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Case Study

Reduce Excess Inventory on Service Trucks

A large fleet of service trucks had unused new inventory collecting permanently, locking cash on the balance sheet and driving repurchases of items already owned.

Green Wave Electronics centralized excess truck stock, inspected and dispositioned it, and integrated ordering with the customer ERP so field teams draw from consigned inventory first, reducing waste, damage, obsolescence, and fuel burn.

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Too Much Inventory on Service Trucks

Redeployment That Cuts Balance Sheet Inventory and Field Waste

With thousands of SKUs spread across trucks, branches, and distributors, excess stock built up in the field, became harder to locate, got damaged in transit, aged into obsolescence, and often triggered repurchases even when the same parts were already sitting on the truck.

Redeploy inventory already owned

Avoid repurchase and reduce damage

Use current-generation product before obsolescence

Executive Summary

Unused new inventory was collecting permanently on service trucks, creating large, aging stock on the balance sheet and causing unnecessary repurchases. Green Wave Electronics enabled the customer to redeploy what was already owned, route field orders through consigned inventory first, and reduce wear, damage, and obsolescence that comes from long-term storage in crowded vehicles.

Redeployment of inventory already owned

Centralize and reuse excess truck inventory instead of letting it sit idle in the field for months.

Avoid repurchase of items already in inventory

Route field orders through consigned stock first to stop buying parts you already own.

Reduce wear, damage, and return-window misses

Prevent packaging degradation, out-of-box failures, and missed retailer return windows by limiting how long parts sit on trucks.

Challenges

A large fleet of field service technicians supported residential and commercial clients across the USA with tens of thousands of unique SKUs. Common items were pushed to trucks based on forecasted usage, while lower-use items were ordered ad hoc through the customer ERP and picked up from branches or local distributors. Because technicians could not always predict exact needs, they often ordered more than required, and with limited space to offload at local branches, excess inventory stayed on trucks indefinitely.

Overcrowded trucks made it hard to find parts, increased repurchases of items already on hand, and led to packaging wear from vibration and friction that contributed to out-of-box failures. Defective parts discovered at installation often missed retailer return windows, eliminating credit opportunities. Some inventory even remained on trucks long enough to become obsolete after newer versions were released. The customer also estimated material fuel waste from driving with excess weight.

solution

The Green Wave Electronics Solution

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1

Centralize Excess Truck Inventory in Atlanta

Green Wave Electronics worked with the customer to identify excess inventory on each truck and ship it to the Green Wave Electronics Distribution Center in Atlanta. Upon receipt, inventory was inspected and counted, then dispositioned for reuse, repackaging, or recycling based on condition.

2

Integrate Ordering With the Customer ERP

Green Wave Electronics integrated its ordering system with the customer ERP and was configured as the preferred vendor for all SKUs. When a technician placed an order, the ERP checked consigned inventory in Atlanta first. If available, the order routed to Green Wave Electronics. If not, it routed to a branch or local distributor.

3

Same-Day Fulfillment for Field Orders

Orders routed to Green Wave Electronics were picked, packed, and shipped same day for orders posted by 2pm ET. All shipments moved on the customer’s preferred carrier using the customer account.

Results

The customer established max thresholds for each SKU on a per-truck basis. Each quarter, every truck’s inventory was compared against allowable levels, and all excess product was shipped to Green Wave Electronics for inspection and redeployment.

The customer reported saving millions of dollars per year from the total program through reduced purchases of new inventory, reduced scrap of obsolete material, and a reduction in damaged inventory driven by overcrowded truck storage.

By moving excess and questionable inventory off trucks faster, the customer improved its ability to return faulty parts to distributors and retailers within typical 30–60 day windows, helping capture credits that were previously missed.

Reducing excess weight on each service truck contributed to fuel savings and improved operational efficiency in the field. Program costs were limited to Green Wave Electronics transaction fees and shipping expenses.

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