Brands, Models, and Device Type Directories: Why Structure Your Catalog?

In new workshops, device directories often look like a junkyard: “Phone,” “iPhone,” “Mobile,” “Samsung smartphone.” When a receptionist needs to process an order, they waste time searching, and the workshop loses the ability to analyze its work.

A structured directory in WorkPan is not just order in the database; it is a tool that directly affects the speed of reception and the accuracy of management decisions.

Why a Rigid Structure is Needed

The device catalog in WorkPan is divided into three levels: Device Type, Brand, and Model.

1. Device Type (smartphone, laptop, vacuum cleaner).
2. Brand (Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi).
3. Model (iPhone 13, Galaxy A54).

Without this link, the receptionist is forced to choose from hundreds of options each time, trying to guess how the device was named in the system. With a rigid structure, the choice narrows: first choose “Smartphone,” then “Samsung,” and only the models of that brand appear before your eyes. This cuts reception time from minutes to seconds.

Analytics: What Breaks Most Often

If you don’t maintain a model directory, you will never know which specific devices fail most often in your workshop.

When the system has a clear separation by model, you get statistics on:

• Which model brings in the most revenue.
• Which brands require spare parts more often than others.
• Which devices are more profitable to keep spare parts for in stock, and which ones should be brought in on order.

This information helps you not to “guess,” but to purchase exactly what your customers need.

Practical Work with the Catalog

To make the structure work for you, follow these three rules:

1. Links are more important than names. The Model Directory is strictly linked to the Brand Directory and the Device Type Directory. If a model in the system is not linked to a brand, the receptionist simply won’t find it.
2. Services in models. The “Services in models” tool is the main reason to clean up your directories. You define the price for replacing a screen for a specific model once, and the receptionist no longer needs to ask the technician for the price or check a price list every time.
3. Database hygiene. If duplicates or “messy” model names appear in the system, use the merge function. It will automatically transfer all orders from old items to the new, correct one, preserving repair history.

Summary

Structuring directories is an investment of the receptionist’s and manager’s time. Yes, at first it seems “faster to write it by hand.” But as soon as there are at least two locations in the workshop or more than 5-10 orders per day, a lack of order in the directories becomes a “bottleneck” that slows down the entire operation.

Order in the directory means predictable reception work and accurate figures for your analysis.