Integrating Inventory Into Work Orders and Purchase Orders

Arriving at a job without the right parts or waiting for parts orders to come in so you can complete a job can be a drain on your efficiency, costing you precious time during your busiest seasons. Material and supply chain shortages make proactively managing inventory even more crucial to your bottom line.

There’s no shortage of on-premise and cloud-based software solutions for managing inventory. Real time savings happens, though, when your inventory system works seamlessly with your work orders and your purchase orders.

For Millard Sprinkler, integrating parts inventory into work orders and purchasing had a primary spot in its plans to build EServ, the small business operations software for the service industry it recently brought to market. The company started by building a database of parts that included photos, the manufacturer part number, distributor part number and even slang terms that varied among its work crews. Having worked previously with extremely complicated inventory systems, the company kept it simple with eight or nine primary categories, each with six to seven subcategories.

That database, which has grown to include more than 1,200parts, comes with EServ for users in the irrigation, landscaping or similar industries. Parts can be added or removed based on what the business uses. Users in other industries can create their own database for parts or supplies. EServ even includes a tool for cropping photos taken at the business or downloaded from a manufacturer website.

Within EServ, businesses can establish a main warehouse and sub-warehouses, which can be brick-and-mortar satellite locations or vehicles. Each sub-warehouse or vehicle has a starting inventory of parts and equipment based on standard usage. As parts are used, they are added to the work order and ultimately the customer invoice. When work for the day is done, the sub-warehouse or vehicle is restocked with inventory from the main warehouse.

The main warehouse operates on a minimum/maximum basis. When inventory reaches a certain level, EServ automatically generates a purchase order for a quantity predetermined based on shelf space, usage and inventory turn. The system tracks everything at the manufacturer list price and can calculate the sale price and the install price, inclusive of labor and miscellaneous parts. The system routes the purchase order to management for approval, and once approved, sends the purchase order via email to the vendor, with the manufacturer part number and distributor part number.

In its first year operating partially on EServ, Millard Sprinkler realized a 20% uptick in net income. The company fully transitioned to EServ in early 2022 and now makes the platform available to other companies. From online customer requests to work orders, scheduling, parts inventory, purchasing and invoicing, EServ provides paperless processes that give small-and mid-sized businesses greater efficiency and higher revenue.

If you’re interested in being part of the EServ Evolution, please complete our contact form and a member of our team will be in touch.

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