Parts in the agreement section
When we set up our agreements, we have several that have special parts which are not stock on our trucks. We have set them up in the visits, but the techs don't see them unless they open the invoice. Often this doesn't happen until they are onsite, which means they don't have what they need. Can it be made that the parts show up on the dispatch notes?
Comments
Fully agree with you, Troy, although this issue actually applies to every dispatch with attached parts.
I don't understand why any parts that are REQUIRED to complete a dispatch are completely invisible to the technicians until the dispatch is somehow completed & ready to invoice... then they get to confirm which parts they have already used. But our techs don't invoice in the field as we do commercial work & the invoices get sent to someone at a different location... so our techs never actually see the parts attached, ever.
And since our techs don't do the invoice, they can't add any parts to the dispatch either... so they take pictures of the part(s) & attach it to the dispatch / add the part #, quantity, etc. in the dispatch notes & our dispatchers have to manually read through the notes to make sure they add these parts onto the dispatch. If they pick up parts from a local supply house, they just take a picture of the pick ticket.
Not surprisingly, we've had technicians come all the way back to our warehouse / stop at a local supply house (or two!) to get needed parts, then go back to the job. This is a waste of time & increases expenses... depending on how much the part costs at a supply house, it's rarely worth their time to drive 20+ minutes back to our warehouse (40+ minutes round trip). But if it's a custom-ordered part that nobody stocks... :(
In the office, the dispatcher can't quickly view attached parts either... the preview pane in the Dispatch Board shows almost everything except the parts. So the dispatcher has to manually open every single dispatch to see if there are even parts attached.
The better workaround I've been able to come up with is to physically print out every single dispatch needed for the following day, as the printouts show (surprisingly!) all of the parts needed, dispatch notes etc... the techs will use these printouts to pull the parts they need in the morning and then hold onto these papers. They'll use these papers one more time, when they get to the customer's location so they know which parts to pull from their truck... then they can be discarded as all dispatch notes, time, etc. are entered on the tablets.
The only other workaround I can think of is to re-enter in the dispatch notes the part numbers, quantities, and if needed, part descriptions... which is a lot of duplicate entry that wastes time, but more importantly, increases the risk of a part number or quantity being incorrectly entered as you'll be alternating between the parts tab & the general tab... I haven't found a way to copy/paste several parts at one time or view the tabs side-by-side.
So yes, ESC needs to find a way to get the attached parts to show on the mobile app (most importantly), and if they can get it to show on the dashboard preview pane, that would be nice as well... I don't know how many customers have requested this, but I'm hoping a lot have so it gets pushed higher in the list of requests. :)
Sorry for making this so long... just explaining what we've found & the current workarounds.
We print the dispatch tickets every day. We also try to have the additional materials staged and ready for the techs.
Another advantage to this is that the tech can turn in the dispatch on his or her return to the shop with notes and additional parts noted.
If you have an accounting lag for invoicing, the dispatcher(s) can also us the returned dispatch to create the invoice from the dispatch and put it on hold so the parts get pulled from stock promptly.
Lance - we are a commercial service provider as well; however our techs create their invoices in the field and then the office cleans them up for sending to corporate office, store, Area Manger or whomever is supposed to receive the invoice. We really don't even use the parts required tab much. Most of our information is entered into the dispatch notes, so that any technician accessing the dispatch will be able to see what is going on. In fact, we have them enter their history/description of work done on the notes, as well as on the invoice. That way if 2nd trip is required, or parts were ordered and they have to return to put them on, or if another tech finishes the job, then everybody is on the same page. Hope that helps a little.
We use the parts tab when we create a dispatch to put the Invoicing Codes in for the tech. diag or esa or what have you. we also add FLTR CHNG and any cost for the filters if not included in job pricing. In the dispatch notes, we type Pick up filters to this PO at XYZ FILTER SHOP. or pickup part in your box etc. Techs invoice from field unless special circumstances.
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