3 Common Purchase Ordering Problems (and How to Solve Them)

Purchase ordering and inventory management can be cumbersome tasks for field service companies to manage. Without comprehensive part tracking and recordkeeping tools, it’s easy to lose track of the inventory you have in stock and outstanding orders for pending repairs.  Not knowing how to keep up with it all can cost your business hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, every month.  Fortunately, finding a software solution with a robust inventory control system can eliminate these three common pain points and do so much more.

Pain Point 1: Knowing Who Needs the Part

When parts are received, it can be a challenge to figure out which job they were ordered for. Outdated or convoluted record-keeping systems make tracking part shipments by customer and invoice a time-consuming source of endless frustration.

The Solution

Modern cloud-based inventory management systems will address this by keeping track of the relationship between service calls and purchase orders.  It should allow you to easily print labels when orders come in, making clear the customer, service address, and technician to which the part should be allocated. Another thing to consider is how to stage parts that have been filled and are labeled but are scheduled for more than a day or two out.

Pain Point 2: Knowing Where the Part is Located

Disorganized inventory systems and physical locations can make it hard to find the parts you need, especially when stock is split between office storage spaces and technician's trucks. Record-keeping becomes even more difficult to maintain as your company grows, adding new techs and inventory warehouses to manage. Without an efficient PO and inventory workflow knowing if you have a part the system says you do and if you do, where it is, can seem like guesswork.

The Solution

An effective inventory management system solves this problem, too. Your inventory management program will be able to organize and maintain your inventory by warehouse and sublocation.  Inventory will be searchable so you can drill down by part number or warehouse location to find what you need. Other tools such as weekly cycle counts and internal part transfers between inventories will help keep everything in order. A complete inventory transaction history can also help you find out how discrepancies happened if they do pop up from time to time.

Pain Point 3: Knowing How to Price the Part

Understanding how much you paid for a part and what you need to resell it for in order to turn a profit is equally as important, if not more so, than knowing where a part is and who it’s for.  It can be hard for your team to keep track of pricing details considering the differences between part suppliers, equipment manufacturers, and more. All of the math surrounding purchase orders and pricing is often an easy opportunity for human error. Without automated and standardized pricing, there can be inconsistencies that are a disservice to your customers, bottom line, and your accountant alike.

The Solution

Of course, once again the answer is an inventory and PO management system. Within a worthwhile purchase ordering system, costs should be able to be updated and saved as POs are filled.  You should be able to build out pricing structures to calculate sell price markups, making sure that you charge customers the appropriate price to ensure your profit margin. Purchase ordering reconciliation functionality within a field service management system simplifies bookkeeping by allowing you to check your invoices against your purchase records and easily ensure that everything lines up.

All in all, having an inventory management system in place increases efficiency, saves both time and money, improves organization, and reduces headaches. If you’re interested in Walkabout’s comprehensive inventory management system, schedule a demo with one of our field service management software experts today!