Mobile Field Service Mobile Solutions Benefits
Business organizations looking to save money and increase productivity commonly turn to Field Service Management Solutions (FSM) to help them achieve their goals. The benefits of Field Service Solutions include:
- the optimization of labor costs regarding the number of technicians needed to carry out tasks
- more effective dispatching of task assignment and monitoring
- reduced corporate reliance on the unique skills of individuals and service suppliers
The latter through the implementation of knowledge base modules.
The implemented solution allows an organization to reach their goals, and bring the benefits to various roles within a service organization. This article considers how investing in Field Service Software impacts a business from different perspectives.
Schedule a FREE Consultation for Field Service Solutions here.
Benefits for a Dispatcher/Scheduler
The tasks of customer technical support or maintenance dispatcher or scheduler are vital for the smooth running of the order fulfillment process. Yet carrying them out might seem an endless chore that brings little praise if there is no efficient FSM solution in place. Thankfully, the right solution will come with a number of features to optimize the work of the dispatcher/scheduler. And this contributes to increased customer satisfaction. Such features include:
1. Scheduling and Planning Tools
You can use the graphical timeline to schedule new tasks, assign them to the appropriate field technicians, and ensure they have the right equipment and parts to hand. This provides you with an amazing 360º view of your team’s situation. Information provided by this module includes:
- the Service Level Agreement (SLA) connected with the order
- the sequence of tasks required to complete the order
- available resources (human and technical) suitable for completing the order
- a list of tasks currently allocated to technicians
- the resources available (especially parts!) closest to the order site
2. Location-based Services
Regardless of how many technicians, orders and vehicles you are responsible for, a Geographical Information System (GIS)-based FSM tool lets you keep tabs on them. This is through a combination of digital maps and mobile handsets with GPS or vehicle tracking equipment. The result is that you can find a technician with the right skills quickly, and dispatch them to a client location in order to resolve any given problem.
Benefits for a Field Service Technician
For many clients, you are the public face of the company; and your organization’s reputation could depend on how you perform every aspect of any given task. At the same time, your employer needs you to optimize your time – doing more in any given period. Again, a Filed Service solution can help you balance these demands, bringing benefits to you, to the customer, and to your employer.
1. Mobile Access
Mobile Field Service Management tools – deployed via a mobile handset – gives you all of the information you need about any assigned task. Your schedule for the day is accessible on the device, as are your route plan, documentation, instructions and remote network measurement tools. Customers can sign off digitally after a job is done and the information is sent directly to the back office.
2. Optimization tools
Optimization shouldn’t mean only driving down costs to the lowest possible level. It’s about striking the right balance between expenses, resources and benefits. FSM optimization tools help you to do just this, for example by organizing your employees’ work optimally or by utilizing GIS system information to plan your routes effectively.
3. Spare Parts Management
When a field service technician arrives at a client’s premises with precisely the right equipment and parts to do the job required, it can create only a positive impression. On the other hand, customer satisfaction can take a severe blow if the technician needs to return to the warehouse. This is because the tech needs to collect the parts needed to carry out an urgent repair. That’s not even mentioning the costs that this incurs the service company! The benefits of field service management include the ability to deploy optimization tools. This will predict the nature and solution of problems so that the majority of cases are resolved in the first manner rather than the second.
4. Knowledge Base
Quick and easy access to accumulated, shared knowledge is another of the benefits of an effective field service management solution. A knowledge base module can ensure your technicians are always prepared – even if a problem, customer, location or piece of equipment is out of the ordinary. It provides them with written and graphical instructions and information.
Schedule a FREE Consultation for Field Service Solutions here.
Benefits for Customer Service
It’s easy to see that effective field service management solutions will have a strong impact on customer perception of the organization. For example:
If you are a CSR
Solving the problem, and solving it quickly at the first attempt, is one of your key goals. With FSM, you will be able to keep the client informed about which technician they can expect, and when, in real time. There is no need to break connections with a promise to call back later and make an appointment. This can certainly prove frustrating to the client and therefore damaging to your organization’s image. Instant access to information about available resources and technicians is among the benefits of field service management.
Benefits of Field Service Management Solutions for Sales
If you are a salesperson
The sales process, by its very nature, involves disappointments for the salesperson. Company like to keep the records of each successful and unsuccessful contact! They will have to engage the customers right up to (and beyond) the moment of the signing on the dotted line.
Field service management solutions can limit the number of unsuccessful interactions. It can even allow technicians to carry out certain sales activities while on site with a satisfied and grateful customer. Technicians can, for example, use their mobile devices to deliver documents and collect signatures, prepare invoices, and even carry out cross-sell and up-sell activities. All of this lends valuable support to the regular sales team. Especially as the technician on site may be able to make concrete recommendations for the client. They can do this based on their observations and the task they are required to carry out.
In summary, there are many benefits to Field Service Solutions no matter what your role is
Optimization in field services is founded on synergy between every department and employee in an organization. Field service management solutions drive a company towards achieving its business goals. This is done by drawing the customer sharply into focus and automating many time consuming processes. Field service management benefits quickly become clear in terms of service convergence, cost savings, optimized work and dispatch scheduling, and outsourcing.
You can find the benefits of Field Service Solutions for all various roles in field service in the URDesigns Inc.’s Field Service Application. It is the perfect Field Service Solution for companies who have all the mentioned roles above. It perfectly meets the needs of any Field Service company because it was made with their people specifically in mind. Get information whenever you need them all at the palm of the user’s hand! Not only does it reduce processing time by half when compared to manual processes but it can also work offline. Read more about the Why The Offline Mode Is Important in Apps.
Schedule a call with our Field Service expert for a FREE CONSULTATION and DEMO of our Field Service Solution. It’s time to automate your processes and move your Field Service company forward.