Surplus Maintenance, Repair and Operations (MRO) inventory, defined as stock-on-hand in excess of maximum levels, is an unfortunate reality at many asset-intensive organizations. Surplus inventory is undesirable because it increases holding cost and also ties up scarce resources – capital, warehouse space and manpower – at the expense of items that are more urgently needed by the organization. It is not uncommon for surplus inventory to make up a significant fraction of total inventory at many organizations and, since it increases cost but not inventory performance, it represents a logical target for inventory-reduction initiatives.