How to Find £120k Worth of 'Vanished' Inverters
High-value equipment was disappearing into inventory black holes. Simple scan flows achieved 98% accuracy and slashed emergency purchases.
98%
Inventory Accuracy
83%
Reduction in Emergency Purchases
£120,000
Annual Savings
The Challenge
A multi-team installer with 12 teams was experiencing significant inventory discrepancies-particularly with high-value inverters. When sites weren't ready for installation, technicians would keep equipment in their vans or return it to various storage locations without consistent documentation. The company estimated they were losing track of nearly £10,000 in equipment monthly, leading to emergency purchases, delayed installations, and significant financial losses.
Business Impact
Inventory 'black holes' where equipment disappeared from tracking. Emergency repurchases of items actually sitting in vans or storage. Delayed installations when equipment couldn't be located. Excess inventory maintained as buffer against losses. Working capital unnecessarily tied up in untracked equipment.
Who This Affected
Key Pain Points
High-value inverters disappearing into vans and ad-hoc storage
When sites delayed, equipment went untracked into various locations without proper logging
£10,000 monthly equipment losses requiring emergency purchases
Lost and misplaced equipment necessitated expensive emergency orders that eroded margins
No visibility into actual equipment location and availability
Impossible to reassign kit or determine what was actually in stock versus what was 'missing'
The Solution
Implemented simple scan flows for equipment issue and return, issue/return logs creating chain of custody, kit-to-plot association tracking what's assigned where, and reassignment capability when jobs move or cancel. The system made it easy for teams to log equipment movement, creating visibility into location and availability.
Features Implemented
- ✓Simple scan flows for equipment issue and return (barcode or manual entry)
- ✓Issue/return logs creating chain-of-custody records
- ✓Kit-to-plot association tracking which equipment assigned to which job
- ✓Reassignment capability when installations delayed or cancelled
- ✓Equipment location tracking (van, warehouse, on-site, etc.)
- ✓Inventory dashboard showing real-time availability and accuracy metrics
Implementation Approach
High-value equipment was tagged with barcode labels. Teams used mobile app to scan equipment in/out when taking from warehouse or returning from jobs. When sites delayed, equipment could be logged as 'returned to warehouse' or 'held in van' with simple tap. Reassignment workflow allowed moving kit between plots without losing tracking.
The Results
98% Inventory Accuracy
Achieved measured accuracy within three months-from unmeasurable chaos to systematic control
83% Reduction in Emergency Purchases
Could locate existing equipment instead of panic-buying replacements
£120,000 Annual Savings
Composite estimate for similar scale: eliminated losses, reduced emergency purchases, optimized inventory levels
64% Decrease in Installation Delays
Better equipment availability meant fewer delays waiting for kit
"We were losing track of nearly £10,000 in equipment monthly. With tracking, we achieved 98% inventory accuracy and reduced emergency purchases by 83%."
— Operations Director
Why This Story Matters
Installation Manager
Why It Matters
Equipment tracking isn't overhead-it's protecting high-value inventory from disappearing into untraceable black holes.
Key Focus
Implement simple scan flows that teams will actually use to log equipment movement.
Operations Director
Why It Matters
£10k monthly equipment losses compound into major working capital drain and operational chaos.
Key Focus
Create visibility into equipment location and availability to eliminate emergency purchases.
Business Owner
Why It Matters
£120k annual savings from equipment tracking represents direct margin recovery and improved cash flow.
Key Focus
Invest in equipment tracking before inventory losses erode profitability.
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