3 Solutions for Inventory, Field Service, and Enhanced AI

eTurns TrackStock (www.eturns.com) is a versatile cloud-based mobile app developed to help company inventory managers optimize point-of-use   inventory replenishment from any distributor. It offers the ability to order, cycle count, or pull material to track usage and automate replenishment using easy QR code scans that know your min/max settings. It is designed to decrease inventory, procurement, and carrying costs by optimizing inventory levels. 

TrackStock can be used in either a VMI (vendor managed inventory) model or CMI (customer managed inventory) model. In addition to QR or barcode scanning functionality, TrackStock offers electronic shelf labels, RFID, and/or SensorBins that trigger auto replenishment. 

The functionalities most useful to contractors fall into three areas:

Management of Consigned Inventory. Users can track where and when material was used on a project, which allows them to return unused consigned inventory to the distributor at the end of a project to maximize project profitability. 

Work Orders. Contractors can create work orders that can track all the parts of labor used for a job along with details such as before/after photos and signatures. Tracking the parts on the w/o triggers replenishment orders automatically from the warehouse or from the distributor. 

Visibility and reporting. TrackStock lets contractors and their suppliers have visibility into inventory levels and usage. Over 80 reports can be scheduled and sent in email alerts.

SensorBins are a no-touch inventory replenishment system that converts bin weights to quantity on an ongoing basis to trigger automatic replenishment when needed 24/7/365, using min/max settings. It enables managing inventory in remote locations and gives all parties visibility to usage and quantity on hand. Digital kanban replenishment is also available using an RFID tower in the stockroom and RFID inventory tags on consigned or customer-owned inventory items. 

The Min/Max Dashboard displays areas of potential savings by implementing TrackStock’s recommendations for optimized inventory levels. It recommends min/max levels customized to your stockroom after analyzing item usage. Inventory managers can track usage, do cycle counts and place orders any time on an as-needed basis. The solution enables sending digital orders directly to your suppliers’ ERP systems or to your procurement system. 

TrackStock is offers four plans that bundle different features: Replenish, Manage, Manage Lite, and Optimize. A la carte pricing is also available. 

Pricing: per month, either by per Stockroom or per Vehicle, billed semi-annually. Free 30-day trial.

ServiceTrade

ServiceTrade, (www.servicetrade.com), a mobile and web application for commercial service contractors that addresses field service management, technician productivity, and service sales (see Feb. 2018 column review), recently integrated Smart AI capabilities into its platform to help contractors generate critical predictive insights and automated reporting. 

ServiceTrade SmartAI generates an equipment service summary for technicians using multiple pages of service history, deficiency reports, comments, and attachments (photos, videos, and audio notes). 

The solution can predict equipment issues—what might go wrong with equipment in the future. It will suggest common failures, any malfunctioning equipment and how to fix it, giving suggestions that, the software developer points out, can give less experienced technicians more confidence and help every technician solve problems quickly.   

ServiceTrade Smart AI creates a comprehensive history summary and customer-ready reports after each job that summarize the work delivered in easy-to understand terms. The predictive scheduling functionality suggests the best technician for each job based on skills, location, availability, and past work history. 

Microsoft Dynamics 365

Microsoft Dynamics 365 (www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics-365?msockid=00a92c46618861301643387d60326090, covered in Aug. 2020 column) recently added several new capabilities aimed at enhancing or boosting sales, customer service, field service, project operations, finance, supply chain management, and customer insights. 

Expanded generative AI capabilities for sellers provide customers with actionable insights about their customers to help accelerate deals along with ROI calculations. 

Users now can use Microsoft Dynamics 365 CoPilot and get answers from included sales documents and have access to AI-generated preparation notes and opportunity summaries, and administrators can leverage dashboards to coach sellers. Other new sales tools: the ability to plan and perform assigned tasks with a preview of sequence steps; the ability to assign leads and opportunities to sellers based on individual capacity. 

Pricing: fee per user per month, based on features/capabilities included in plan level selected.

Interplay Learning

Interplay Learning (www.interplaylearning.com), a career development provider for skilled trades, recently launched a new mobile app that extends Interplay’s career development solution into the hands of on-the-go workers. The app, designed to expedite learning on the job and boost productivity, allows technicians to train between service calls or in the field with job-relevant content.

A wide range of on-demand micro-learning opportunities, including Interplay Learning’s expert-led instructional videos, knowledge checks, and personalized learning paths, are accessible 24/7. Knowledge checks and short quizzes following each video test content retention of each learner and help learners stay focused on the key takeaways from each module.

In testing their knowledge as they progress, learners can get an objective readout of their skills, and receive AI-based course recommendations to help fill skill gaps and tailor learning to personal needs.  

The app also features intuitive search capabilities: to expedite learning: users can type course keywords into the mobile search bar to quickly find what they need in Interplay’s content catalog.

Price: free for Interplay Learning users, downloadable from the Apple store and Google Play.

Patti Feldman writes articles and web content for trade magazines and manufacturers of building products. She can be reached at [email protected].