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Posts By: Sam Darwish

5 Reasons Why You Need Field Service Software

From the earliest days of business computing, software has made the way we work more efficient. Companies who adopt these new software tools gain a competitive advantage over those who don’t. We are far removed from the days when simple spreadsheets revolutionized the way we work, but software is still giving early adopters an advantage over the competition. Today’s field service environment is no exception. Businesses in the field service industry now have powerful software at their disposal that will allow their entire operation to run more transparently and efficiently than before. Adopting a field service management solution will allow your business to remain competitive as such software becomes more commonplace. Let’s take a look at what field service software is and what it can do for you.

What Does Field Service Software Do?

There are many moving parts to a modern field service operation. From creating the initial estimates to assigning workers and tracking their progress, through to invoicing the customer and accepting payment, field service management software takes control of these moving parts. By becoming an all-in-one solution for the unique needs of the field service industry, and by combining modern technologies and algorithms, field service software can improve the efficiency of your operation and provide you with actionable insights about how your business functions.

In the same way that accounting software became like an extra employee, helping to automate and make sense of a business’s finances, field service management (FSM) software is like an extra employee doing all the hard work of managing your field service operations. It automates complex decisions and unifies all the relevant information about your business into one convenient platform. Good FSM software will also integrate nicely with existing CRMS, ERPs, or other software tools a business may use in order to make further automation possible.

5 Reasons Your Business Needs Field Service Software

Now that you have a general overview of FSM software is, let’s take a look at some reasons you need to incorporate it into the technology stack at your business. 

1. Optimize workforce utilization

The traveling salesman problem is a well-known optimization question designed to find the quickest route between a set of cities. When calculated by humans, it serves little purpose in the field service industry. Unlike the cities in the traveling salesman problem, you don’t know the places your workforce will need to travel to ahead of time. Instead, you must adapt on the fly and dispatch your workforce to incoming jobs as best you can. Just as computers can calculate the traveling salesman problem nearly instantly, FSM software can find the optimal workforce scheduling and dispatch orders so your employees spend more time helping customers and less time traveling. These workforce optimizations mean more money in your business’s bank account at the end of the day.

2. Increase bottom line

A more properly utilized workforce isn’t the only way FSM software will help keep money in your bank account. Managing a field service company spans across a wide range of disciplines, and FSM tools are there to help with all of them. With a quality FSM solution, you’ll be able to more effectively manage inventory on parts, keep your assets properly maintained and running at peak performance, recommend high-performing upsells to customers, and benefit from automation across every aspect of your company that will lead to a more productive workforce.

Aside from problems that are specific to field service, good FSM solutions also cover state-of-the-art business intelligence tools that will make it easier for your management team to understand how the business is operating and which areas need to be improved.

3. Standardize the customer experience

For branding purposes, it is best if every customer has the same experience, or close to the same experience as possible. You don’t want some reviews praising you for doing one thing and others complaining that you didn’t do that thing. With every field service agent drawing from the same mobile software, driven by the powerful analytics of an FSM system, they’ll know exactly which products should be recommended, which maintenance plans are available for each customer, and which procedures should be followed when talking to the customer. Field service software takes the guesswork out of being a field service worker so your employees can focus on what they do best: solving customer problems.

4. Provide contactless customer care

Contactless care is a requirement during a pandemic, but even beyond that, it is a more efficient way to work with customers. When everyone can deal with paperwork on their own time, nobody is inconvenienced. With contactless customer care powered by your FSM software, you’ll be able to send quotes to a customer’s device. From there, they’ll be able to accept the quote and even sign off on completed work and complete a post-job survey all without having to deal with an in-person employee. Perhaps more importantly to the customer experience, the tools will tell them exactly what to expect when their field service worker arrives and who that worker will be. This is of great benefit to both the customer and your workers, as everyone will be on the same page when it is time for the work to begin.

5. Centralize information

Having a single software solution that brings together previously disparate parts of your operation has the added benefit of bringing all your information into one centralized location. This means more information for data-hungry machine learning algorithms that power today’s business software. It also means that you’ll be able to generate reports with more information and do so much quicker than you could before. Perhaps the greatest benefit of having all your information in one place is that it makes getting an overview of your operation much easier. The dashboards of your field service management software will give you information on all aspects of your business, aiding in greater transparency and more informed business decisions. 

The software will also let you know how long each employee takes to perform a given task and give you other meaningful analytics that will provide transparency into your business. To give one example, you may discover that one employee routinely takes two hours to do something that everyone else finishes in one. This could mean that the employee needs further training on that task. Getting them that training will help improve their efficiency and increase the productivity of your team as a whole.

ServiceDemand’s Field Service Solution

As an exploding industry, there are now many field service management solutions on the market. As industries around the world adapt to the fourth industrial revolution, brought about by the power of big data and machine learning, field service professionals are looking to do the same. ServiceDemand is a high-quality FSM solution that will give you the powerful features you need to streamline your field service business and increase revenue. Let’s take at just a few of the things ServiceDemand can do for you:

Customer management — Customer relations are a big part of a business’s success. ServiceDemand will be there from the initial contact to the payment of the invoice. You’ll always be able to see at a glance where in the process a customer is and have complete control over everything you need to ensure that customer’s satisfaction right from within the dashboard.

Contractor management — Part of running an efficient operation that keeps customers happy is dealing with contractors. ServiceDemand provides the same level of management for dealing with contractors that it does for dealing with customers. You can find everything you need to build and maintain successful relationships with your contractors is all in one place. 

Parts and asset management — Your field workers can’t be effective without the parts and tools they need to do their jobs. ServiceDemand keeps the parts you need in stock, without the needless expense of overstocking, with automated control over orders, inventory, and deliveries. Any tools or assets that need servicing are tracked, and reminders are sent so there’s no avoidable downtime. 

Automated scheduling and dispatch — With field workers traveling around your area on jobs that take various amounts of time, it isn’t always easy to know the best employee to dispatch to a job. ServiceDemand will use advanced algorithms to maximize the efficiency of each of your field workers on an individual level and better manage logistics company-wide.

Complex job planning — From creating the first proposal to receiving the final invoice, a lot of planning goes into doing a job right. Regardless of how complex a job is, ServiceDemand will help you break it down into manageable chunks and then track it as each stage progresses. Throughout the job, powerful analytics will aid you in making decisions and automate tedious processes for you so you can spend more time wowing your customers.

Mobile device support — With all your employees connected to the system and able to interact with it through mobile devices while they are out in the field, you’ll cut down on paperwork and give everyone in the company the ability to instantly communicate needs and problems with anyone else. All this in real-time using a platform that empowers you to meet those needs and solve those problems.

6 Key Benefits of Field Service Management Software

Let’s face it. 

Only a few companies can remain competitive in today’s field service environment without proper management of costs, resources, and time.

Despite this fact, a whopping 52% of service-centric companies still coordinate tasks and manage functions manually. 

Up until this moment, your business might have survived with manual paperwork, processes, and calling every other on-site employee when you need a task done ASAP. However, today’s picky and tech-savvy customers want more—they expect their jobs done quicker and with minimal hassle.

A field service management software (aka workforce management tool) can help automate your business for superior customer service, greater operation efficiency, and of course, more profitability.

But First… What Is Field Service Management Software?

Field service management (FSM) software is, by definition, a tool that makes it easy for service-centric enterprises to supercharge their productivity and achieve their project goals.

It does this by delivering exceptional on-site service through personnel management, request tracking, and enabling total visibility of the service delivery cycle.

Typical features of a workforce management tool include:

  • Work order management
  • Smart routing
  • Inventory control
  • Real-time analytics and reporting
  • Scheduling and dispatch
  • Fleet tracking

Are you still lost in the maze of FSM? Picture this… 

Every morning your technicians report to work and collect the day’s schedule. They check the inventory for the tools and parts needed, receive them, and fill the necessary paperwork before getting on the road. This, of course, translates to hours of manual coordination.

What about the data they need when they are on-site? Are they still carrying around bulky files for each customer they serve? Your technicians are also liable for most of the tools being used—and you want to keep track of them as well. You want total oversight on what job is being handled, how long it takes, where it is happening, and the materials being utilized. 

Juggling all this through countless spreadsheets, ticking off the inventory, and updating time logs can be incredibly painstaking. 

Luckily, field service management software comes in to streamline things—from invoicing and inventory control to routing and scheduling—all on one, multifaceted platform.

By adopting this software, SMBs (HVAC, roofers, locksmiths, electricians, appliance repair, etc.) can reap multiple benefits. Below are six of the most important benefits of a workforce management tool.

Outstanding Benefits of Using Field Service Management Software

1. Faster Completion of Tasks

As a stakeholder in the field service industry, you know that every minute counts. For instance, the less time your technicians spend looking for optimal routes, the more invoiceable hours they’ll have on hand to complete more jobs. 

Just how long does it take your business to schedule operations or map out preferred routes? A lot of time, right? Field management software like ServiceDemand modernizes your administrative tasks so your team can complete tasks quicker and more efficiently. 

The best part? When all of your business data is connected and housed in one location, the time it takes to fulfill jobs involving that data is lowered significantly. This translates to improved efficiency, as customers will have their needs sorted out promptly. 

2. Reduces Operating Costs

From reducing hardcopy paperwork to managing work orders and optimizing routes, FSM software like ServiceDemand can help you save money across the board. 

Think about all the cash your on-field workers spend on paper and printing along with scanning, storage, and filing—all things related to document organization. Simply shifting to a fully automated system for your field service operations can help save you a good chunk of change. 

On top of that, a workforce management tool helps cut down on travel expenses. With well-defined routes and fewer return trips to the head office as a result of smart scheduling, you’ll save on fuel and servicing for your fleet.

Outreach and sales expenses will also be trimmed since technicians will find it easier to communicate with clients, typically while still on-site, regarding things such as satisfaction, billing, and appointments. 

3. Remote Operation of the System

Like any other management solution, FSM software can be operated remotely. This means employees, contractors, partners, and admins can operate it anywhere and in real-time. 

Gone are the days when field days were characterized by repeat trips to the HQ, canceled appointments, and unsatisfied customers. With an FSM solution, your technicians will have easy and timely access to vital data regarding customers and tasks wherever they are. Plus, they can operate the software from any mobile device. 

ServiceDemand takes things a notch higher in this regard; all stakeholders in the service cycle will have their work cut out for them. They will be able to operate the system quite easily, using the browser as if they were in the office. They’ll no longer need to access it through a private network or a VPN. They’ll only need their browser—on whichever device—and an internet connection. Talk about convenience!

4. Brings Teams, Customer, and the Project Together

In any field service business, employees and customers are both parts of a common project. Though both exist independently, they contribute to the same organization goal—that of growing the bottom-line. In our case, the FSM software is the glue that holds them together.

It isn’t easy to succeed in any service project without meeting customer expectations fully. In the same vein, it is difficult for teams to meet customer expectations without the right tools. 

Thankfully, a field management software like ServiceDemand brings every aspect of the project under one location. This allows teams to harness only the information they need to fulfill service appointments on the get-go. Fast turnaround times, in turn, ensures that customers are satisfied at every stage of the project. As you well know, happy clients translate to a happy team and a successful project in the long haul.

5. Allows a Deeper Understanding of the Business

Up to this moment, you might still be in the dark on what is happening in every phase of your service delivery. 

How many tasks were scheduled for the day? How many were fulfilled? Are there open times? Are there any return appointments? How much time was spent on moving from one location to the other? 

Understanding loopholes allows you to respond quickly, solve the weaknesses, and improve the service process.

Decisions like these can only be made right and on a timely basis if you have a holistic view of the business, and that is exactly what an FSM software enables you to do.

6. Makes the Most of GPS Tracking

Many FSM tools can track your technicians’ routes through cutting-edge GPS signals. This is particularly beneficial if you have a technician who is en route to a customer, is not where they ought to be, or simply lost. This technology can alert the HQ when a technician has arrived at or left a job site.

Moreover, if you have an emergency request and need a technician to re-route, your workforce management system can display the locations of all your technicians, so it’s easy to choose the most convenient technician for the new request.

Rethinking Field Service Management

The FSM market is growing at a dizzying rate. It is currently worth around $3.5 billion and is expected to hit the $5.9 billion mark by 2024. 

It’s pretty clear why there’s a sudden and widespread interest in Field Service Management solutions. After all, technology is advancing, and field service businesses are scrambling to gain a foothold on this incredible software. Which entrepreneur doesn’t love the idea of optimizing the available resources while ensuring customer satisfaction and generating profits? None.

The truth is, modern field service apps eliminate the bottlenecks that often derail businesses. They unleash new communications and management capabilities that business owners have long yearned for. Now more than ever, technology breaks down data and operational barriers between teams, all while improving customer service and general efficiency. So, it makes perfect sense why the field service management sector is growing at breakneck speed.

Perhaps it’s time to automate your field service business? We all know that there are so many software solutions to help with service automation—whether partial or full. 

A brilliant example is ServiceDemand, which helps manage your technicians, partners, and contractors seamlessly. From a computer or the palm of your hand, you can gain complete oversight over your entire service cycle. Not only does ServiceDemand help you streamline end-to-end work order management but it also provides options for one-touch routing and scheduling, all in an easy to use dashboard. 

The Key Takeaway

It’s becoming increasingly important for SMBs to adopt workforce management software. With every sector pivoting towards automation, your business cannot afford to rest on its laurels.

Data-driven and efficient service delivery through an FSM solution can prove the difference between you and your competitors.

The field service management software is no longer an optional add-on but a must-have tool for you to thrive in the fiercely competitive market. 

Want to learn how your business can reap these benefits? Contact us today, and let us be part of your success story!

DAVACO Case Study

Challenge

DAVACO is the North American leader in the management and execution of high-volume remodels, resets, rollouts, surveys, technology deployments, with supporting supply-chain management and logistics for global brands. DAVACO previously utilized spreadsheets and other antiquated programs to organize their project management but lacked the real time information their clients desired.

Goals

Implementing ServiceDemand for DAVACO had the following goals:

  • Streamline invoicing post job completion
  • Manage workforce utilization by being able to view hours assigned for a task vs actual hours worked
  • Provide DAVACO and their Clients the ability to see when an asset was deployed, serviced, and quantify asset lifecycle cost
  • Build a mobile friendly platform that could be used by all field members
  • Contractor Management to ensure contractors have access to work instruction, materials, and provide updates on projects in real time

Solution

DAVACO was able to deploy ServiceDemand to all of its Project Managers, Field Management, and Field staff. Once integrated into its accounting and travel systems, work was assigned quickly and efficiently. Many of DAVACO’s Clients who manufacture OEM products are leveraging it to understand the failure rates of those products.

Results

DAVACO started offering Break/Fix services, extending services to existing Clients and adding new services for additional revenue. By being able to schedule more work for their teams locally through the implementation of ServiceDemand, DAVACO reduced their employee travel costs by 18%.

Quote/Commentary

“Having implemented the technology successfully, we are now extending its value to DAVACO’s clients,” adds Paul Hamer, Executive Vice President Business Development of DAVACO. “Many of DAVACO’s Clients manage complex programs utilizing multiple vendors and would see great benefit from on-demand technology, consolidating vendors and efficiently scheduling their field workforce. Its asset management capabilities would also provide further insight into identifying the root cause of any break/fix issues.”


“In addition to its automated work force management, our solution provides business intelligence features that provide insight into asset utilization,” adds Keith Winters, CEO of DAVACO. “This cutting-edge technology allows us to record an asset, why it required repair and how the issue was resolved, in real time. In this way, we can provide a clear picture of any reoccurring issues that our clients may be facing at their businesses,” he adds.

Deciding Whether or Not to Invest in Field Service Management Software

Trying to decide if field service management software is worth implementing into your contractor business? A recent 2019 survey of EC&M, Contracting Business and contractor subscribers breaks it down.

There are many benefits to using field service management software. For starters, to measure the safety of employees, vehicles, and other mobile assets being used in the field. Second, managing productivity. 49% of those surveyed said they already use field service management software for real-time information about the location of their vehicles, 46% also use this software for real-time information about their field employees, such as location and status, as stated by an article about the survey on contractor.com. Having this information allows business owners a real-time view of their productivity which can lead to lower capital and operating expenses as well as preserving a positive brand recognition with clients and employees. Each of these benefits brings a competitive edge and enables greater market differentiation.

Time

Smart field service management software can give you up to date information on the location of your vehicles, equipment, or field employees. Having this ability allows management to evaluate allotted times given for specific tasks and gives dispatchers the ability to provide accurate ETAs to customers. Imagine trying to retask employees and assets to other job sites without this information available at the click of a button. Long are the days of waiting for a callback or a text message to come through from an employee in the field before a decision can be made. Twenty-six percent of participants in the aforementioned survey said it can sometimes take one hour to get a response from the field. Field service management solutions eliminate that waiting period saving fleet managers countless minutes. Custom software creates an interface to deliver the information straight to their mobile phone, tablet, or desktop computer. In addition to saving precious time, real-time updates can reveal scheduling conflicts and inefficiencies. As many as nineteen percent identified scheduling inefficiencies as their top business challenge when answering the survey on contactor.com.

DAVACO is a Dallas based company that manages and executes high-volume remodels, rollouts, surveys, and technology deployments across the globe. They needed a way to manage workforce utilization by showing the hours assigned to a task vs. the hours actually worked on the task. They also wanted to be able to provide their clients with real-time updates when one of their assets was deployed or serviced to quantify the asset’s lifecycle cost. By implementing a custom project and field service management software unique to their needs, DAVACO was able to decrease travel costs by 18% and even acquire more jobs locally. Often their clients manage complex programs utilizing multiple vendors and the benefit of on-demand service technology allowed for consolidating vendors and efficiently scheduling their field workforce.

Another example is with Samsung SDS needing to increase the speed and accuracy of collecting data in the field before installations (done by third-party contractors) as well as create a mobile interface for survey scheduling and resource management. After implementing a field service management solution software they were able to achieve more consistent data capture and instant reporting, saving their surveyors up to 60% of their time in the field, while the centralized web portals allow the home office to view and manage the captured data efficiently at the site or portfolio level. Samsung was able to reduce install times by 25% using their field management software to plan the installs. Having a better understanding of the scope of work ensured their teams were prepared before being onsite.

Safety

Ask any service-oriented business and they will likely tell you that safety is their number one concern when it comes to their employees. Employee safety is especially crucial for businesses that employ those with trade skills. These people are particularly hard to replace when one of them is injured and could be out for weeks or months. A lot of times field workers are on remote sites and even working alone, which makes up to date location information imperative to their safety in the event of an accident. Especially with the number of ‘delivery’ style services we see today, there is an increased chance of injuries to workers while in transit. A field service management solution cannot decrease those risks but can certainly make the process easier to handle.

Speaking of driving, some field service management software can even give weekly reports or alerts on field employees’ driving habits. Sure it may sound like micro-managing but when a company accumulates yearly damages in the $1 million, adjustments need to be made. Not only can you decrease the cost of damages by coaching specific employees with poor driving habits but fewer damages also equal lower insurance premiums and less wear and tear on vehicles and other equipment. All of these overhead costs should be considered when deciding whether to invest in a field service management solution.

Gig Economy

The landscape of our business economy has changed drastically over the last decade and even more so in the last few months. After millions of layoffs and many brick and mortar establishments at risk of bankruptcy, it might be time to shift our focus to what lies ahead. People across the globe are asking themselves where they fit in and businesses are sure to follow suit.

Those who once believed they would work with the same company or industry for the entirety of their career now have the opportunity to reevaluate. What we know is, automation is coming. One might ask themself what they can offer that cannot be automated. While no one ever wants to find themself unemployed or on the verge of closing shop, both parties can decide, moving forward, what they have to offer in this new wave of economic shifts.

Part of the shift we will see is the growth of what some are calling a ‘gig economy’. A gig is defined as a short or long-term job that lasts until the task or project is complete. It’s not permanent employment, its contract work. This new employment model is redefining how companies engage with both employees and customers.

This model brings with it an endless opportunity with new platforms popping up left and right seeking people to engage in freelance work on many different levels. These people can choose to do it as little or as often as suits their needs and even treat it like a full-time job, filling their schedules with a few hours of work from different companies. Think of companies like Uber and Lyft where a person can work for both on the same day; earning their money once individual transports are completed. Gad Allon, the director of the Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology at the University of Pennsylvania, estimates this economy to grow to $2.7 trillion by 2025.

Previously the employment model looked like this: Constant employment where you interview for a job, get hired, show up, and work as they laid out in their expectations. This is contract work in extended form. But as we stated before, the traditional models are shifting. We are all familiar with companies like Uber, Lyft, and GrubHub. When consumers use these companies they are essentially renting assets owned by the contractor. They pay for a one time service and the contractor gets paid for the task.

This new model of employment covers many kinds of jobs, from plumbing to mechanical work to babysitting. People with specific skill sets may find themselves working for multiple company’s at the same time and these companies don’t have to pay employees benefits like health insurance. Furthermore, as we move toward a world where more things are becoming automated, businesses will be seeking those who can do what computers cannot; without needing to employ them full-time.

Just how big will this shift to a gig-economy really be? It’s hard to say. Matthew Bidwell, a Wharton management professor recently stated in a New York Times article, “The future is likely to be somewhat different to how it is now, but there is no clear trend at the moment that I think tells us how work will play out in the future…I don’t think that the gig economy is the future of work,” Bidwell adds. “It is a vibrant niche in the economy and will likely continue to be one but I believe it will not grow to dominate the economy. Most companies need some stability in their workforce. There is value to having the same people show up every day, who know each other, know the company, and how to do the work. Many employees also value the stability of a regular, full-time job.”

It’s probably safe to assume that the future of work will be a mixture of both models of employment; permanent and contract. The good news is, any increase in the gig economy also impacts earning potential for so many people who have recently found themselves unemployed during this economic standstill. “The gig economy can be a great thing for giving people more flexibility and options to make money,” notes Bidwell.

And in fact, we already see many businesses are using a hybrid model; where they have their full-time ‘permanent’ employees and utilize contractors simultaneously with more and more businesses moving towards the contact model. Because of this, they will likely start looking for updated ways to manage these types of employees.

Let’s paint a picture. Everyone relies on the services of some kind. Now, more than ever those services are often delivered in the field (aka, brought to our home). When you order something from Whole Foods, the person delivering the groceries is not likely a Whole Foods employee. You would also be safe to assume that even the software used to place and manage that order is not part of Whole Foods infrastructure. It’s likely a third party supplying the software and another separate entity making the physical delivery.

As more and more companies shift to this type of operation, they will want to ensure customer satisfaction and overhead costs are not sacrificed. One way to do this is by building their own software to manage things like field service productivity, asset and project management, preferred contractors, etc. Companies like ServiceDemand offer cloud-based software that helps companies link team members, customers, and projects together. With custom dashboards to optimize workforce, ServiceDemand assists in automation to sell more goods and services as well as to measure success.

An ability to monitor and streamline so many moving parts will be imperative to the survival of their infrastructure and efficiency. Watch carefully as the economy shifts this direction, we can expect to see an increase in automated Field Service Management as well.