How Poor Van Stock Management Impacts First-Time Fix Rates – And What to Do About It

When your field technician opens the van and can't find the part they need – or worse, finds out the system said it was there but it's not – you’ve already lost time, money, and possibly customer trust.

Poor van stock control is one of the biggest hidden killers of first-time fix rates across the utilities sector, and if you're a Service Manager or technician out in the field, you know the pain all too well.

So, what does poor van stock inventory actually look like? It’s inconsistent part availability, manual restocking processes, outdated inventory records, and little to no real-time visibility. It’s the technician on-site calling around depots, wasting hours in traffic for one gasket. It’s stock-outs, duplicate ordering, and chasing tools across town. And ultimately - it’s a failed first-time fix, with all the downstream costs that come with it.

What Happens When Van Stock Isn’t Managed Properly?

After working with Field Services teams for the last 20 years, we’ve seen the real-world impacts of poor van stock firsthand. When the right part isn’t where it should be, three things happen:

1. You lose time.
Techs burn time driving to depots, calling other teams, or even cancelling jobs altogether. That’s dead labour—and it adds up fast.

2. You blow out first-time fix rates.
According to Aberdeen Group research the average first-time fix rate is 75%, but in poorly managed fleets, that number sits around 60%. That means more truck rolls, unhappy customers, and a stressed-out team.

3. Your techs stop trusting the system.
Once a technician loses faith in the inventory data, they start carrying everything “just in case.” That turns the van into a warehouse on wheels, often full of unnecessary or outdated gear, and still missing the one item they actually need.

Why First-Time Fix Rate Is the Metric That Matters

Field service teams are measured by one thing: resolution. The faster and more reliably you can resolve issues, the better your customer experience, the lower your operational cost, and the stronger your SLA performance.

Every missed first-time fix leads to:

• Extra technician labour and callouts
• Additional travel costs
• Delayed revenue recognition
• Lost customer satisfaction and potential churn

Utilities are particularly vulnerable here, because the work is often critical, regulated, or safety-related. A delay isn’t just frustrating- it can be dangerous or non-compliant.

Real-Time Inventory Management Changes the Game

One of the most transformational tools a service manager can implement is real-time inventory management. Instead of static stock levels and siloed systems, you get instant visibility across:

• Van stock for every technician in your fleet
• Warehouse, depot, and forward-stocking locations
• PUDO (Pick-Up, Drop-Off) points and third-party suppliers
• In-transit parts and usage trends

With real-time data, you can allocate parts dynamically, forecast demand more accurately, and automate replenishment processes.

This is where Droppoint makes a huge difference. Our Material's Orchestration System is built specifically for field service logistics. It takes the hard work out of managing your parts, spaces and transportation through our PUDO network, so the right part is ready, at a convenient location near the job-site or home address, before your tech even turns the ignition.

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What Good Van Stock Management Looks Like

Getting van stock right doesn’t mean loading every part for every job - it means loading the right parts based on data, probability, and technician requirements.

Here’s what a well-managed van stock setup includes:

• Usage-based inventory – stocking parts based on historic job data and failure rates.
• Automatic replenishment – parts restocked based on depletion, not guesswork.
• Return and reuse workflows – capturing unused or excess parts and rerouting them efficiently.
• Integrated systems – syncing stock levels with job dispatch, so jobs aren’t assigned without available materials.

At Droppoint, we help field teams manage inventory, including van stock, that match actual demand. We optimise stock profiles based on regions, asset types, and technician roles - so you’re never overstocked, understocked, or flying blind.

Real Stories, Real Results

Intellihub partnered with Droppoint to streamline its smart meter rollout by addressing fragmented inventory visibility and inefficiencies across multiple field service providers. With over 100 technicians on the ground, Droppoint implemented a tailored inventory management solution using predictive data, strategic stocking locations, and real-time visibility.

This reduced depot stock by 30%, improved scanning compliance by 10%, and enabled technicians to complete 2–3 more jobs per week. With Droppoint’s support, Intellihub’s field teams now have faster, more reliable access to the parts they need.

'The Droppoint solution allows technician inventory collection near their home location or job site, increasing their jobs per week and greater ease of processing'. Stuart Sproull GM of Supply Chain & Procurement at Intellihub.

Read the full case study here

The Real Cost of Getting It Wrong

If you’re not tracking the cost of failed first-time fixes, you should be. Consider:

• A technician earning $90,000 annually costs ~$47 per hour
• Each missed first-time fix means an extra callout, often 2+ hours
• That’s $94+ per failed job - not including fuel, vehicle wear, or admin time

Multiply that by 5,000+ jobs a year, and suddenly poor van-stock and inventory visibility is costing hundreds of thousands- if not more.

What To Do Next

If your technicians are:

• Calling in for parts they should already have
• Carrying excessive or outdated van stock
• Cancelling jobs due to part issues
• Building their own systems to track inventory

…it’s time to act now before you need to write off stock for EOFY.

Start by auditing van stock usage and variance. Talk to your techs - what parts do they always need but rarely have? Where are the delays coming from? Then, explore solutions built for field service - not just generic warehouse software repackaged for mobile teams.

Droppoint is ready to help you get control of your vanstock, boost your first-time fix rate, and give your technicians the tools they need to succeed. Because when you get inventory right, everything else gets easier.

Ready to take the next step? Book a discovery call or inventory audit with Droppoint or call 1300735 459.
Right Part. Right Place. Right Time. Always On, so you don’t have to be.

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