Tools are a staple of most businesses. They help employees get work done faster, smarter, and more efficiently. But between all that tool inventory lying around and all the tools you use every day in your job, how can you possibly track everything? You need a good tool inventory management system to keep track of everything—and it’s easier than you think!
Missing tools are an expense you can’t afford
You know those missing tools you’ve been meaning to replace? The ones that are so small and seemingly insignificant that you let them slide, because who cares about a single socket or screwdriver anyway? Turns out, they matter a whole lot more than you think. Here’s why:
Lost productivity
When your team is working on an important project, lost productivity can cost your business big money. It could mean missed deadlines and unhappy customers. If a few missing tools caused your team to lose focus for even just one day (which is entirely possible), then that’s several thousand dollars down the drain. This kind of thing happens all the time.
Lost time
Speaking of time, how much are you losing searching for tools? What happens when someone forgets a specific tool, or they honestly don’t know where it went? Was it on that last job site? Did I loan it to Joe? They have to go searching, which wastes their time and likely several coworkers’ time on site— time which could have been spent making progress towards completing real work! That extra time could add up over months or years if it keeps happening–and eventually add up into real dollars lost from customers who were expecting their house sooner than expected…
Poor tool inventory management is a productivity blocker
Let’s say your company has 10 employees, and each of them uses tools every day. That is every step of the tool management process being done 10x, every day. Remembering what tools each person is supposed to have. Finding tools that are needed. Finding tools that may or may not be lost.
Furthermore, since each individual worker is only concerned with their own tools, then someone else has to look at tools as a whole. Things like what tool calibrations, maintenance and repairs need to be made? Who handles buying more tools, is it purchasing, the warehouse, field leaders — if your answer is “everyone” then you know you are buying way more than is needed.
If the process is poor and inefficient then it is inefficient times ten!
Tool inventory requires time to manage
A lot of people don’t realize how much time is required to manage a small tool inventory. It’s not just about keeping track of what you have, but also making sure that the things you own stay in good working order and are maintained properly.Some tools need calibrations. Some tools need scheduled maintenance. Some need to be trashed. Who decides?
Manual tracking is error-prone, not scalable, inaccurate, unreliable and insecure.
Small tool inventory is a distraction from real work
The time you spend managing your tool inventory is time away from real work. It’s a distraction that needs to be managed, not a focus of your attention. If you want to get stuff done, you have to manage the inventory management and let it go.
Lost tool inventory affects your employee trust
Employee trust is a big deal. If you have an employee who doesn’t trust the system, then they won’t use it. And that can be very bad for you. But it’s not just about trusting the system. It’s about trusting each other. When you’re busy on a job, it’s so incredibly easy to forget what happened to a specific tool. Sure, tool theft happens. But no one likes to be accused of theft, especially if they haven’t been given a great way to keep track of everything.
A good tool tracking system will help with all of these challenges
A good tool tracking system will help with all of these challenges. It will help you track the tools that are in use, make sure they are being used properly, and ensure they’re up to date. It will also allow you to manage your employees’ time spent on various tasks better, by ensuring they’re using the right tools for each job, or helping them find tools if they need them. Finally, it’s important that everyone has access to the same information about their inventory so there aren’t any surprises when someone needs a specific tool!
A strong management system can build trust across your team and give everyone peace of mind about how their work is progressing—or not progressing as the case may be!
Tool tracking made simple
The bottom line is that tool inventory management is a critical part of the job for any business owner. The wrong approach can lead to lost profits and productivity, but taking the time to properly manage your tools effectively is worth it in the long run.
Want to learn how ShareMyToolbox partners with thousands of people to help them solve these problems? Check out our product to learn more, or better yet… Start your free 14-day trial and see for yourself how we make tracking your small tools really simple.