Why Your Business Needs Automated Field Service Management
September 16, 2022
How FieldPLANR As A Field Service Management System Will Be Useful For Pest Control Industries
Executive Summary:
FieldPLANR is a complete FSM (Field Service Management) Solution that renders its services throughout the globe. It has helped a pest control company handle repetitive tasks like manual scheduling and invoicing. Our promising field service management solution is designed to run your pest control business more efficiently, saving you a lot of time and money. Our highly interactive FSM system automates workflow and lets you seamlessly create jobs & schedule visits.Challenges:
Our client was precisely looking for an all-in-one business solution that would take care of all business operations in real time. The company’s operations were entirely paper-based and they did not have an organized system to manage their workflow. There were increased costs and decreased values due to heavy reliance on paper and excessive manual interaction.
Moreover, the client was looking for a cloud-based system that would automate workflow, easily create jobs, schedule field visits, quote approval, task approval, etc.
Given below were the three most significant challenges faced by our client:
Fuel consumption
The company lacked an automated FSM software, leading to recurring visits to the field as well as office. The front-line workers had to spend many hours a day commuting from field to office, wasting a lot of fuel just like that.
Manual data processing
The company lacked an automated FSM software, leading to recurring visits to the field as well as office. The front-line workers had to spend many hours a day commuting from field to office, wasting a lot of fuel just like that.
Inept Scheduling system
The company lacked an automated FSM software, leading to recurring visits to the field as well as office. The front-line workers had to spend many hours a day commuting from field to office, wasting a lot of fuel just like that.
More challenges faced by client:
1.Time consuming:
The company’s primary focus was to keep their front-line workers out in the field as much as possible. Although, it seemed close to impossible because the technicians had to visit office every now and then to handle paper-work. The technicians would have to spend several hours a day only on manually entering data.
2.High dependence on paper:
The company was heavily reliant on paper and they did not have a proper invoicing and scheduling system to handle huge amount of paper-work, leading to wastage of resources.
3.Restricted financial management:
The invoices and expenses were manually entered into a database and it consumed a lot of time of the employees. The company did not have its own invoice management tool to keep track of the earnings and expenses of the organization.
4.Chaotic work environment:
The client required an overall FSM (Field Service Management) solution to look after all activities of pest control industry. There was complete disorder within the organization due to redundant tasks, uneven information flow, and complicated workflow management.
How the Product Helped:
FieldPLANR came up with a customized pest control software solution. Our complete cloud-based system made it possible for the client to take care of all operations like scheduling visits, tracking employee activities, managing invoices, and even contract management, all under one software. An integrated CRM helped to maintain client records, sales targets, calls, etc..
How the Product Helped:
Scheduling
The cloud based automatic scheduler removes the complexity of manual scheduling and dispatch. It lets you easily schedule visits from our drag and drop calendar scheduler. It enables you to instantly assign technicians, reschedule and close tasks at one’s own convenience.
Job management
With the job manager, you can create multiple jobs based on weekly, monthly, or annual contracts as per your customer’s requirements. It lets you access job status in real time without having to be present in the field.
Inventory management
The inventory management tool specifies the availability of inventory, provides low stock alerts, and even tracks complete history. You can always save inventory reports and analyze it in future to make accurate purchase decisions.
Other features that came along with the solution:
1. Save fuel costs with our route optimization tool. It is an intelligent feature that will let your field workers take the most cost-efficient route to diminish fuel costs and labor costs. It estimates the shortest possible path between two sites.
2. The field mobile app can be used by: field technicians to update assigned tasks; supervisors to track technicians on field and to review their work; sales team to create estimates, manage quotes and to update clients information.
3. FieldPLANR’s FSM software is 100% web based. It is accessible from any device, be it a cellphone or a tablet. Hence, increasing workforce productivity.
4. A mobile forms solution that comes with various forms to be filled by the technicians as well as the supervisor for an organized workflow. The forms can be preflight forms for technicians before the start of a project, to update site information, client satisfaction survey, job completion forms, etc.
5. Quote management system allows you to create your own customized quotes.
6. Reduce paperwork and errors with our automated field service management software.
7. Purchase order manager lets you create purchase orders to fill up stock and notifies you when the inventory is running low.
Results, Return on Investment, and Future Plans:
Ever since our client installed FieldPLANR field service management solution for their pest control business, they have been experiencing staggering returns. Each technician works an additional hour a day because they don’t have the need to visit office that often anymore. There is increased flexibility and greater ownership of roles within the organization. Also, the information flow is more organized and there is complete transparency between the workers.
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