Time is money!

Manual processes, scheduling and inefficient resource utilization, low first-time fix rates and slow invoicing are losing money. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel though – field service management software! Let’s investigate these common areas where service and installation enterprises are wasting time and losing money. Additionally, we’ll check out how the field service management system can help.

Manual processes

Your service orders are on sheets of paper. Consumer data is during even a CRM system within the office. Field technicians pop by the office once every week to drop off paperwork. Sound familiar? Running a service business, or really any business means juggling tons of tasks and ensuring you stay on top of them. Research has found that 52% of field service corporations still use manual methods for field service.

Time is money and manual processes eat up plenty of time and have a big impact on your profit margins. Field service management software can assist you to eliminate many of the manual processes in your business. It connects your field technicians with your employees and also with your consumers. Easily share data and updates in real-time.

Scheduling

Getting the proper person to the proper job with the proper tools at the proper time is critical to your business. Verizon Connect research found 25% of field service corporations are still using spreadsheets for task scheduling, while the rest still use whiteboards and other manual methods. This manual approach to scheduling makes it difficult to react to changes or quickly make adjustments.

Field service management software empowers dispatchers to form smart decisions, by providing them with all of the data they have in one place. Easily adjust plans as data changes or updates are made. Communicate updates and changes fast and simply with field technicians and consumers using the software.

Route and resource optimization

You have 100 service technicians within the field covering a massive geographic territory. While everyone can perform most tasks, let’s face it, some people are better at certain tasks and a few technicians perform very specialized services. As a service corporation, you not only need to juggle the talents of your technicians but also their geographic locations when trying to reply to service requests. Getting it right has a huge impact on consumer satisfaction.

Field service management software that includes a built-in map showing the location of service technicians, as well as the location of jobs and estimated travel time, enables dispatchers to make informed decisions about the right person for the task when geography is a factor. Additionally, they’ll communicate data easily to service technicians by text, email, or internally within the software. Optimizing routes and resources lead to a reduction in travel time and improved response times.

First-time fix rates

Are your services technicians properly prepared for jobs? Do they have the tools and parts they need, access to previous task history, and other censorious data to urge the work completed correctly the first time? Research from Aberdeen Group has found ‘best-in-class” field service corporations resolve the issue on the first visit 88 percent of the time. While “average” enterprises achieve an 80 percent rate and the “laggards” struggle at 63 percent. That means in many cases over 20% of consumers are despondent with the service being provided to them and the long-term impact of that’s huge.

Retrieve data easily by integrating field service management software with your ERP. This permits service technicians to prepare more effectively for a service visit and increase first-time fix rates. They’ll view all tasks scheduled for any given day, week, or month. For individual tasks, the service technician can see the scheduled time, location, planned material and messages from the dispatcher.

Invoicing

Are manual processes, paper version of documents and unlink systems making invoicing a slow and arduous process? Data delays end in lost profit. If sending invoices out takes weeks after employment is completed it’s time to find a better way. Consumers expect to use modern, on-demand technology that permits them to self-serve.

Field service management software that includes a self-service portal, enables consumers to not only pay invoices online but encompasses all interactions with the consumer. This includes ordering services, consumables and spare parts to seeing all data about service items, upcoming or previous visits, documents, images etc.

If you’d like to know more about how Multiable ERP system can help your business grow, contact for a free consultation with one of our experts at Multiable.