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The positive impact of inventory management

By intouch * posted 29-01-2018 11:50

  
Ashley Sowerby, Managing Director, Chevin Fleet Solutions

A substantial amount of maintenance and repair expenses that are attached to your fleet can be attributed to inventory costs, especially when considering the significant amount of time that is spent on managing parts.

Thankfully, there is a way to minimise the impact these costs have on your business’ finances.

In a nutshell, streamlined inventory optimisation practices can help to improve your parts expenditure, and by investing in fleet management software, you can:

  • Improve visibility
  • Enhance organisation
  • Reduce administrative burdens
  • Make more informed operational decisions
  • And much, much more
There are a number of benefits that come hand-in-hand with tighter inventory controls, and these include:

1. Lower parts costs

Clipboard-with-colorful-checkmarks-and-magnifying-glass_-Flat-vector-illustration-607760076_1027x1027.jpegTo actively reduce costs, automated stocking and purchasing practices can adopted.

Using software, inventory levels can be monitored and adjusted based on parts used and upcoming vehicle needs, and required parts can be seamlessly allocated from repair orders.

Additionally, purchase orders can also be automatically issued to preferred vendors when parts levels drop to a certain quantity, which can be pre-determined.

This form of automated inventory replenishment process not only minimises manual administration duties, but also ensures that no vehicle is ever ‘off the road’ waiting for parts. 

2. More recovered costs

It’s easy to know when an item on a new vehicle is covered by warranty … but tracking aftermarket parts coverage is a challenge for many fleets in a variety of industry segments.

Additionally, not claiming warranty on replacement parts is like leaving money on the table.

Fleet management software can start tracking warranty a soon as a replacement part is installed in your vehicle – and can create alerts if a covered item is noted to have failed within the warranty period!

This type of software can also initiate automated claims processes with manufacturers, and alert technicians of deadlines required to return any failed covered item …it’s as simple as that!

3. Reduced fleet financial costs

By integrating software with finance and other applications – including external supplier’s parts systems – it’s possible to improve the visibility of your fleet’s purchasing activity.

Eliminating manual, error-prone paper-based systems will result in more accurate data and less administrative burdens, which will allow you to cut costs and staffing requirements simultaneously.

It’s a no-brainer!

4. Streamlined maintenance, technical productivity and repair activities

If a part is out of stock or difficult to track down, labour costs for technicians can quickly add up, however, by automatically replacing required stock based on upcoming maintenance schedules, it is possible to increase your fleet’s productivity and decrease vehicle downtime …which in turn saves your business money once more!

The best purchasing practices are often achieved by those who incorporate software-based inventory control and management programs that:

  • Maintain the correct levels of stock
  • Eliminate obsolete and uncommon parts
  • Remove high-cost emergency parts orders
  • Prevent overstocking

5. Better visibility, understanding and utilisation

In order to make more informed decisions, extend effective service life and reduce downtime, it’s beneficial to understand which parts work best in your operation. After all, focusing only on the price of a part does not account for its full impact on bottom line costs.

In this line, it’s crucial to be able to identify repetitive failures and low performance rates – and having the means to perform comparative manufacturer and parts analyses will allow you to build an in-depth picture of component longevity and parts histories for each individual fleet vehicle.

That information can help you develop budgets for parts expenditures, and make more informed and effective purchasing decisions.

About the author 

Screen_Shot_2018-01-29_at_9_51_13_AM.pngAshley Sowerby, Managing Director at Chevin Fleet Solutions, founded the Company in 1990 in a small town in the heart of Derbyshire, UK. At the age of 21, Sowerby was developing a simple fleet system for his then employer and, after the project was cancelled, he bought the rights to the software to start his own business venture. Sowerby has since taken his products to over 180 countries across the globe, and is used by some of the largest and most well-known organisations, to become the leading fleet management system on the market.

Company profile

Chevin Fleet Solutions is the leading global provider of dedicated fleet management software. Its multi-award winning software, FleetWave®, is a web-based system used by fleet operations across the globe, proven to help businesses measure and reduce costs, improve operational efficiency, reduce administrative burdens and ensure compliance and risk management requirements are met.
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