Article

In the context of field service management, an item refers to the materials, spare parts, or goods that are required or consumed in a service order. An item can be, for example, a spare part (such as a pump, seal, or circuit board), a consumable (such as lubricant), or a product for sale.

Article management in FSM software is important for providing technicians with the right parts at the right time. Typically, all articles are recorded in the system with their article number, description, storage location, and inventory. This allows a technician in the technician app or the dispatcher in the planning board to see which parts are available for a job or need to be ordered. In practice, this means, for example, that specific items can be assigned to an order during resource planning. If seals need to be replaced regularly during maintenance, these are stored as items in the order. An FSM system can also be integrated with a spare parts catalog or warehouse management system to automatically maintain inventory. This ensures that service orders can be carried out without delay because all required items are known and available, or that service calls are only carried out when all necessary spare parts are available.

In addition, the recorded items serve as the basis for invoicing (billing); the consumption of spare parts is documented in the service report as a receipt and then billed to the customer.