Stress-test a van stock shortage by proving that each hold window and restore rule can place spare parts inside the planned lane, survive override pressure, and avoid trapping field techs inside a green stock slide that hides long-lived shortages.
Van stock shortages often list a surge plan while leaving restore behavior, override authority, and abort ownership implicit. Those edges decide whether a late part stop stays inside the shortage packet or leaves a broken service path live under peak load. The exercise should follow actual van timelines, bin maps, and escalation paths rather than a clean fill-rate deck.
Map the shortage path
List every part class with its hold window, waive rule, override behavior, owners, and notification channels. Mark paths that cannot reverse without a manual amendment. Attach the last three van stock shortage incidents with raw timelines and any waivers. Include the source of truth for open bin counts during the observation window.
Define the phases for detect, hold, divert, abort, and restore. Each phase needs an owner and an exit condition. Write the point after which a stuck part would require a different procedure, then review whether that action is still permitted. Capture maximum acceptable dwell in measurable units, including which vans are excluded from the shortage path and why.
Include the calendar of known events for the next two quarters: seasonal demand spikes, depot freezes, and route density cuts that shrink the usable hold window. A shortage budget that ignores those dates will look calm until the week they land.
Break drills
- A minority high-volume van keeps a side-channel while the aggregate stock dashboard stays green.
- A restore has already left a bin surface without a trusted part state.
- The primary van stock dashboard lags beyond the planned observation window.
- An operator skips a hold gate because a service call cutoff is near.
- Automated and human divert messages collide under the new shortage rule.
- Abort authority is unclear at week end and the update lands on the wrong amendment.
For each drill, identify detection time, part impact, containment, and the authority to force a shortage rollback. Require commands and dashboard links in the runbook. A claim that monitoring will catch it does not establish which alert fires or who receives it.
Show timing and ownership
Run the package in Pingpong with field, inventory, logistics, and finance seats. Ask field which service decision becomes unsafe first if holds still stick after the claimed window. Ask inventory whether bin macros can absorb a forced override. Ask owners to show the exact part version or export used as the exit condition.
Related reviews include a route density cut, the field ops lead seat, a service call SLA, and a safety stock rule. Browse the war-game decisions hub for adjacent controls.
Authorize the published van stock shortage path only after a timed drill restores usable bin hygiene inside the documented budget without an undocumented manual step.