Guide to Field Service Management Software – Features and Benefits

Running a field service management business is an operations problem. By simply ensuring effective task management and execution, you can significantly improve revenues and profits.

However, manual workflows cannot achieve optimum efficiency. You may want to explore digitization using field service management software.

In this guide, we will explore how field service management software helps streamline field service business operations and best practices for adoption.

What is field service management software?

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Field service management software is designed to streamline and automate manual tasks across many operations, such as sales, marketing, inventory, routing, workforce management, and more.

For example, FSM software can understand and compare your inventory levels with market demand and current work orders to ensure optimum levels.

Data and predictive analytics can also help reduce equipment downtime and bench time.

For optimizing field service operations, consider these five key features:

1. Mobile app: Workers can access real-time information, messages, and updates about the job and share their location with the managers. 
2. Location intelligence: uses GPS technology to optimize routes and help assign work to the nearest available field service technicians from the job site while scheduling.
3. Asset tracking: keep track of maintenance records, analyze equipment performance to determine the next maintenance cycle, and keep inventory at adequate levels.
4. CRM Tools: automate job work creation, handling of information, updating workers, and managing customer service.
5. Invoice and billing automation: the FSM software calculates the bill based on worked hours and services chosen as soon as a job gets done. It will send digital invoices with digital payment options.

3 Ways FSM Software Optimizes Field Service Operations

FSM software uses a combination of latest technologies like GPS, data analysis, IoT, and more to enable field service operations as follows:

• Effective scheduling and dispatching

FSM software will consider the job required, which the customer shared asynchronously, and find a field service technician with relevant skills, ratings, proximity to the job site, and availability to assign the job.

It will share the dispatched technician details with customers and automatically handle rescheduled requests.

FSM software significantly improves first-time fix rates and reduces bench time for workers.

• Have real-time access to information

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FSM software provides features that enable real-time communication, such as notifications on mobile apps or sharing digital updates via photos, videos, and calls.

It helps with quick decision-making.

For example, if a customer has rescheduled their appointment, FSM software informs the assigned field service technician immediately to avoid wasting travel time.

It also provides real-time location of assigned technicians with customers to track worker productivity and ETA on the job site.

• Analyze operations data for continuous improvement

Field service management software has allowed data collection across various operational touchpoints.

For example, digital timesheets can help you understand which services are popular among your existing customers, create a profile of website visitors to target ads, track equipment usage data, or measure worker productivity.

This data is then analyzed, and you get practical insights into improving your operations to increase revenues, productivity, and efficiency.

Choosing the Right FSM Software for Field Service Operations Optimization

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Here’s a quick checklist to help you select the right FSM software vendor for optimizing your field service business operations:

1. Customization: To look professional in front of your customers, your FSM software should provide features that help you customize workflows and templates according to your brand guidelines.
2. Scalability: when you optimize your operations, you increase the bandwidth of field service teams and reduce their bench time. Due to increased work orders, you must ensure your FSM software can handle a surge in demand.
3. Software integrations: look for the number of integrations provided by FSM software to gauge how you can increase its capabilities by connecting with other software.
4. Location intelligence: FSM software should include GPS technology to help route and track workers' geo-fence job sites and optimize resource allocation and worker accountability.
5. Training and support: Check for support provisions because field service technicians may require training to onboard them into newly designed digital workflows. This support improves software adoption and ROI.

Conclusion

Embracing field service management software is pivotal for streamlining operations, enhancing productivity, and maximizing efficiency in your business.

With its features and benefits, FSM software offers a transformative solution for optimizing field service operations and driving sustainable growth.