Many construction and trades companies have been impacted by industry-wide labor shortages that have been steadily increasing since the start of the pandemic, with companies reporting over 546,000 job openings in 2023. In those conditions, tools that better utilize workers have become deciding factors in determining which businesses excel, despite these shortages.
On-site tool-tracking software gives field-service companies an edge over their competition, by allowing them to track inventory and sales orders on-site, set reorder levels, and track the tools that different location groups have with a simple barcode tool tracking system. This software allows businesses that adopt tool inventory software to raise efficiency, lower costs, and stay compliant in a competitive sector.
Particularly for field-service companies that manage active job sites and multiple locations, tool tracking makes it easier to scale your business while lowering costs. As your business grows, multi-location tool tracking enables more efficient management of company assets and better client communication.
Consider these benefits of tool inventory software when shopping for your business’s new system:
System-wide tool information access
On-site access to real-time tool information gives your site managers the data they need to make decisions from one data hub. This information includes purchase costs, maintenance and service dates, the last user and location of the tool, and other important user data.
In addition to company-specific user data, tool inventory software can also provide information about employment trends, seasonal product changes, and product comparisons. This real-time data stream gives your managers more tools to work with so they can devote time to improving your workflow.
Multi-site location tracking
Versatile tool inventory software allows admins to assign location groups. These are collections of locations, usually within the same vicinity, that can be organized in groups for easier tool-tracking. Even a single warehouse can be assigned multiple locations to track different processes.
Regulatory compliance
One benefit of being able to track tool inventory across multiple sites is that you and your admins don’t have to go to locations in person to assess the condition, or verify the location of different tools. That information is accessible in the tool inventory software, allowing you to keep your tools and sites compliant with industry regulations at a fraction of the time and cost.
Lower costs
You likely know that retrieving and processing information from multiple sites accounts for a large portion of administrative costs in the field– service industry. Tool inventory software fast-tracks information collection and condenses it into one central hub, so that you have access to it on any device that can access the system. You can even set reorder alerts on materials so that you don’t waste time waiting for them after a stock out.
This streamlined information system also allows you to bypass data sheets and handwritten lists, further reducing costs, lowering your margin of error, improving compliance, and increasing security.
Security access management
Access to this data will be limited to authorized employees to protect your company’s activity, but those who are authorized can access it on any device, streamlining management across the entire company while maintaining security. Additionally, you can set temporary authorization for certain employees, if doing so would improve your workflow.
Improved client communication
A robust tool inventory software solution arms businesses with the information they need to make their communication with clients and other worksite teams more accurate and effective. The ability to create and manage purchase orders, scan items in and out of locations, and track them to multiple sites allows businesses to give their clients accurate, real-time expectations about the job schedule.
If you are interested in learning how Fishbowl’s flexible inventory management solution can help your business now, you can book a demo.