The stocking of the vehicle warehouse plays a key role in the availability of spare parts. The optimal stock level depends on the industry and the company's products. Size, weight, value and other factors such as hazardous goods determine whether spare parts can be transported in the vehicle warehouse at all. Protection against loss or theft should also be considered here.

The correct selection and quantity of spare parts can be based on past experience. Historical consumption helps to plan forecasts for future requirements according to seasons or product cycles.

The planning of spare parts also depends on the type of deployment. In the case of regular maintenance, it is clear in advance exactly what material the technician will need on site, so that this is usually reserved and booked automatically in the SAP CS order. In the event of a malfunction, the dispatcher must find out what the problem is during a phone call with the customer in order to manually book the appropriate material to the order. Of course, it can happen that the technician on site discovers a completely different problem, does not have the right material with him and has to make a second visit.

Consignment warehouse vs. vehicle warehouse

The place of origin of the material can be different in both cases. For companies that require regular or large quantities of spare parts, a consignment warehouse is usually used. This is located at the customer's premises, increases security of supply and saves the supplier storage costs. The technician will usually use smaller, common spare parts from his vehicle warehouse. Parts that are large or heavy or that the technician cannot transport in his vehicle warehouse due to certain regulations (transportation of hazardous goods) are reserved via a service order in SAP SD and delivered to the customer in advance by a logistics service provider.

Planned material consumption is displayed in SAP CS using components that have two functions. They show material procurement how many and which parts are required in a certain period of time. In mobile order processing, the technician can see on his tablet or notebook which material is planned for which order and where he can collect it. After collection, the warehouse clerk transfers the stock accordingly to the vehicle warehouse or, in the case of advance shipment, to the customer.

Unplanned material may be required for maintenance or faults. If the technician does not have it in his vehicle warehouse, he can order it in his mobile order processing solution. To do this, he can display the material parts list via the machine's construction type or search directly for the material number or designation. The technician can also identify the system via a barcode scan. He can have the spare part sent to him or to the customer via the material order, depending on the order. When the status of the order changes, the technician creates a follow-up order, which he can schedule himself or the dispatcher.

For complex systems with hundreds or thousands of components, it makes sense to integrate a digital spare parts catalog into the mobile software for order processing. This allows the technician to access parts lists, exploded drawings, photos, 3D models, circuit diagrams, prices, diagnostic software, firmware and descriptive documentation such as manuals. This enables them to obtain comprehensive information about specific devices or entire assemblies, create orders or even prepare cost estimates for spare parts on site at the customer's premises. The required spare parts can be transferred to the mobile solution's shopping cart and ordered directly in SAP.

If material is not used because it was ordered on suspicion or from stock or is defective, it can be sent back to the central warehouse. Returns are processed with or without an order reference. For example, a technician can send material that he has in stock in his vehicle warehouse back to the central warehouse to make room for more critical parts. To do this, he creates the return via the material confirmation of the order in his mobile solution. If the technician wants to send various spare parts back across multiple orders, he enters them via the material returns module and specifies whether he is clearing his warehouse or using return flag items for the parts.

A customer can also return material from their consignment warehouse to the supplier or have it collected if it was not used for an order, or to replace a defective spare part with or without a serial number. To do this, it is advisable to create a returns order or a consignment pick-up in SD. In conjunction with a mobile solution, the technician can also trigger an automatic consignment collection.

As part of the Internet of Things, machines diagnose their malfunctions and report them to the manufacturer. In conjunction with "knowledge management" in the client, the manufacturer can most likely identify the correct spare parts and order them.

Installation and the relationship with the customer will continue to be handled by the service technician - albeit with the support of intelligent machines and the right spare part.

Hannes Heckner, CEO and founder of mobileX AG / ag