Saving resources and going green is something many of us want to do, but at what cost? When it comes to MRI NETfacilities work order management software the costs of going paperless are dwarfed by the benefits. Instead of piles of forms and papers you have a paper-free web based system that liberates you from paper.

The overall goal in using MRI NETfacilities’ CMMS with work order management software is to automate functions. This eliminates the need for a paper trail and reduces administrative tasks boosting efficiency throughout your organization while increasing ROI.

• Time, energy and resources are saved by cutting out manual processing steps.
• Everyone is connected, whether it’s a tenant, employee or management, enabling them to submit work orders and enabling you to manage how they’re completed.
• Automatic work orders allow preventive maintenance items to be scheduled without paper or calendars.
• Our system is web based so there’s no need to print work orders or reports because it’s accessible anywhere, anytime, via PC, Smartphone and Tablet.
• There are many benefits to a business when its life blood is no longer paper. In a paperless office,
• Email replaces the need to print, send snail mail and ship documents to employees or vendors, cutting costs on postage and eliminating the budget for purchasing paper.
• In a paper-heavy office your documents can be spread out in several different filing cabinets in several different rooms making information at your fingertips in seconds a reality.
• A central, web and cloud based management system can be accessed by multiple people from any location. If your files are stored in one electronic location important information can be retrieved and shared much more easily.
• The risks of losing important documents are less when information is kept on cloud computers.
• With information stored electronically employees working in different facilities and vendors have access without the need for multiple copies of documents floating around. This improves efficiency and employee morale.

Due to today’s lean operation approach facility work order management software has never been more important. A paperless process and “green” approach to operations results in far less paper, printing and filing. In the past you may have wondered how many trees were sacrificed to enable your company’s paper-powered process but the real green to consider is the money saved by MRI NETfacilities’ CMMS due to increased efficiency, the speed at which your department can react and decreased repair costs and downtime and increased ROI.

If you want to learn more about MRI NETfacilities CMMS and how its worker order management software can not only save paper but save you time and effort, making your department more effective and efficient, contact us today by calling us at 1 800 321 8770 or contact us here.

“A place for everything and everything in its place.”

This saying is at the heart of what stock control solutions should achieve, ensuring that the stock an organisation carries is always there when it is required.

But, for companies carrying a significant amount of inventory, across multiple sites, with levels changing day after day, stock control systems have to deliver so much more than the bare essentials.

With this in mind, we’ve collected what we consider to be 7 critical components you should look for in a stock control solution, to maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of how you manage inventory.

What is a stock control system?

At its core, a stock control system allows you to track products and equipment throughout your company’s supply chain. Through this, you should be able to map the entire journey of a product, from the moment an order is placed to when it leaves your stock for good.

However, the very best stock control solutions can offer so much more than this, as we’ll illustrate further in the article. We are constantly refining our own solution to give customers not only complete oversight of their stock levels, but can generate data to help them plan and project for the future.

Why is a stock control solution so important?

Imagine a vital piece of equipment in your building, perhaps a generator or server, suddenly fails. Without a replacement in stock, or the right parts to support the repair of this equipment, you will be left waiting for these to arrive.

This downtime could compromise how efficiently your team can work, causing costs to creep up while you can’t function as you normally would. This is a worst-case scenario, but it is a very real possibility for companies that don’t have a handle on their inventory at any given point in time.

Which makes it worrying that, as of 2017, only 18% of SMBs employed a form of this software.

Plus for industries such as retail, the warehouse is the backbone of their organisations. When 70% of online shoppers will typically look elsewhere for an item rather than wait for it to return to stock at the original destination, it is critical they have total oversight of their inventory levels to make sure they don’t miss out on potential business.

Because of how critical these systems are for organisations worldwide, below we have identified 7 essential functions that your stock control solution should incorporate to bring the biggest benefits to your business.

1. End-to-end, real-time inventory monitoring

The primary objective of any stock control solution is to give you complete insight into all goods and items you have in stock at any moment in time. Not last week. Not even yesterday. Right this second.

A Cloud-based, real-time solution is vital because whenever changes are made, you need to know. As noted earlier, if an emergency situation demands an asset or component that is no longer in your possession, the wait for a replacement can be painful for productivity and your budget.

Whether stock has been ordered and acquired by your customers, or utilised by your FM team for work across your site, this needs to be tracked and noted immediately, so that purchase orders can be sent out to restock these.

In addition, an effective stock control system should allow you to establish your own parameters for when a category of items needs to be replenished. Once it dips below a certain level, a notification can then be delivered to those responsible for arranging reorders, or better yet, a purchase order can be automatically sent out by your system, freeing more burden from your team.

Why you need this: To ensure your stock is always at appropriate levels, allowing your team and facilities to operate at optimal efficiency.

2. Instant tagging and barcode scanning

In order to enhance your ability to keep tabs on what assets are in stock at any given time, a stock control solution should allow you to tag every individual item, and log it within the system. This allows you to identify when a product arrives, throughout its time in storage, and when it is either delivered to a customer or taken by someone on your team.

By tagging assets, and using these tags to group these together into fitting categories, it makes it far faster for your team to perform accurate stock takes and valuations.

This can be improved further by incorporating a barcode scanner. Using a mobile device, someone can scan the barcode of any asset and be presented with all its essential details and history. Through this, you can determine how long an asset has been in storage, and whether it requires replacing due to this.

Furthermore, effective tagging will also give your team a clear sense of what items need to be replenished most often, and which are barely (if ever) taken, which could then guide your approach to restocking these for the most cost-effective outcome.

Why you need this: To reduce asset downtime and build a complete understanding of the assets you have in stock at any given time.

3. A single, easy-to-use interface

A stock control solution is only as useful as your team’s ability to use it. Therefore, ensuring your solution is straightforward for your employees is crucial to reaping the full benefits of this technology, and guaranteeing it will be used consistently.

You shouldn’t need to give your team weeks upon weeks of training and hand them a bulky, incomprehensible manual to use the system day-to-day. Instead, its various functions and features should be simple to pick up, and the data it delivers be easy to understand.

This is why our own stock control solution features an intuitive interface and dashboard, providing all information in a digestible manner to best support workforces worldwide.

Why you need this: To empower your teams to use the system as intended, and feel its benefits to their day-to-day productivity.

4. Firm financial management

Of course, using a stock control system should carry its own financial benefits for your organisation, with research indicating that companies employing these solutions enjoy:

• 25% increase in productivity
• 20% gains in space usage
• 30% more efficient stock usage

But beyond this, a solid stock control solution will also have distinct financial management capabilities. We’ve already discussed the capacity to automatically trigger purchase orders when a particular asset or asset category falls below the acceptable threshold. This removes a burden on your financial team and makes sure any potential issue is dealt with instantaneously.

Furthermore, the system should allow you to make any changes to your pricing structures (both temporary and permanent) and stock costs when necessary. This enhances your ability to budget with confidence, and make immediate adjustments in relation to any trends or indicators your solution picks up on.

Why you need this: To increase overall operational efficiency and enhance the relationship between those responsible for inventory management and your financial team.

5. Integration with pre-existing software

When acquiring a stock control system, you don’t want this investment to be the catalyst for the cost of replacing your existing data assets and infrastructure. The solution should instead be able to seamlessly integrate itself with any current software or hardware you utilise, something that our own technology excels at.

Plus, to extend the functionality of your system even further, using it in tandem with dedicated Workforce Apps allows your workforce to capably monitor and control both your static and mobile stock from anywhere, at any time.

With this, you can reassure yourself that, regardless of time or location, your team has total insight into your stock levels, so you always stay well prepared and well supplied.

Why you need this: To guarantee that introducing stock control software doesn’t compromise your existing systems and technologies.

6. Remote management across multiple sites

If you are responsible for multiple sites, each with their own dedicated stock, the all-encompassing nature of a powerful stock control solution is even more valuable.

Bringing your distinct sites into one central platform not only allows you to more easily monitor stock levels across your entire organisation, but it also allows sites to help each other in times of difficulty. For instance, if one site has recently used their last of a certain asset, rather than immediately order a replacement, you can look across your sites to see if any have this asset spare.

Transferring assets between your sites might be a major cost-saver for your business in the long-term, saving you from unnecessarily splashing out on assets you already have to hand.

Why you need this: To manage stock across all locations without difficulty, and improve collaboration across your organisation.

7. Auditing and reporting capabilities

Finally, your stock control system should have the capacity to present custom-made reports, containing clear, valuable data to guide the present and future of your inventory management.

From compiling histories of your most and least frequently used items, to detailed snapshots of your present position, these reports should help you forward-plan your stock requirements well in advance, boosting your operational efficiency.

For retailers, the data in these reports may also inspire decisions on what assets might benefit from being discounted if their sales are lower than anticipated, as well as guide you on what popular items you should be investing in more heavily in future.

In addition, a stock control platform with built-in audit function will allow your team to examine any weaknesses to your existing approach to inventory management before they become critical issues, so you can invest your budget into the right areas.

Why you need this: To provide your team with the data they need to optimise your stock control as much as possible.

Find Success with the Right Stock Control Solution

As organisations take responsibility for more and more assets, each with different specifications and functions, the importance of an effective stock control system is more pronounced than ever.

Our Stock Control Module at FSI offers 360º visibility across your entire inventory, whether this is found in a single site or multiple locations. Providing accurate, up-to-the-minute stock information, our system ensures that costs are contained, actions are automated and your team is prepared for any eventuality.

Gain total visibility, tracking and management – talk to our team today.

Facility management system software allows you to coordinate and control multiple operational processes and workflows into one comprehensive automated system–a huge benefit that you’re likely itching to implement sooner rather than later.

But don’t let the desire to acquire such a dynamic transformational solution rush your decision-making. Not all FM software solutions are the same. Take the time to find your perfect fit by focusing on the answers to the following 10 questions:

1. What kind of functionality does the solution offer?

Before you ask this important question you should already have a rough idea in mind of what you want the answer to be. Meaning before you even start your research, it’s a good idea to have clearly defined goals about what you want to accomplish with a facilities management solution. The best platforms offer a flexible suite of configurable tools:

• Work order management, including labor tracking
• Asset management
• Preventive maintenance
• Inventory management
• Vendor management
• Key management
• Space planning
• Reporting and analytics

Keep an open mind to learning about each vendor’s solution–you may discover a tool you want to consider adding to your wish list.  Also make sure to find out if the platform integrates with other systems that your company currently uses.

2. Does it include a mobile app?

Increased efficiency is one of the main motivations  to automate your facilities management. When you add in the ability to use a mobile app for real-time communication and access to databases, the efficiency factor skyrockets.

Field mobile solutions allow users to create work orders, close them out, and enter their labor hours and the materials used to complete the request on the spot. In addition, without ever getting in front of a desktop computer, technicians can manage preventive maintenance tasks and review important asset information including transaction histories, manuals and warranties.

Most mobile apps will be available for Android and iOS devices–but make sure you verify that the solution will work with the type of device your department uses.

3. Can the solution be customized?

While every facility is unique, most of a facility manager’s needs turn out to be consistent across the board. With that in mind, you should easily be able to find solutions that can be configured to your specific preferences and workflows–whether you’re managing a single building or a portfolio of campuses.

It’s also helpful to find out if the vendor has other customers in your industry–whether that’s education, government, healthcare, hospitality, food service, manufacturing or property management.

4. How easy is the solution to use?

The answer to this question ought to be “very easy.” You should always arrange to see a demonstration of a solution’s  functionality before your conversation with a vendor gets too far along. One of the primary reasons that companies end up feeling that their CMMS purchase was a failure is poor adoption rates. If the folks who are meant to be using the software don’t use it, then you won’t realize the return on investment you should.

If you have to be a “techie” to understand a provider’s solution, mark that one off your list. Every employee, from maintenance techs all the way up to C-level managers, should be able to navigate the CMMS on a daily basis.

A CMMS is only as effective as the quality and quantity of data that you put into it. If the data entry process is too frustrating or confusing, employees may not be thorough with the job of data collection and errors are likely to occur. You could risk a critical piece of equipment failing simply because essential information was missing from the system.

This doesn’t mean that training on the system won’t be necessary, but the solution should still be intuitive with a user-friendly interface.  You’ll also want to be able to control levels of access and permissions.

Here’s a tip: find out how many support calls the provider usually fields from new clients in the first few months, this will be a pretty good indicator of how user-friendly the solution actually is.

5. How long will implementation take?

Depending on how many sites are undergoing transformation and how many applications your chosen package includes, implementation varies from a few months to well over a year. Other factors will also impact the time it takes to get you up and running, such as the integrity of your existing data, the manpower you have available to devote to the project, and how quickly your own team is able to learn how to effectively use the system.

Beware of vendors with estimates that are significantly different from the other estimates you’ve received or that your gut tells you are unrealistic.

6. Is your solution web-based or installed?

A cloud-based CMMS solution (also known as Software as a Service or SaaS) is usually hosted and managed by the vendor on their own hardware in their own facilities. It is accessed on the Internet through either a website, software solution, or an app. Typically web-based solutions are less expensive and come with a higher level of support.

There are some CMMS users who prefer to have more control over the system and fear their data isn’t as secure in the cloud as it would be on their own server. They may choose to have the CMMS installed and hosted on-site at their own facility where they can manage it themselves.

However,, CMMS providers generally have high standards for security, so their storage is most likely as secure as hosting on your own hardware.

7. Is the software scalable?

You’ll want the software you choose to accommodate unlimited users–those who need to use it now and those who may be added to your workforce in the future. But that’s only one way the application should be scalable. Make sure it can grow with you as your business expands. If you add buildings, equipment and other assets, or change maintenance tasks, can the facilities management software handle the increases and new challenges?

During your vetting process is the time to verify a solution’s expansion capabilities, so you can be confident that the software will evolve as your company grows.

8. How long have you been in the facilities management software industry?

Check out each vendor’s history and reputation. A reputable provider is going to showcase satisfied customers on their website’s testimonials page. If you don’t see that information on their site, read reviews on social media. If all the reviews are glowingly over-the-top that may be a red flag indicating the reviews aren’t from actual customers.

9. What do you offer in terms of training and ongoing support?

It’s highly unlikely that an FM software provider is going to sell you a solution and leave you to figure out how to use it on your own, but it’s best to know upfront what training includes:

• Will they train you on how to set up your databases, input the data, schedule preventive maintenance plus the ins and outs of work order management and all the tools you’ve selected?
• Is the training included in your monthly fee or the setup fee?
• If not, what is the cost for the training?
• Is the training hands-on in front of a computer?
• Will the training take place at your site?

Regarding ongoing support, get the details:

• How are you supposed to contact support–through email, phone or chat communication?
• Are there specific hours that support can be reached?
• What is their response time?
• When you call support, will you reach their technicians or is support outsourced?

10. What does the cost include?

In today’s competitive marketplace organizations need an edge, and a CMMS delivers that and more. Although facilities management solutions are expensive, they should be considered an investment in your company’s future.

Don’t make the assumption that all vendors’ fee structures are the same. Make sure you have a clear understanding of what you will receive for the money you spend.

Usually setup is handled in two different ways. By choosing to set up the system yourself you’ll save some money. If you’re considering going this route, make sure you have someone with the technical know-how to tackle the project before you commit to self setup. Also keep in mind that web-based systems are easier to implement.

If you don’t have someone with the time and skill needed to complete the implementation yourself, the wise choice in the long run is to pay to have the vendor assist with implementation.

It’s helpful to know from the beginning how many users you expect to allow access to the new application. Some vendors charge a flat license fee that includes unlimited users. Others may charge more as you increase the number of users–which brings up a question of how the vendor defines “user.” Do they consider anyone who simply accesses the system a user, or is it a person who is able to make work order requests.

Conclusion: Become an expert

As you research the benefits of facilities management software, talk with colleagues in the industry and compare providers, you’ll be armed with the information you need to make a wise choice when it comes time to select a CMMS.