Service companies of all sizes are faced with decision on how best to weather the economic storm currently affecting the US and international markets. What impact is this economic storm having on technology investment decisions?
By
Robert Hughes (Chairman/CEO),
FieldConnectRecent research papers published suggest most companies are continuing to invest in IT initiatives and are prioritizing their investment decisions based on what will produce solid cost savings and hard returns followed by
streamlining processes and increasing employee productivity. Other expected benefits include improved agility and enhanced customer loyalty leading to a compelling competitive advantage.
Several technology investments fit these criteria but for field service organization, Mobilizations stands out.
Mobilization offers companies a solution to address a number of critical business issues besides solid cost savings and hard ROI, including maintaining or improving customer satisfaction, retention and follow-on business. Specific business issues include:
• Eliminating paper and easing dispatcher duties – Real-time communications between all service stakeholders: customers, technicians and dispatchers.
• Enhancing customer satisfaction – More timely response combined with self-service equals happier customers.
• Regulatory compliance – Having complete information at your fingertips not only for audit purposes but in the event a customer wants to resolve an invoicing issue.
• Time to invoice – Typical 30 day invoicing delays can be reduced to real-time emails or daily system runs.
Today, business success is increasingly defined by how well you can satisfy customer requirements after the sale as well as before.
The timeliness and completeness of response is a key differentiator separating “best in class” from the average field service organization and ultimately impacts the bottom-line profitability. I have included the Gartner letter that speaks to this topic:
September 18, 2008 03:38 PM Gartner on Thursday said it wasn't ready to revise its IT spending forecast for this year, despite the current U.S. financial crisis. More CIO Insights"The U.S.-led economic downturn shows no sign of causing a recession in IT spending," Gartner analyst Jim Tully said at the time the forecast was released. "In subsequent years we will see reduced growth, but the fundamentals remain strong. Emerging regions, replacement of obsolete systems and some technology shifts are driving growth."Robert W. Hughes is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FieldConnect, Inc. Mobilizing Service management for MS Dynamics and Sage ERP. (Solomon, Great Plains and Timberline).
cell phone device, handheld device, handheld computer, "Palmtop" or simply handheld) is a pocket-sized computing device, typically having a display screen with touch input or a miniature keyboard. In the case of the personal digital assistant (PDA) the input and output are combined into a touch-screen interface. Smartphones and PDAs are popular amongst those who require the assistance and convenience of a conventional computer, in environments where carrying one would not be practical. Enterprise digital assistants can further extend the available functionality for the business user by offering integrated data capture devices like Bar Code, RFID and Smart Card readers. Items to consider when choosing one for your Field Service Mobilization solution include: data plan costs, geographic coverage, screen size and read-ability, input functionality requirements (i.e. keyboard, scanner, signature capture) and environment-specific usability. 
PCs operate much like a regular home or office PC, except it is specially designed to work in vehicular or industrial environments. Items to consider when choosing one for your Field Service Mobilization solution include: vehicle requirements, ruggedness, geographic coverage, screen size and read-ability, input functionality requirements (i.e. keyboard, scanner, signature capture) and environment-specific usability.
specific models. A tablet is similar in size and functionality but has the added functionality of a stylus to more closely mimic manual paper and pencil functions.Items to consider when choosing one for your Field Service Mobilization solution include: Ruggedness, configuration and peripheral support, screen size and read-ability, input functionality requirements (i.e. keyboard, scanner, signature capture) and environment-specific usability.
devices use cell phone-like technology to communicate with a server and a preconfigured timely basis for specific data points such as location (latitude and longitude), speed, vehicle status (speeding, idling, parked, etc). Some devices can even go so far as to report on all engine functions and even impact some of those functions based on server commands. Typically these devices are mounted to ensure proper vehicle tracking, but portable devices are also available. Items to consider when choosing one for your Field Service Mobilization solution include: vehicle requirements, ruggedness, geographic coverage, data plan requirements, frequency and type of information reported.
an effort to improve field service efficiency, resiliency, and competitive standing, real-time communications need to be maintained between all service stakeholders: customers, technicians and dispatchers. Yet currently most service organizations rely on manual methods for this “last mile” of service management. This creates unprofitable service organizations with terrible customer satisfaction ratings due to:
