It’s no secret that the demand for onsite services is rapidly growing—the global field service market is expected to boom to $5.1 billion by 2025. Customers expect to get precisely what they need, when and where they need it. Yet, there are many challenges for technicians: tools are too slow, data access is limited, many tasks require manual entry, and the list goes on.
So how are field service providers supposed to keep up with a booming industry when faced with these challenges? The answer is field service management software.
Field service management software helps address both of the top concerns of service organizations: ensuring their workforce is as efficient as possible, and meeting increasing customer expectations.
The benefits of field service management software and mobile apps come in many forms: they make field techs’ jobs easier, they increase customer and employee satisfaction, and they streamline internal operations. Read on to learn more about the benefits of field service management and how they translate to ROI.
Benefits of Field Service Management
By 2025, more than half of field service jobs will use advanced digital tools, including AR, cloud-based knowledge sharing, and field service management (FSM) solutions. A good FSM tool does more than just reduce paperwork and speed up billing to earn its ROI. It increases deskless worker productivity, improves the customer experience, reduces costs, and creates efficiencies that improve your bottom line.
Reduced Overhead Cost
Automated scheduling alone can greatly reduce overhead compared to manual scheduling. Field service management tools can optimize a deskless worker’s day so they can complete more revenue generating activities. Optimized travel routes, comprehensive customer details, and logic-driven scheduling all lead to better productivity.
Inventory is another area that can be more effectively managed with a field service management tool. View in-stock inventories and reorder parts with the push of a button. This saves the company shipping costs, helps avoid rush orders, and prevents the tech from arriving on the job without necessary parts.
A mobile-first field service management solution allows for route optimization, and it reduces fuel costs and wear and tear on company vehicles. The right platform can take into account traffic or construction to select the fastest route—and even which tech is closest if an emergency job ticket pops up.
Optimized Staffing
Managing a large deskless workforce and scheduling jobs can be time-consuming and complicated. Throw in an emergency job at the last minute, and it can be downright stressful. A solution that bridges the gap in communication between the office and the field offers a multiplier effect to a business. WIthout the need to re-schedule or call in additional staff, overtime costs are reduced and efficiency is magnified.
“Everytime you save a phone call, it not only saves that 30-second call,” says David Benoit, president of ServiceMaster Clean Vancouver. “It saves you the 20 minutes it takes to re-focus on what you have to do next.”
Accurate, real-time scheduling allows you to set up an efficient workday, minimize last-minute changes, estimate job completion time, and replace or add technicians to a job, all without interrupting business. It’s that easy.
