Reducing Downtime Through Better Inventory Visibility across Utility Infrastructure Networks

“We can’t fix what we don’t have parts for.”

Ask any field technician what their biggest frustration is, and this is the answer. For utility operations across Australia and New Zealand, a missing $50 part can turn into a $50,000 problem.

When a water main breaks at 2 am, it floods streets and impacts supply. If an electrical substation fails, every minute counts. Infrastructure downtime impacts revenue, compliance, and customer relationships. The difference between a quick fix and an extended outage often comes down to having the right part available when and where the technician needs it.

What’s the Real Cost of Downtime in Utilities

But what does this downtime actually cost? Most utility managers know it’s expensive, but many underestimate, or don't have access to viewing the full financial impact.

According to the Future of Field Service 2024 Research by Honeycomb on behalf of Droppoint, almost half (46%) of utility companies experience challenges related to technicians spending time collecting or waiting at home for parts.  

While exact hours of annual downtime weren’t measured, these challenges clearly show the financial and operational impact when inventory visibility is poor.

The costs add up fast.

• Customer Impacts - retention, SLA’s and satisfaction.

• Lost revenue when service is stopped.  

• Emergency repair costs well above planned maintenance.  

• Compliance penalties from regulators.  

• Long-term reputation damage in competitive markets.

The research shows that many of these costly outages occur for one reason. Technicians just don’t have the right part when they need it to get service back up and running.

The Inventory Management Challenge

Service managers at utilities companies are stuck between a rock and a hard place. They face two competing forces – the financial pressure to reduce inventory and the operational need to get outages fixed fast.  

When utility organisations have too much inventory, they lock up a ton of capital in parts that sit idle, using up valuable warehouse space and incurring ongoing carrying costs. Not having enough inventory means equipment downtime during failures, which impacts service reliability. The problem gets worse when inventory management systems don’t have visibility across locations outside of the depots, so technicians have to travel long distances to get parts they need for repairs.

Many teams s try to solve this problem by overstocking – essentially using inventory as insurance against downtime. While this may reduce some outages, it ultimately creates inefficiencies across the system. The waste adds up in obsolete parts, storage costs, and capital that could be used elsewhere in the organisation.

3 Utilities Inventory Management Strategies

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In our experience, sustainable improvement in utility uptime requires a holistic approach to inventory management, including strategic placement, complete visibility, and optimised logistics. Rather than stockpiling excess inventory, technicians focus on three strategies.

1. Data-Driven Inventory Optimisation

Leading utilities leverage AI and machine learning to optimize inventory placement.

• Predictive algorithms analyse past equipment failures to position inventory near high-risk areas.

• AI models ensure critical components are strategically located within service territories.

• Machine learning processes seasonal and weather patterns to anticipate equipment failures before they happen.

By harnessing AI-driven insights, utilities ensure technicians have the right parts where and when they need them—without unnecessary stockpiling.

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2. Complete Inventory Visibility

Effective inventory management requires visibility across the entire supply chain. Top performing utilities organisations have:

• Tracking systems for all inventory in central and regional warehouses.  

• Integration between inventory systems.

• Inventory in technician vehicles.  

• Parts in transit between locations.  

• Inventory is available through PUDO (pick up, drop off) networks.

This visibility reduces the need for technicians to carry personal parts, as they can find what they need through the inventory system.

3. Optimised Last Mile Logistics

Even inventory positioned strategically provides limited value if technicians can’t get to it efficiently. Progressive utilities have:

• PUDO networks for 24/7 part availability.  

• Efficient routing systems to get parts to technicians quickly.  

• Third-party logistics for after-hours support.  

• Direct-to-site delivery that eliminates warehouse detours.

These logistics complete the connection between inventory availability and rapid resolution.

The Bottom Line

Fixing outages faster is key, but the financial impact affects many parts of your business.  

Better inventory visibility reduces the costs of parts shortages, emergency logistics, and long outages. Optimising inventory reduces unnecessary inventory costs, first time fixes, and emergency logistics. Utilities that do inventory well get measurable operational and financial benefits.

To get specific numbers for your business, an inventory audit will show you where to improve. Need help getting started? Droppoint can do this for you, guiding you through the process and provide actionable insights to optimise your inventory management.  

Making it Happen

Improving inventory management isn’t just about buying new software. Technology alone won’t solve the problem. You need a practical approach that covers the whole picture.

• Start by honestly assessing what you do now. Measure your current practices and understand the true cost.  

• Then, bring in systems that show you where your parts are in real-time – visibility changes everything about how your team works.

• Next, use your historical data to put inventory where it makes sense based on actual demand patterns. Connect with logistics partners who can move parts when needed.  

• And most importantly, keep measuring and refining your approach based on real results.

Many organisations find they make faster progress by working with specialists who understand field service logistics. Trying to adapt warehouse management systems designed for other purposes just doesn’t work in this environment.

The Droppoint Approach to Utility Infrastructure

Droppoint has partnered with Australian Field Service Organisations for over 20 years, developing solutions for the specific inventory challenges faced within the sector. Our Material Orchestration System (MOS) provides end-to-end visibility across your entire parts ecosystem and connects with over 500 PUDO locations across Australia and New Zealand.

Unlike generic inventory platforms, our solution was designed for field service operations to get critical parts to technicians when and where they need them. Our field-centric approach has helped our customers reduce downtime, increase technician utilisation and improve inventory visibility and velocity.

The Future of Field Service 2024 study confirms our experience that sustainable improvement in utility uptime requires a holistic approach to inventory management that includes strategic placement, complete visibility and logistics.

Next Steps

For utility asset and service managers looking to improve their inventory, we recommend starting with an inventory audit. Knowing which inventory challenges cause the most downtime will help prioritise your improvement initiatives.

By implementing modern inventory management practices, Australian utility providers can build more resilient networks that meet customer and regulatory requirements for service reliability.

Keen to hear more? Get in touch with Droppoint to book a call and find out more about inventory visibility solutions for your utility operation.

Right Part, Right Place, Right Time. Always On, so you don’t have to be.