Company stock is not van availability
The workshop may hold ten fittings whilst the engineer’s van has none. A company total cannot answer whether the next job can be completed. A van location separates what is physically available to the mobile worker.
Replenishment becomes a transfer from stockroom to van rather than an unexplained increase in one place and decrease in another.
Keep the model as simple as the decision
Create a location for each vehicle only when the business needs separate availability. If one small team always shares one van, unnecessary subdivisions add choices without improving decisions.
Set thresholds for important consumables based on use rate and the time needed to replenish. An alert begins a review; it does not place the supplier order.
Record close to the point of use
Mobile entry reduces the chance that a used part is remembered days later. A barcode can identify a packaged part, whilst unit, quantity and van still need confirmation. When signal is poor, supported offline-first flows can retain pending work locally.
Know when a field-service system is required
If the business needs engineer scheduling, customer appointments, job sheets, labour costing, route optimisation or proof of service, van inventory is only one module of a larger requirement. Use a specialist platform for those workflows rather than expecting stock locations to simulate them.