The growth rate for field service is well documented and continues to be healthy for organizations. If they haven’t already, organizations are investing in technology to evolve their field service maturity further. What’s common to all field service organizations, though, is that their organizational maturity—and their ability to serve as a business differentiator—corresponds directly to the effectiveness of their technology. The more effective it is, the better the organization can support the broader business.
At
FieldAware, we measure overall field service maturity across two equally critical threads – technical maturity and operational maturity. Our experience underpins the value of an integrated Field Service Management platform as the source for bridging these two critical threads together, enabling organizations to create a true competitive advantage.
We live in an increasingly connected world. Our refrigerators can now text us when somebody drinks the last sip of milk. For field service organizations, tapping into this connected world and supporting end customers with these expectations are increasing in importance to maintaining a competitive edge. Field service operations are complex, with multiple elements feeding into the end-to-end workflow and relating to the business for more comprehensive business management decisions. Not surprisingly, no single solution can adequately address and manage all the aspects of an organization. The integration of other back-office systems of record to your field service platform is critical for achieving business success and driving competitive differentiation.
Digitizing the field service process is a heavy lift for any organization, but the potential payoff is enormous. Once a suitable platform is selected to transform the core field service processes and digitization and automation is underway, the next critical area of focus must be the integration of the platform into broader business systems and workflows. Organizations can expect an exponential return on their field service investment by extending their field service data and activities into other critical business processes such as finance/accounting (invoicing, collections, etc.), supply chain (parts management, asset management, etc.) customer support and sales.
Suggested steps for exploring deeper field operation integration include:
While this sounds like a simple step, it has historically been a step that can create friction and impede the overall process. Once completed, the path for creating cross-organizational integration is visible, and the ability to drive sources of competitive advantage is improved. Leading organizations derive a competitive advantage by extending the value of field service operations and the field technician.
Leading organizations derive a competitive advantage by extending the value of field service operations and the field technician.
Basic examples include:
