Field Service Management Software: an overview of the benefits for businesses

With many businesses in different sectors facing increasingly complex field service management (FSM) operations, human planning is no longer an efficient way to organize time, people, resources and assets. That’s where field service management software comes in – streamlining and optimizing processes and ultimately saving time and money.

FSM software can benefit organizations in almost every business sector, including finance, insurance, oil and gas, security, healthcare, retail, facilities management and telecommunications. A best in class field service management solution will be capable of being tailored to the needs of the individual user, will increase the efficiency of mobile workers by increasing the number of tasks they are able to complete by up to 25%, and will can raise service level agreement (SLA) compliance by as much as 90%.

What can field service software do for the team on the ground?

On the workforce side, FSM software should automate and optimize planning and scheduling processes, and will have an AI engine that is powerful enough to take into account employee skills, availability and geographic location, as well as appointment and schedule changes. Even when your workforce is outsourced, the right field service management solution will give you monitoring and control capabilities. Whether your field service team is in-house or third-party, FSM software can ensure they always have access to up to date schedule information including route planning, a knowledge base of information and resources, and relevant details about each client and the job that needs to be done – including data on any parts or equipment they need – especially when your field service management solution is also capable of harnessing the power of the Internet of Things (IoT) and augmented reality, and lets you equip your workers with a mobile app that’s always updated in real time. Why is this important? Because a field service team empowered in this way gets the job done correctly, first time, more often. That means top-class customer satisfaction and a greatly enhanced perception of customer service.

The benefits of FSM for business operations

Security, data collection and management, and care and oversight of assets are all areas in which field service management software can optimize processes on the business side, automating and streamlining operations to bring real savings in terms of time and money.

An FSM solution that is integrated with in-house systems can automatically access and analyze data, offering suggestions to optimize things such as scheduling and inventory management and helping managers make better decisions and plan for the future.

At the same time, the ideal solution will automate maintenance, seeking potential issues that may be prevented with early intervention, and optimizing repair and maintenance schedules. All assets can additionally be tracked and traced, meaning that mobile workers always have easy access to any tools or parts they might need, and generating savings by cutting costs associated with lost or misplaced assets.

Finally, it’s the nature of field service that technicians need access to sites that contain sensitive data or equipment. With FSM software, you can ensure the protection of those resources by monitoring and controlling access, and automating real-time record-keeping about who has access to any given area, when they are there, and when they leave.