Without proper inventory control, technicians waste time (and money) hunting down the parts and supplies they need to complete a job. Each time a technician leaves the worksite and drives to the supply house, they lose anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour each trip. Not only does that impact the number of completed jobs the technician can accomplish each day, but last-minute purchases are costly.
Spot buys can greatly impact a company’s performance and budget, tying up already limited cash flow as payment is often expected upon delivery. Supply houses may stock some of the items needed to complete a job, but these items are often priced higher and may be of lesser quality than what the contractor prefers to use. This ultimately impacts any workmanship warranties the company offers.
In addition to impacting a company’s productivity and budget, unnecessary spot buys can decrease a company’s reputation and cause them to lose business or receive bad reviews. Aux Home Services is a MarginPoint customer that has seen a dramatic increase in customer satisfaction because they are properly stocked and know exactly where their inventory is – which means they have what they need to finish a job for the customer on the spot. “That’s the difference between making a sale or not sometimes,” Fox said. “Because time is money. If you must tell a customer they need to wait while you order a part or run out to get one, they might change their mind about working with you.”
The Return on Investment of Proper Inventory Control
MarginPoint’s Mobile Inventory solution addresses the common challenges contractors face, helping them optimize their inventory processes— saving time and money. With MarginPoint, companies can experience savings including up to 67% fewer unplanned purchases and 89% fewer purchase orders (because of automated replenishment). Service contractors can experience improved inventory visibility at every level of their operation, allowing them to make smarter purchasing decisions. These are just a few of the many benefits you’ll discover with MarginPoint:
- Save Money: Auto replenishment feature helps you bundle inventory and set up regular orders through your preferred suppliers
- Eliminate Technician Downtime: Have the right parts on hand to finish the job the first time
- Smarter Scheduling Decisions: Real-time data helps you know inventory levels in every location for smarter scheduling
- Grow Revenue: Complete more jobs per technician per day
Before becoming a MarginPoint customer, Fox & Sons had a few problem areas they were looking to address. They were losing money each month due to inventory mismanagement on each of their fleet of vehicles. They often found that technicians were overstocking preferred items on their trucks, causing shortages elsewhere. And, the company had no real way of tracking what inventory was held in the warehouse, leading to unnecessary spot buys daily. As their company grew to 38 employees, it became increasingly difficult to regain control of their inventory. They knew they needed a better way to reduce inventory costs and increase job costing accuracy. “In the first six months of having MarginPoint, it brought our inventory costs down by over $50,000,” says Michael Illingby, IT/Training Manager, Fox & Sons.
Stop wasting time making last-minute trips to the store. Not only will you save time and complete more jobs on time, but with the right supplies on hand your technicians will be able to upsell more confidently. Join the over eight hundred companies that have been able to take back control of their inventory, cut costs and improve their profitability with MarginPoint Mobile Inventory.
