"Thanks in no small part to the LEAN principle, the spares stock was run down to practically nothing, and what 10 years previously were routine demands or held stock, suddenly became "No Item Record" thus requiring all kinds of inventive solutions and Xmas trees!! "
Not 100% accurate, a 'no item record' will only appear if there is no MOD stock on the shelf and there has been no movement for the past 2 years. So if someone had demanded such an item it would have gone as an 'inability', which should (and I use the word should) have meant a request for spares on BAe for the airframe and Rolls Royce for the engine. And as for using the good ol' Chrismas tree, not a very good idea for 'C' class stores.