FIELD SERVICE INDUSTRY
BY: ERIC WILLIAMSON
How Can You Meet Customer
In The Field Service Industry?
Expectations
Your Company Shouldn’t Feel Stuck Between A Rock And A Hard Place
LIKE MANY operating in the field service
industry, companies in manufacturing
and oil field service can face a variety
of communication hurdles. Such issues
include lack of mobile support at service
locations, siloed information systems, and
even manual, on-paper recordkeeping.
These
constraints—felt
by
both
providers and customers—stem from
a disconnect between how field service
operations are currently managed and
how they should be managed. When you
couple that disconnect with increasing
pressure from your customers to meet
their expectations, manufacturers face a
problem with no clear solution in sight.
With those challenges in mind, companies
have three main objectives when
conducting business in field services:
No.1 Connect the Employees
Whether they’re on the worksite or
supporting operations in the back office,
manufacturers should actively unite the
entire workforce, from source operations
to field service. This is especially pertinent
in terms of daily communications and
sharing overall project objectives.
No.2 Schedule Workforce in Real-Time
Companies are constantly looking
for ways to better service customers,
including getting the right resources and
technicians to customers at the right time.
Modern companies want to schedule and
dispatch work in real-time, so bundling
nearby field assignments and skill-
matching those to the closest technician
are essential. Increasing efficiency and
efficacy will always save time and money.
No.3 Boost Productivity Online & Offline
Going offline is sometimes unavoidable
in field services, depending upon the
level of infrastructure on the worksite.
Companies must develop ways to
equip on-field representatives with the
capabilities and knowledge to get the job
done, whether online or off.
With those goals in mind, Salesforce
tasked its team with developing an
in-field solution that could address
manufacturers’ challenges by delivering
8
faster, smarter, and more personalized
experiences to their customers. Enter
Salesforce’s Field Service Lightning, a
field service game-changer that addresses
the following concerns:
• Increases efficiency by booking
appointments
easily
and
automatically assigning the job to
the right field technician
• Provides real-time visibility by giving
technicians the ability to enter data
themselves in real-time
• Cuts costs with enhanced scheduling
and dispatching of resources
based on job type, skills, and travel
estimates
With Field Service Lightning—combined
with The Fury Group, a certified Salesforce
Consulting Partner in the Southwest—
field service manufacturers can cut
costs, streamline service, and strengthen
customer relationships by meeting and
exceeding their expectations.