In recent years, the trends for field service managers in need of a service dispatch software app were mainly safety and compliance, first-time fix, and process simplification. Other “high potential” trends followed closely. Some of them concentrated on data as an asset, new pricing patterns, and operating methodology.
This shows that many of the immediate concerns of field service managers are more related to the operational and financial foundations of service management. The integration of artificial intelligence and the Internet of things is also important, but more like longer-term goals.
These foundations support the objectives of both areas. And this is regardless of whether you, as a field service manager, are more oriented toward the operational delivery of service or linked to the commercial growth of service sales. Also, a good, solid service dispatch software application is the perfect ally in both cases.
Any field service manager who wants to improve their service delivery and spur service revenue growth must take into account a series of fundamental components, or service essentials. While emerging technology topics like IOT and AR are significant trends in the development of future strategies, one should always keep the business basics into their mind.
That’s why in this article we’ll cover some of those fundamentals of field service management. We’ll go over the foundational pieces on which every field service organization should spend time and resources. And we’ll analyze how service dispatch software can help you deal with those on a daily basis.
Always keep service basics in mind
Here at Synchroteam we have years of experience in service management. Our service dispatch software application has assisted many field service businesses in their transition to the digital age. Despite the fact that no two service companies operate exactly the same way, our experience has helped us identify 5 critical areas that act as the basic milestones of every field service management system.
Service contract and warranty
The level of service that the client expects from your company is revealed through entitlements. As a result, this covers costs for replacement parts, labor billing rates, possible fines and so on. Contracts and warranties provide guarantees for entitlements. A good service dispatch software can help you generate correct entitlements, contracts, and warranties. And this contributes to reducing customer complaints, shielding your service margin from leakage, and improving customer satisfaction.
Moving to proactive maintenance
Field services are becoming more complex, thus maintenance strategies need to be sustainable. The truth is that reactive maintenance can be pricey, sometimes even up to 7 times more expensive than planned maintenance. The latter also has other advantages. Your service dispatch software can use asset data to manage maintenance activity. And with this, you can reduce costs, minimize unplanned downtime, and increase the asset’s lifespan.
Daily workflows must be simplified
Field service businesses like yours require complete standardized workflows to ensure uniform data capture, reduce compliance risk, sustain service quality, and guarantee optimal efficiency. Using a modern service dispatch software platform allows service businesses to map operations like depot maintenance and logistics for full tracking visibility. Besides, you can also automate repetitive, time-consuming service activities, and decrease errors with a standard procedure.
Productivity out in the field
Field service technician teams require the proper data at the right time when they’re out in the field. Field engineers have a lot of decisions to make on a daily basis. What’s more, these decisions can affect the overall financial health of the field service organization. Service dispatch software provides access to data like asset service histories, maintenance guides, parts lists, schematics, entitled services, and more. And with this data field engineers are better equipped to serve the end user at a higher level.
Numbers, metrics and KPIs
How does a field service company determine when a project has been successful? The answer is obvious: numbers! Metrics and KPIs give a clear, consistently defined picture of the productivity and success rate of service operations in your field service business. The metrics you can measure with service dispatch software are an important baseline KPI to monitor. They lay the groundwork for more complex analytics like contract profitability and cost-to-serve.
