the point of use, with no market.
Suits
Bulky parts and packaging on a frequent milk run.
How the template sizes it
No market cards; the line holds the whole supplier loop.

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example: a made-up pump assembly cell building 160 pumps a day on two 8-hour shifts, with 40 parts (illustrative numbers).

ABC: 6 of the 40 parts (15%) carry 77.5% of the 7,661,146 annual usage value: the motor, housing, terminal box, impeller, mechanical seal and pump cover. 8 B parts carry 16.8% and the 26 C parts 5.7%.
Motor (A), 160 a day in racks of 8, delivered 10 times a week with a 2-day lead time: market loop 5 ÷ 10 + 2 = 2.5 days, so 160 × 2.5 × 1.10 ÷ 8 = 55 cards. At the line, 10 an hour × 2 hours × 1.10 ÷ 8 = 2.75, so 3 full racks plus the one in use: 4.
Housing bolt (C, two-bin), 960 a day in bins of 1,000: one bin must cover 60 an hour × 8 hours × 1.30 = 624, so two bins work and hold 33.3 hours of use.
Flags: the housing tote weighs 29 kg against the 15 kg lift limit, the mechanical seal's carton of 50 puts 10 hours at the line against 8 for an A part, and flow rack FR-3 needs 829 litres against 760 (109%).
Four parts hold more than 10 days of stock, but only the base plate is above its plan maximum: 1,460 extra, worth 6,862. The earth screws, also over the limit, are worth 156 in all.

The cell needs 749 supplier cards and 95 line containers, and at maximum the market holds 142,432 of stock and the line 15,302. Delivering pump covers every 30 minutes instead of 60 cuts them from 3 totes to 2 (10 × 1 × 1.10 ÷ 12 = 0.92, so 1 full plus 1) and brings FR-3 down to 99%.

Common mistakes

Sizing on the forecast alone
A forecast that runs ahead of real use fills the market and the racks. Size from recent actual usage and check it against the schedule for the coming weeks.
No container standard
If a part comes in boxes of 50 one week and 200 the next, no card count holds and the lineside plan breaks. Agree one pack quantity and container per part with the supplier and write it in the PFEP.
Ignoring supplier variability
A supplier that misses one delivery in five needs a larger safety factor or more deliveries, not the same cards as one that is never late. Take lead time from orders actually received.
Classifying by value alone
ABC by value says how tightly to manage the stock. A cheap part with a long lead time or a single source can stop the line as surely as an A part, so move it up a class.
A PFEP nobody owns
Copies kept by planning, purchasing and the line drift apart after the first pack or supplier change. Keep one file with one owner and change the PFEP before the cards.

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