Anyone who’s in business in technology service installation knows the challenges associated with managing and maintaining a proper inventory level. Your company likely has dozens of different components used in installations, which may be spread out over different locations and warehouses. Add in the fact that your inventory may be handled by multiple technicians or other employees and you can understand why you would want a way to keep track of it.
Luckily, a solid PSA software can help your business run more smoothly and more profitably. Tigerpaw describes PSA tools as “Any platform used to track and manage day-to-day business operations — from resources to jobs, to billing, to people — in order to streamline the time and efforts of an entire company. The goal of a PSA software is to automate time-consuming, manual entry and processes.”
Now that you see why PSA software might be valuable, let’s talk about how you can improve your inventory management with these tools. Here are 5 challenges you can avoid by implementing a PSA software.
- Lack of Visibility
One major challenge of managing your inventory is the fact that it is often spread out over multiple locations. A PSA will allow you to keep track of the current locations of different items. Whether they are sitting in your warehouse next door, or in a vehicle on their way to a job site, you’ll know what you have in stock and where it is. You can make sure you have the right materials in the right spot for any job.
- Loss of Sales
One of the most frustrating things for any business is doing work and not getting paid for it. If field technicians are keeping track of materials using only their own memory or pen and paper, there is a good chance that information won’t make it to your billing department, and you’ll be working for free. Keeping track of materials and time when servicing clients is crucial to having a profitable business and unfortunately something that can slip through the cracks. Your customers will love you, but your bottom line won’t.
- Lost or Stolen Goods
We all hope it won’t happen to us, but unfortunately, employees don’t always act as we hope and inventory is often lost or stolen. Having a PSA system in place will allow you to keep track of where inventory is, where it is going, and who was last responsible for it. This can help you pinpoint when and where the items went missing, and who last had control over the asset. Doing so increases visibility and responsibility, and can decrease the temptation for unethical behavior.
- Underbidding
Similar to using resources and not billing your clients, you will also lose money if you are undercharging your customers for the work you are providing and the products you sell. It is extremely important that you can closely monitor your pricing so that you are charging the right prices to be profitable. If the costs of your goods increases but you fail to increase your prices then you won’t be as profitable as you want to be.
Being able to monitor real-time pricing also will allow you to find the best time to make your purchases. You can wait until prices drop below a certain point to make your bulk orders. And by tracking your inventory levels you can know how much you really need and avoid over-purchasing.
- Poor Customer Service
One of the worst things you can do to your customers is to promise them something and not deliver. This often happens when items are out of stock and on back order. If this happens to your customers they may decide to stop buying from you and go with a competitor instead. This damages your credibility, and ultimately your bottom line. With a proper PSA in place, you can ensure that your inventory levels never drop below a certain point. You can create alerts that tell you when it’s time to reorder. By doing so you can always ensure that you have what your customer needs in stock, maintaining their trust and securing their business.
Conclusion
You don’t need to be left guessing about where your inventory is, who has it, who lost it, how much it will cost to order more, and what your pricing should be. A solid PSA software can help you with all of these things, allowing you to have more time for the important tasks you need to run your business. Stop spending time with manual processes and improve your inventory management with PSA software.
