Method and apparatus for central accounting and billing system for enterprise employing mobile field service inventories

A computer based inventory accounting system for an enterprise for maintaining and/or providing supplies to machines at customer locations by service technicians each utilizing a service vehicle storing a trunk inventory of service parts and/or supplies required for such maintenance and/or supply operations comprising:

• a central ERP system comprising computing and storage capability;
• a printer controlled by the ERP system for creating machine-readable labels for parts and/or supplies used in said maintenance and/or supply operations;
• a central inventory of service parts and supplies having machine-readable labels attached thereto;
• trunk inventories of parts and/or supplies stored in at least certain of said service vehicles;
• mobile handheld computers capable of reading said machine-readable labels and enabling wireless communications to the ERP system;
• machine-readable labels attached to each machine to be serviced at a customer location;
• and
• programs associated with said ERP system and the mobile handheld computers operative to initiate wireless messages from the handheld computers to the ERP system upon reading a label attached to parts or supplies upon a transfer of parts and/or supplies between said central inventory and said trunk inventories, or between said trunk inventory and a machine being serviced, signaling said transfer and the parts and/or supplies transferred, whereby said central ERP system may maintain and store records related to the contents of the central inventory and each trunk inventory and parts and/or supplies transferred to each customer.

The method of establishing and maintaining an inventory accounting system for an enterprise for maintaining and/or providing supplies to machines at customer locations by service technicians each utilizing a service vehicle storing a trunk inventory of service parts and/or supply operations, such enterprise employing an ERP system, comprising:

• maintaining a central inventory of service parts and/or supplies required in said maintenance and/or supply operations;
• applying machine-readable labels to all parts and/or supplies in said central inventory and each of the trunk inventories, the labels being operative when read by handheld computers, to identify the part and/or supply and initiate a wireless communication to the ERP;
• providing each service technician with a handheld computer;
• and
• using said handheld computers to read the labels attached to parts and/or supplies transferred from the central inventory to a trunk inventory or from a trunk inventory to a customer to thereby transmit information relating to inventory changes to the ERP to maintain records of current central inventory and trunk inventories to the ERP.