Real Time Inventory Tracking for Fuel Delivery and HVAC Businesses

Many large businesses have separate departments for tracking and monitoring inventory. Smaller companies devote a lot of time to the process. The main reason why so much importance is attributed to inventory tracking is that it saves money and time. A vast sum of money is spent by businesses on inventory with most of them wanting to know the amount of inventory there is at any given time. Most people in IT businesses do not find value in tracking inventory because it is simply not on their radar. However, for managers of field service and fuel delivery teams, it is vital to track inventory. It helps management dispatch the right truck/van with the right inventory so the job gets done the first time, saving much in fuel and payroll costs and improving customer service, which of course improves margins.

Real-time fleet inventory tracking helps you automatically order products for resale so that you do not exhaust your stock. This method is also integrated with the dispatching and routing system so that customers receive exceptional customer service. Inventory is required by businesses in some form or the other. Due to the ever-increasing cost of inventory, it is not cost effective to have a warehouse of parts and pieces and this is where this new technology comes in. It now tracks what inventory you have on hand, what has been used for each job, and communicates this automatically so you reorder only what you need. This, of course, cuts down on all forms of inventory “shrink”. Since it works in real-time, it also helps managers find any discrepancies faster, cutting down on inventory reconciliation time. Fuel delivery, HVAC, and field service companies have sizable investments tied up in their inventory. This solution helps reduce inventory loss and management time.

By tracking inventory, you can monitor where it belongs in the supply chain. Through this process, companies can receive data on the amount of inventory that is owned, where the inventories are located, their status (rejected, returned, damaged or on hold) and deter loss and theft. Through appropriate management, businesses can determine the inventory that is to be used, sold, moved, purchased or destroyed.

In order to improve inventory management, many companies are moving to a few new scanning systems. Barcode scanning, newer QR code scanning, near field communication (NFC) and through RFID or Radio frequency identification. This technology is available in two ways – active and passive RFID. Active RFID is suitable for environments with security issues or that need real-time tracking details. Passive RFID is best when employed with hand-held scanners without the security issues. All are cost effective and getting easier to employ.

Real-time inventory tracking helps field businesses cut inventory costs, and dispatch the right field asset to a job. This, combined with built-in fleet tracking, equips businesses for quick and efficient growth.