Van stock, or how to avoid a second trip for a single part
The technician is at the customer’s, the cause has been found, and the right part is in the warehouse instead of in the van. A second trip costs half a day and the customer’s trust. With five agreements, the van stock is right again.
Published by Abdelhay Rahou (opens in a new window)5 November 20265 min read
Why the van stock is never right
The stock in a van is rarely right because it changes in four ways without anyone noting it: a technician uses a part and forgets to record it, a colleague borrows something from another van, replenishment is done by eye, and a part that comes back from a customer does not go back into the count.
The result: the list at the office says there are three filter cartridges in van 2, and the technician cannot find any. Or the other way round: there are eight, because everyone added a few “just in case”.
Anyone who maintains technical installations knows the problem. In water treatment, a technician drives around with filter cartridges, gaskets, valves and seals in different sizes. One wrong size, and a half-hour maintenance visit becomes a second appointment.
Five agreements for a van whose stock is right
- A fixed range with a minimum per van. Decide for each van which parts must always be in it and how many at least. A technician who mainly does maintenance needs a different range from a technician who fixes breakdowns.
- Record every part at the moment of use, on the intervention. Not in the evening, not at the end of the week. That way the stock goes down at the right moment and the part is ready for the invoice.
- One replenishment circuit. The technician requests, someone in charge approves, the warehouse prepares, the delivery is confirmed. Anyone who takes from the warehouse without a request makes the count worthless.
- Check the parts before departure. If you know which parts a type of intervention or a type of installation usually needs, you can compare that with what is in the van the day before.
- Count regularly, with a reason for every correction. Damaged, lost, found, return not recorded: the reason tells you where the circuit leaks.
Short video · 0:30
Morgen een interventie, maar waar ligt het juiste onderdeel?
U ziet de voorraad van elke bestelwagen en van het magazijn, en zet het onderdeel klaar voor de bestelwagen van de technieker.
Video in Dutch, with Dutch captions
All short videos (in Dutch)Who does what?
| Who | What |
|---|---|
| Technician | records the parts used on the intervention, requests replenishment |
| Planner | requests replenishment, checks the parts before the scheduled interventions |
| Manager | sets the minimum stock, approves requests |
| Warehouse | prepares the parts and confirms the transfer |
How it works in Digitalnatie Service Suite
Service Suite manages the stock and parts of the warehouse and of each van separately.
- In the app: the technician sees the stock in their van, the minimum and the shortages. On an intervention, they add the parts used; there they only see what is in their van. A part only counts as used once the server has confirmed it, even if it was added without a network.
- Replenishment: the technician requests a part, or everything below the minimum in one go. Someone in charge approves, the warehouse validates the transfer, and only then does the stock leave the warehouse.
- At the office: for each van, you see what is in it, the minimum and the status: out of stock, below minimum or at level. You can look for a part in the warehouse or in the other vans.
- Parts readiness: for the interventions of the coming days, Service Suite compares the parts needed with the stock in the van of the assigned technician. Which parts are needed follows from parts templates per type of intervention or per installation category, from parts added manually to the intervention, or from the history.
- Counting: a correction to the count always gets a reason.
The office sets the minimum stock itself: without a minimum, the app cannot flag a shortage. The parts used go on the intervention and so on the invoice, see from work order to invoice.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know which parts are in which van?
For each van, Service Suite shows what is in it, the minimum and whether there is a shortage. If you are looking for one part, you search for it in the warehouse or in the other vans.
When should a van be replenished?
As soon as a part drops below its minimum. The technician sees their shortages in the app and requests them in one go. That only works if the office has set a minimum for each van.
What if a technician uses a part without a network?
They simply add it; the line waits on the device until there is a network. Only when the server confirms the entry is the part shown as used.
Can I check before departure whether all the parts are there?
Yes. Parts readiness compares, for the interventions of the coming days, the parts needed with the stock in the technician’s van, and shows for each intervention whether everything is ready or what is missing. See also scheduling technicians.
Do used parts appear on the invoice automatically?
They are on the intervention. When the office creates the invoice from that intervention, the parts used are on the draft invoice, ready to be checked.