Fsl Inventory Management

Core Concepts

The Six Core Inventory Objects

The FSL inventory data model has six primary objects. Each has a distinct role and must not be confused with the others.

ProductItem — represents a quantity of a specific Product2 stored at a specific Location. QuantityOnHand is the live count. This is the master stock record. Do not manually update QuantityOnHand — it is maintained by the platform as ProductTransfer and ProductConsumed records are created and updated.

ProductTransfer — records the movement of stock from one Location to another (e.g., warehouse → technician van). QuantityOnHand on the source ProductItem does NOT decrease when the transfer is created. It decreases only when the transfer status is set to Received. This is the single most common source of incorrect inventory counts.

ProductRequest / ProductRequestLineItem — ProductRequest is the replenishment order header (equivalent to a purchase order request). ProductRequestLineItem is the individual line specifying which Product2, what quantity, and which destination Location. These drive the ordering workflow but do not themselves move stock — a ProductTransfer must be created when the order is fulfilled.

ProductConsumed — records which products and quantities were used on a specific Work Order. Creating a ProductConsumed record decrements QuantityOnHand on the linked ProductItem. This is the field service equivalent of "booking out" parts to a job.

ProductItemTransaction — an auto-generated, read-only audit record created by the platform every time QuantityOnHand on a ProductItem changes (via ProductTransfer Received or ProductConsumed). Manual DML against this object is not supported and corrupts the inventory ledger. It cannot be disabled.

ReturnOrder / ReturnOrderLineItem — records stock returned from a technician or customer back to a Location. Creating a ReturnOrderLineItem increments QuantityOnHand on the target ProductItem.

Location Records and Mobile Location Flag

Every ProductItem is linked to a Location record. The Location record type controls what technicians can see:

• Standard locations (warehouses, depots) are visible in the Salesforce UI and accessible via API.
• Mobile Locations are van/truck locations used by field technicians. A Location must have IsMobile = true (the "Mobile Location" checkbox) to appear in the FSL mobile app inventory view. Without this flag, technicians cannot see or consume parts from that location on the mobile app, even if ProductItem records exist for it.

There is no limit enforced on how many ProductItem records a Location can have, but large product catalogs at a location should be filtered using the FSL mobile app's search rather than pre-loading everything.

QuantityOnHand Is Platform-Managed

QuantityOnHand on ProductItem is a system-managed field. The platform updates it automatically when:

• A ProductTransfer linked to this ProductItem is marked Received (decrements source, increments destination)
• A ProductConsumed is created against a Work Order with this ProductItem as the source
• A ReturnOrderLineItem credits stock back to this ProductItem

Direct field updates to QuantityOnHand via Apex DML, Data Loader, or Flow are not supported. Attempting it either fails validation or produces a divergence between the ledger (ProductItemTransaction records) and the displayed count.

No Native Cycle-Count UI

Salesforce Field Service has no native cycle-count or physical inventory reconciliation user interface. Organizations that require periodic stock counts must build a custom solution — typically a screen Flow, a custom LWC, or an external app — that compares a technician's submitted count against the current QuantityOnHand on each ProductItem, then creates an adjusting ProductTransfer (with a special-purpose "adjustment" location as source or destination) to reconcile the difference.

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: Van Stock Replenishment via ProductRequest and ProductTransfer

When to use: A field technician's van is running low on a part and needs stock transferred from a warehouse.

How it works:

1. A dispatcher or the technician creates a ProductRequest record with DestinationLocationId set to the technician's van Location and ShipToStreet/City populated if needed for shipping logistics.
2. Add one or more ProductRequestLineItem records specifying Product2Id, QuantityRequested, and SourceLocationId (the warehouse).
3. The warehouse fulfills the request by creating a ProductTransfer record linked to the ProductRequestLineItem, with SourceLocationId = warehouse and DestinationLocationId = van, Quantity = fulfilled amount.
4. When the stock physically arrives at the van, the ProductTransfer status is set to Received. At this moment, QuantityOnHand decrements on the warehouse ProductItem and increments on the van ProductItem.

Why not the alternative: Directly editing QuantityOnHand bypasses the ProductItemTransaction audit trail, violates referential integrity in the inventory ledger, and is unsupported by Salesforce.

Pattern 2: Recording Parts Consumption on a Work Order

When to use: A technician uses a physical part to complete a work order and the inventory must be decremented.

How it works:

1. The technician (or dispatcher) creates a ProductConsumed record from the Work Order related list.
2. Set WorkOrderId (or WorkOrderLineItemId for WOLI-level tracking), Product2Id, QuantityConsumed, and SourceLocationId (the technician's van ProductItem location).
3. On save, Salesforce finds the ProductItem for that Product2 + Location combination and decrements QuantityOnHand by QuantityConsumed.
4. A ProductItemTransaction record is auto-generated as an audit entry.

Why not the alternative: Manually creating a ProductTransfer from van to a dummy "consumed" location is an anti-pattern — it generates incorrect transfer records, adds noise to the audit trail, and does not associate the consumption with the Work Order for job cost reporting.

Pattern 3: Custom Cycle Count Reconciliation

When to use: Organization requires periodic physical inventory counts and needs to reconcile against system QuantityOnHand.

How it works:

1. Build a Screen Flow or custom LWC that queries ProductItem records for a given Location and displays current QuantityOnHand alongside a text input for the technician's physical count.
2. For each line where physical count differs from QuantityOnHand, calculate the delta.
3. Create a ProductTransfer record with a dedicated "adjustment" Location (e.g., "Inventory Adjustment Bin") as source or destination to represent the positive or negative adjustment.
4. Set the transfer status to Received immediately (or trigger a Flow to do so) to apply the QuantityOnHand correction.
5. Optionally create a custom record to log the count date, technician, and discrepancy for audit purposes.

Decision Guidance

Recommended Workflow

Step-by-step instructions for configuring FSL inventory management:

1. Verify the FSL managed package is installed. Confirm Field Service is enabled under Setup > Field Service Settings. Confirm that ProductItem, ProductTransfer, ProductRequest, ProductConsumed, and ProductItemTransaction objects are present in Object Manager.
2. Create or audit all Location records. Each physical stocking point (warehouse, depot, technician van) needs a Location record. Set IsMobile = true on every van/truck location so technicians can see their own stock in the FSL mobile app.
3. Create ProductItem records for each Product2 at each Location where it is stocked. Set an accurate opening QuantityOnHand using a ProductTransfer from an "opening balance" source location (not via direct field edit). Confirm a ProductItemTransaction record was auto-created.
4. Configure ProductRequest and ProductRequestLineItem records (and any approval or notification Flow) for the replenishment workflow. Test end-to-end: create a request, fulfill it with a ProductTransfer, mark it Received, and verify QuantityOnHand updated on both source and destination ProductItems.
5. Add ProductConsumed records to the Work Order page layout (or verify they are already on the layout via the FSL managed package). Test: create a ProductConsumed on a work order and confirm QuantityOnHand on the van ProductItem decrements.
6. Validate the ProductItemTransaction trail by querying the object for a sample ProductItem and confirming every expected change (opening balance, transfers received, consumed) is represented. If records are missing or show unexpected changes, trace which DML operation caused the divergence.
7. If cycle counts are required, design and build the custom reconciliation solution (Screen Flow + adjusting ProductTransfer pattern) and document the reconciliation process for operations teams.

Review Checklist

Run through these before marking work in this area complete:

• All van/truck Location records have IsMobile = true (Mobile Location checkbox enabled)
• ProductItem records exist for every Product2/Location combination that field technicians stock or consume
• Opening QuantityOnHand was set via ProductTransfer (Received), not via direct field edit
• ProductItemTransaction records exist and match expected audit history for all tested ProductItems
• ProductConsumed on Work Orders decrements the correct ProductItem QuantityOnHand
• ProductTransfer QuantityOnHand update fires on Received status, not on creation
• No custom Apex, Flow, or Data Loader jobs are directly writing to QuantityOnHand or ProductItemTransaction
• Replenishment workflow (ProductRequest → ProductTransfer → Received) has been end-to-end tested
• Cycle count process is documented if physical inventory reconciliation is a business requirement

Salesforce-Specific Gotchas

Non-obvious platform behaviors that cause real production problems:

1. ProductItemTransaction is Auto-Generated and Must Not Be Touched — Every QuantityOnHand change on a ProductItem creates an auto-generated ProductItemTransaction record. Directly creating, updating, or deleting these records via Apex, Data Loader, or Flow corrupts the inventory ledger. There is no native UI or support mechanism to repair a corrupted transaction history.
2. ProductTransfer Received — Not Created — Triggers QuantityOnHand — QuantityOnHand on the source ProductItem does NOT decrease when a ProductTransfer is created. It decreases only when the ProductTransfer status is set to Received. Organizations that log transfers but never mark them Received end up with perpetually incorrect on-hand counts.
3. Mobile Location Flag Is Required for Technician Visibility — A Location record without IsMobile = true does not appear in the FSL mobile app inventory experience. Technicians with van stock at a standard location cannot see or consume parts from the mobile app. This setting must be set at Location creation or retroactively updated.
4. No Native Cycle-Count UI — Field Service Lightning has no built-in screen for recording physical inventory counts or reconciling discrepancies. Any cycle-count or auditing capability must be custom-built (Screen Flow, LWC, or external integration).
5. ProductConsumed Source Must Match a Real ProductItem — ProductConsumed requires a valid SourceProductItemId (or the combo of Product2 + Location that resolves to a ProductItem). If no ProductItem exists for the technician's current van location and the consumed product, the record creation fails. Practitioners who skip creating ProductItems for van locations encounter this failure when technicians try to log parts usage.

Output Artifacts

Related Skills

• fsl-work-order-management — for configuring the Work Order and Work Order Line Item objects that ProductConsumed records are linked to
• fsl-mobile-app-setup — for configuring how technicians access inventory and log parts from the FSL mobile app
• fsl-resource-management — for managing Location records in the context of service territories and technician assignments

Official Sources Used

• Field Service Inventory Management Data Model — https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.field_service_dev.meta/field_service_dev/fsl_dev_overview_inventory.htm
• Common Field Service Inventory Tasks — https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.fs_inventory.htm&type=5
• ProductItem Object Reference — https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.object_reference.meta/object_reference/sforce_api_objects_productitem.htm
• ProductTransfer Object Reference — https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.object_reference.meta/object_reference/sforce_api_objects_producttransfer.htm
• ProductConsumed Object Reference — https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.object_reference.meta/object_reference/sforce_api_objects_productconsumed.htm
• ProductItemTransaction Object Reference — https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.object_reference.meta/object_reference/sforce_api_objects_productitemtransaction.htm
• Salesforce Well-Architected Overview — https://architect.salesforce.com/docs/architect/well-architected/guide/overview.html