Parts and Inventory for Field Service Teams
Missing parts cause return visits, and unrecorded parts disappear. How to manage stock across stores and vans so technicians have what they need and every part is accounted for.
In a field service business, inventory is more than a warehouse problem. Most parts live in vans, spread across a city and moving every day. If a van is missing a common part, the job fails and the technician comes back tomorrow. If parts used on jobs are not recorded, stock disappears and nobody can say where it went.
The two failures
The first is the missing part. A technician arrives, diagnoses the fault, and does not have the capacitor, filter or fitting needed. That means a return visit, a lower first-time fix rate and an unhappy customer. See first-time fix rate.
The second is the unrecorded part. A part leaves the store, goes into a van and gets used on a job, and nobody writes it down. The job is under-billed, the stock count is wrong, and reordering happens too late.
Where stock lives
Think of stock as sitting in locations:
- The main store or warehouse.
- Each van, which is a small store of its own.
- Site stores on large projects.
Every movement between them is a transaction: stock received from a supplier, transferred from the store to a van, used on a job, returned, or adjusted after a count.
Van stock
Set each van's standard stock from what is actually used:
- Look at the parts used per job type over the last few months.
- Set a standard list for each van based on the work it does.
- Top up to that list on a regular day.
- Review the list quarterly.
Parts used on jobs
Record parts against the job they were used on, at the moment they are used, and from the location they came from. That one habit keeps stock counts right, makes billing complete and shows the real cost of each job. It also builds equipment history: what was fitted, and when.
Counts and adjustments
Count regularly, especially the vans. Record any difference as an adjustment with a reason, so shrinkage is visible instead of being absorbed.
What to measure
- Jobs failed or delayed for a missing part.
- Stock adjustments, and which locations they come from.
- Parts cost per job type.
In Movtro
Movtro keeps a catalogue of parts and materials, each with a unit and unit cost. They are held in stock locations within warehouses, so a van can be a stock location of its own. Stock can be received, transferred between locations, adjusted with a reason, reserved for a job and returned, and every movement is recorded. Technicians log parts used on a job from the location they took them from, which takes them out of stock and adds their cost to the job. Where you do not track stock, parts can be logged as free text.
Movtro does not raise purchase orders or warn you when stock runs low. Stock levels and movements are there for you to review.
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Related: HVAC Parts and Van Stock Management · How to Manage Parts and Stock on Jobs