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How do you manage parts inventory across multiple vans?

Deja Washington

Hi everyone!

So our team is growing — we just went from 4 vans to 8 vans this quarter (HVAC install and service) — and I am STRUGGLING to keep track of who has what parts. Right now I'm basically texting technicians "do you have any 3/4" couplings??" and it's... not sustainable lol.

What I want to know: Are you using FieldPulse's inventory features for van stock, or is that overkill? Do you track everything down to the fitting, or just the expensive stuff? And how do you handle restocking — do vans come back to the warehouse or do you do mobile restock days?

We're not huge but we're not tiny either and I feel like there's a smarter way to do this that I'm just not seeing. Any workflows that have worked for your team would be SO appreciated!!

Thanks so much!

— Deja

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  • Pro tip: Don't track every fitting. We tried that for about 3 months and it was a nightmare — techs were spending more time logging parts than using them.

    What we do now: track the expensive stuff only — anything over $50, plus serialized items like circuit boards and meters. Everything else is "bin stock" that we replenish weekly based on usage patterns. FieldPulse works fine for the tracked items, but for bin stock we just do a simple min/max system on a shared Google Sheet the techs fill out Friday mornings.

    The real game changer was assigned restock days — each van comes back to the warehouse on a specific day (Mon/Wed/Fri) so I can prep their restock bin in advance. No more guessing who's running low on what.

    I've walked this back from a more complex setup before and this is the one that actually stuck. Happy to share the sheet template if anyone wants it.

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  • Pro tip: Don't track every fitting. We tried that for about 3 months and it was a nightmare — techs were spending more time logging parts than using them.

    What we do now: track the expensive stuff only — anything over $50, plus serialized items like circuit boards and meters. Everything else is "bin stock" that we replenish weekly based on usage patterns. FieldPulse works fine for the tracked items, but for bin stock we just do a simple min/max system on a shared Google Sheet the techs fill out Friday mornings.

    The real game changer was assigned restock days — each van comes back to the warehouse on a specific day (Mon/Wed/Fri) so I can prep their restock bin in advance. No more guessing who's running low on what.

    I've walked this back from a more complex setup before and this is the one that actually stuck. Happy to share the sheet template if anyone wants it.

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