This month’s newsletter: Allocation of Parts: Streamlining high-volume service preparation
Let’s imagine that what you really want for supper is a salad of carrots, radishes, and cherry tomatoes. That means grocery shopping, but which method would you prefer?
- Taking every single carrot, radish, or tomato individually to the till, before returning for the next, running back and forth to and from the aisle dozens of times?
- Or, putting all the ingredients in a trolley, paying, and leaving?
If you agree that the second option is far less hassle and far more efficient, then you will like Shepherd’s Allocate Parts.
Have a look at the deck below or read on for more insights:
Allocate Parts is a feature designed to solve an operational problem that one particular customer had had, and many others have since been glad to address:
Efficiently assigning a large number of inventory items to a single service order without repetitive, error-prone work, going back and forth through tabs and menus.
The functionality is primarily intended for service managers rather than technicians and is especially valuable in environments where service orders routinely require dozens (or even hundreds) of distinct parts. However, technicians do have some ability to change the quantities: they can amend the quantities used if necessary.
The feature involves an interface with configurable filters where a service manager can view, search for, and select parts in bulk, then allocate them to a specific service order in one controlled process. Since NetSuite is not a dedicated EAM, expecting all of these capabilities to be available was not reasonable. That’s what makes the combination of Shepherd and NetSuite so effective: Shepherd potentiates its ERP partner where asset-centric functionality is needed.
Instead of adding parts line by line, users can work from a curated list of inventory, dramatically reducing the time and cognitive load involved in preparing complex jobs. It also greatly reduces the chances of avoidable mistakes that always increase in risk when something is done over and over with small, but vital variations.
Why Allocate Parts exists
As mentioned, the feature originated from a customer use case where large numbers of parts needed to be assigned to single service orders. Previously, this required manually searching for each part and adding it individually through a “bin” transfer process (a “bin” being a NetSuite term for a specific, identifiable storage spot within a location—such as a shelf, rack, pallet position, or technician stock area).
That approach was not only slow, but also increased the likelihood of omissions and mistakes—particularly when similar items or large quantities were involved. Allocate Parts addresses this by allowing users to work “list-first” rather than “line-by-line.” Service managers can see a comprehensive view of available parts, narrow that list using filters, and then select many items at once before deciding quantities and inventory sources.
Who uses it and when
The primary user is the service manager. In most scenarios discussed, service managers are the ones who understand the service contract, customer expectations, and standard parts requirements for a job. They are responsible for ensuring that the right materials are prepared in advance so technicians can execute work without delays or surprises.
The feature is particularly useful when:
- A service order involves a large and predictable set of materials
- Inventory is spread across multiple locations or storage categories
- Accuracy and completeness matter more than ad hoc adjustments in the field
While technicians ultimately use the parts in the execution of their work, Allocate Parts is positioned as a planning and preparation tool rather than a field-editing interface.
Filtering and selection at scale
Once a service order is selected, the user chooses a location and loads the available parts for that location. Without filters, this can mean loading hundreds or even thousands of items. To manage this, the interface supports customizable filters based on part attributes recorded in the system. These filters allow users to quickly narrow the list to only relevant items, such as by type, category, or other custom fields.
After filtering, users can select parts in bulk. A common workflow described is selecting all filtered results, then deselecting a small number of exceptions. The selected items are moved into a secondary list where quantities and sourcing details are finalized.
This approach significantly reduces back-and-forth navigation and minimizes the risk of missing required items when dealing with large part sets.
Bins and inventory control
In NetSuite, bins enable precise inventory control by showing not just how many items exist, but where they physically reside and what state they are in. For example, warehouse bins may hold new stock, while technician bins, returned-parts bins, or used-parts bins reflect different stages in a part’s lifecycle. When parts are allocated through this feature, the user explicitly chooses which bin they are taken from, ensuring accurate inventory movement and traceability.
If parts exist in multiple bins, the interface allows selection across bins to meet the required quantity. Serialized parts are handled through an additional selection step to ensure traceability.
Once the allocation is confirmed, the system automatically creates a bin transfer record. This record documents the movement of inventory from the source bin (for example, a warehouse bin) to a new bin associated with the service order or technician. Inventory quantities are updated accordingly, ensuring that availability figures remain accurate going forward.
It makes sense to have location as one of the filters for logistical, as well as procurement reasons. One such setting for location is “Show only parts in equipment location”. If this is turned on, the location field is shown as disabled and can’t be changed. If the setting is off, then parts can be selected from any location. This is to make it easier for service managers to see and select the correct parts relevant to the technician’s location. After all, allocating parts to a technician who’s at the other end of the country from the hydraulic coupling they’ve been “given” will not help them, nor the customer.
Additional capabilities
The Allocate Parts interface supports multiple languages, automatically displaying labels, filters, and headers based on the user’s language preference in NetSuite. This improves usability for global teams without requiring separate configurations per region.
Summarising the key benefits of using Allocate Parts the primary advantages are:
- Significant time savings for high-part-count service orders
- Reduced risk of missing or incorrectly assigned parts
- Better visibility into available inventory and sourcing decisions
- A cleaner separation between planning (service manager) and execution (technician)
Rather than replacing existing inventory controls, Allocate Parts enhances them by making large-scale preparation practical and reliable. If that’s how you’d like to make your salads moving forward, perhaps you should get in touch with Shepherd to see the full potential demonstrated for you, using your own company as the example.
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