The Great Van Stock Mystery

Picture this: Your technician, Bob, is on a mission to fix a leaky tap. He opens his van and, after a few minutes of rummaging, mumbles, “I know I had that part… somewhere!” Suddenly, he’s knee-deep in an unintentional game of hide-and-seek with his own stock.

Sound familiar? Van stock mismanagement is the unwanted plot twist that turns quick jobs into full-blown adventures.

Why Van Stock Management Matters

A organised van ensures that your team has the right tools and parts exactly when they need them. Think of it as the difference between having a neatly arranged toolbox versus a black hole where things mysteriously disappear.

Enter Stock Right Now: Your Van Stock Superpower

At Stock Right Now, we make van stock management a breeze with:

• The Stock Right Now App – A user-friendly way for technicians to track their inventory, so Bob can find what he needs without channeling his inner Sherlock Holmes.

• The Stock Right Now Portal – A dashboard for managers to keep an eye on stock levels across all vans—because flying blind is best left to birds, not your business.

• Warehouse Management Integration – A streamlined system to restock efficiently, keeping your vans ready for action and your warehouse not looking like a scene from a hoarding documentary.

Real Results (and Less Stress!)

Businesses using Stock Right Now have reported:

✅ First-time fix rates up to 98% – No more unnecessary return visits.

✅ Stock holdings reduced by 60% – Less clutter, more efficiency.

✅ Availability increased to 99.97% – Always ready for the next job.

✅ Fewer wasted miles – Less time running around, more time for a coffee break.

Join the Stock Right Now Revolution

If you’re ready to say goodbye to van stock chaos and hello to streamlined efficiency, get in touch for a demo today!

https://stockrightnow.com/contact-us/

With Stock Right Now, the only thing missing… is the stress of missing parts! 🚚🔧

As we close out 2024, we’re looking back at how Stock Right Now’s Van stock management software has helped businesses streamline their operations, reduce admin, and improve efficiency. Whether it’s ordering materials, tracking stock, or managing supply chains, our platform has been at the heart of seamless stock control for thousands of businesses across the UK.

Here’s what we helped facilitate in 2024:

✅ Over a quarter of a million (260,000 items) ordered seamlessly through our platform.
✅ 80,000 individual orders placed by operatives to suppliers.
✅ Supporting 5 of the UK’s biggest merchants, ensuring smooth supply chain operations.

The Power of Smart Stock Management

By automating and simplifying order tracking for suppliers, our platform helps businesses:

✔ Eliminate stock shortages with real-time inventory insights.
✔ Save hours of admin by reducing manual order processing.
✔ Improve supply chain efficiency for merchants, suppliers, and operatives.

Looking Ahead to 2025

As more businesses look for better stock management solutions, Stock Right Now is committed to evolving and improving. We’re focused on delivering even more features that help operatives, merchants, and suppliers work smarter, not harder.

If your business is still juggling spreadsheets, struggling with van stock management, or chasing suppliers for deliveries—Stock Right Now is here to help.

📩 Get in touch today to see how we can help streamline your stock operations in 2025!

https://stockrightnow.com/contact-us/

Karbon Homes first discovered Stock Right Now through a trial of our app via CEF. While our app powers the CEF App and other merchant apps, it didn’t fully address a crucial challenge for Karbon. They needed a single app that could handle material orders from all their chosen suppliers and branches—streamlining their procurement process.

Recognising this need, Karbon Homes took a strategic approach during the re-tendering of their Electrical & Gas materials provision. They made it clear that any successful materials supplier must collaborate with Stock Right Now to meet their operational requirements. As a result, their tender document explicitly stated that Stock Right Now would be their preferred van stock management solution from April 2024.

Understanding the Challenge

Like many Housing Associations and Local Authorities, Karbon Homes faced:

• Lack of visibility and control over van stock
• No streamlined method to improve first-time fix rates

Their core request was simple:

"Help us gain visibility and control over stock to improve first-time fix rates."

Additionally, they had unique requirements that weren’t yet fully developed within our existing solution.

Tailored Solution

We assessed whether our software could meet Karbon Homes' needs or if enhancements were required. Their key requirements included:

✅ Operatives can order materials from the app to any supplier and branch
✅ Configurable van stock lists by operative, supplier, and branch
✅ One app to replace multiple supplier apps
✅ Real-time van stock visibility, updated minute-by-minute
✅ Operatives can receipt items upon delivery
✅ Supplier performance tracking for replenishment speed & accuracy
✅ Single-trade operatives order van stock from a designated supplier & branch
✅ Multi-trade operatives order from multiple suppliers based on product type
✅ Van stock & non-van stock analysis to improve first-time fix rates
✅ Direct stock order integration into suppliers’ systems
✅ Order status updates via supplier notifications
✅ Planning portal displaying order updates within Stock Right Now
✅ Stock Right Now Lite for suppliers unable to interface directly
✅ Single Sign-On (SSO) for app and desktop users
✅ Integration with their mobile appointment software (Total Mobile) for seamless job data transfer

Phased Implementation

While many features were already available, we worked closely with Karbon to prioritise development and set clear deadlines. This ensured they could start benefiting from the platform immediately while we rolled out additional functionalities—meeting their operational goals without delay.

Successful Rollout

📅 May 2024 – Electricians onboarded on time & within budget
⚡ June 2024 – Full rollout to Electricians & Plumbers, also on time & within budget

As Karbon Homes went live, we continued to refine and deploy their remaining requirements, ensuring a smooth transition to a fully integrated solution.

• Manages their warehouse
• Provides job costings
• Matches invoices and integrates with their finance system
• Offers full visibility of van stock quantities and values by operative

When ADT / Johnson Controls faced the challenge of managing their large fleet of vans, they struggled with poor visibility and control over stock levels. This made their end-of-year stock audits a daunting task, with stock usage soaring to unsustainable levels.

🚨 The Problem

Maintaining oversight on what stock was on each van and in what quantities was nearly impossible. This lack of clarity led to frequent stock shortages and surplus, making it difficult to reconcile stock levels at the end of the year. Stock usage was alarmingly high, and managing the fleet effectively became an ongoing challenge.

🛠️ The Solution

Enter Stock Right Now. By equipping Install field operations teams with our app, and providing Area Managers with the Stock Right Now Lite system, ADT / Johnson Controls quickly transformed their stock management process. The result? Dramatic reductions in parts usage and loss. While ADT prefers not to disclose the exact savings, the impact was undeniably significant.

The Challenge

As competition in the electrical supply industry grew, prospective clients increasingly required suppliers to have van stock solutions as part of their tender requirements. While many suppliers had apps for ordering materials, few offered true van stock management—providing real-time visibility, control, and improvement over inventory.

City Electrical Factors (CEF) identified this gap as a barrier to securing new business. Their challenge to us:
“Help us win more tenders & retain customers.”

The Solution

To meet this need, we white-labeled our app, creating a fully branded CEF version that provided advanced van stock management capabilities. This strategic move enabled CEF to offer a powerful, integrated solution in their tenders, demonstrating their ability to provide streamlined stock control to large clients.

The Impact

The results speak for themselves:

✅ By early 2024, over 10 Housing Associations and 6 large private organisationshad adopted the CEF-branded version of our software.
✅ CEF successfully leveraged this innovation to win more tenders and strengthen client relationships.
✅ Their customers now benefit from improved stock visibility, reduced admin, and enhanced efficiency in their daily operations.

The Future

With a proven solution in place, CEF continues to lead the way in providing next-generation van stock management, setting themselves apart in an increasingly competitive market.

The Challenge

Great Places Housing Association was struggling with its repairs service, which was underperforming and impacting customer satisfaction. A key issue identified was the inefficiency of materials supply, which was causing delays and inefficiencies. After evaluating their options, they concluded that the only way to gain complete control over materials supply was to bring it in-house.

The Solution

Stock Right Now developed a warehouse management system capable of efficiently running one or multiple distribution centres. We worked closely with Great Places to scope, choose, and set up their distribution centre, which seamlessly integrates with our operative app. This system handles every aspect of materials supply, from warehouse replenishment and purchase order creation to invoice matching. Additionally, it interfaces with their housing management systems for repairs appointments and finance management.

The Impact

The implementation of Stock Right Now’s system transformed Great Places' repairs service, allowing them to streamline materials management and improve first-time fix rates. As a result of its success, Great Places now provides its materials service to other housing associations, including THT/L&Q, Fortem, and MSV.

Nine years later, former CEO Matt Harrison continues to endorse the decision to implement Stock Right Now:

“We saved an awful lot of time, an awful lot of money, and an awful lot of everything—why would you not do it?”

The Future

With a solid foundation in place, Great Places continues to benefit from full visibility, efficiency, and control over its materials supply. Their ability to serve other housing associations highlights the scalability and effectiveness of Stock Right Now’s solutions.