How to control personal stock rooms in FSM

[SNExplorerHP]

Hi All,

We are implementing the FSM, However we don't want to create Personal stock rooms for field agents. There there any setting to control this option.

What will be implications if don't create the personal stock rooms.

Please advise. Thank you in Advance.

[Raj_Nishant92]

Hi @SNExplorerHP 

In ServiceNow's Field Service Management (FSM), Personal Stock Rooms are typically used to manage and track inventory for individual field agents. Each field agent can have their own stock room where parts, tools, and other inventory items are stored and tracked. This helps to ensure that the right items are available to the right people when needed.

Controlling the Creation of Personal Stock Rooms:

There is no direct out-of-the-box (OOB) setting that prevents the creation of personal stock rooms, but you can control this by:

1. Not assigning personal stock rooms to agents: Instead of creating personal stock rooms, you can use centralized stockrooms (e.g., regional or warehouse stockrooms). Agents would pull the necessary inventory from these shared stockrooms.

2. Customizing the FSM process flow: Modify workflows and business logic to handle inventory without personal stock rooms. You can manage stock at a higher level (such as regional stockrooms) and ensure agents are still able to request, reserve, or transfer stock without assigning personal stockrooms.

3. Modifying the stockroom configuration: Through roles and access settings, you can limit the visibility or creation of personal stock rooms.

Implications of Not Creating Personal Stock Rooms:

1. Inventory Management: Without personal stock rooms, field agents won't have their own stock tracking, making it more difficult to manage and track their specific inventory. You would need to ensure a robust mechanism for reserving and transferring stock from central stockrooms to agents.

2. Stock Visibility: Centralized stockrooms may lead to reduced visibility of individual field agent inventory, meaning that other users or agents won’t have direct insight into what parts or materials are being carried by field agents.

3. Stock Transfer: Agents may need to rely more on manual requests or automated workflows to get stock from a central stockroom. This could add extra time or coordination for each task if not properly handled.

4. Reporting: Standard FSM reporting often assumes personal stock rooms exist for each agent. If you don't create them, you'd need to adjust reports to reflect central stockroom usage or customize your reporting approach.

5. Mobile App Adjustments: If you use the FSM mobile app, personal stock rooms may appear in the standard UI for agents. You'd need to customize the interface to exclude personal stockrooms and use central or shared stockrooms instead.

Recommended Approach:

• Use Centralized Stockrooms with Reservations: Consider implementing a centralized stockroom model where agents can request stock, and items are reserved or allocated to them for specific jobs. You could develop workflows that automatically reserve stock for agents when they are assigned tasks.

• Custom Workflows for Inventory Management: Modify workflows to facilitate easy stock transfer between agents and stockrooms, ensuring agents have what they need when they need it without personal stockrooms.