Van Stock – Necessary Evil Or Competitive Advantage?

Common in many SLA’s (service level agreements) are requirements for van stock management – where certain items are expected to be on the truck. Usually these are lists of required items normally provided by OEM’s, facilities management companies, end users, contractors, or other experts deemed worthy of knowing which parts will be required to meet first-time fix commitments and ensure asset up-time.

This method of determining which parts belong on service vehicles has been largely unchanged over the years.  But does it make sense?

Van stock management is the process of managing parts inventory intended for anticipated onsite repairs, regularly stocked on service vehicles.   Logically, there would be an expectation that this would include items that are commonly used or critical components necessary for equipment operation.  One would also expect that items very rarely or never used would not be on a service vehicle.

Yet, for many service providers this would not represent their van stock.  Service companies attempting to meet increasingly aggressive customer SLA’s find themselves reacting to these requirements by placing large volumes of inventory in their vans.