Field Service Management Module for Manufacturers

Over the past few years, news of digital transformation among businesses has grown exponentially. Those who don’t hop on the technology boat are destined to sink.

As companies adopt new technologies to match their services, they can provide a much higher level of service to customers as well as recruit employees who prefer to work with advanced software over manual paperwork.

In the digital age, clients and employees alike don’t have time to go through grueling administrative paperwork. This type of outdated solution prevents clients from receiving technical assistance exactly when they need it, while employees end up spending their day manually entering their hours and figuring out job site requirements.

An FSM system promotes streamlined scheduling processes, better training offerings for staff, and access to client data on the spot. Whereas clients will feel good knowing a company has put in effort and care when their order and demands are answered exactly the way they intended to be.

In regards to field service workers, first things first. Having an optimized overview of where your technician is going, what their skills are, what tools they require, and how long the travel time will take strategically enhances your workforce with efficiency.

Not to mention, you can budget accordingly once you know all this information and avoid unnecessary expenses.

As most of us know, finance is a crucial aspect of any business and when you’re providing a service that relies on client payments, having an updated system is honestly the only way.

When a technician goes to a site, an FSM system will easily allow them to fill out the information within the system and send an invoice at the drop of a hat. Instead of a 3-5 week waiting period for payments, clients can send over an invoice within an hour of the completed service. Talk about better cash flow!

Money aside, having a bird’s eye view of all other operations leads to better decision-making based on a thorough understanding of key performance indicators. Activities, commitments, service times, repair times, and hourly rates can all be viewed on a dashboard to provide clients and your technical team with the best possible knowledge and service.

No matter what you use technology for, security and safety - whether for data or people - is always at the forefront. For field technicians, this is even more important as they are often sent to areas that can be dangerous or require special precautions.

Certain FSM systems provide mobile apps where technicians can access checklists of safety rules, equipment and security measures before starting a job.

On the other end of the spectrum is data protection. More often than not, companies have sensitive information regarding their clients and it is important that this data isn’t misplaced. This is a top reason as to why companies should switch to a proper digital system and avoid the use of paper in any scenario.

Similar to how Epicor ERP enhances your core operational processes, FSM enhances customer satisfaction. Nowadays customers expect a certain type of service and without that level of satisfaction, you can easily lose clients.

An automated system for field workers will give technicians a dashboard of data where they can access all the centralized information of each client, enforcing a better service when on the jobsite.

A better understanding of the customer’s requirements and needs help technicians respond to the best of their ability whether it’s an installation, repair, or defective product. Once a technician has been made aware of the issue, he can communicate the problem to other departments and request another part, a different service, or pass it onto the account manager who can escalate the issue and solve it in a timely manner.