Benefiting with Mobile Workforce Management

Smartphones have changed everything around us.  They have made it possible to have data on finger tips at all times.  The constant availability of connectivity has revolutionized the field service industry. More and more organizations are migrating their field force from paper based work orders to completing work orders using Mobile Applications.

Field Force Tracker  represents the best of the breed Field service management software. It comes with powerful field service mobile applications for iPhone and Android phones and tablet. Field technicians can perform most of the tasks using these applications.

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Understanding Benefits of Smart Phones for Field Service

Mobility, mobile workforce, and mobile workforce management software are all top of mind for today’s field service executives. After all, in a smartphone-saturated world, most companies rely on workforce mobility to some degree. But like many, you may wonder what exactly this all means. Are the terms interchangeable? Do they describe different aspects of the same framework? How do new technologies change mobile apps and services?

At Field Force Tracker, mobility is at the heart of everything we do. We believe in mobility as the great differentiator in field service. Crack the mobility nut, and everything else falls into place.

In the following paragraphs, we share real-world insights on modern mobile workforce management in the hopes that it helps you harness the power of mobility.

Defining Mobile Workforce Management

In an increasingly connected, mobile, and customer-centric world, modern mobile workforce management requires every field service organization to compete on the basis of satisfying customer expectations with frictionless, remarkable experiences. And organizations are now held to the highest standards set by the likes of consumer companies like Amazon and Uber. Simply put, answer the call for seamless, transparent, responsive service and real-time assistance—or go by the wayside.

Delivering on this mandate means every field service manager, dispatcher, and technician needs real-time access to the right information in the right context, at the right time. And they get that through mobility.

Mobility puts valuable information about parts availability, expert assistance, documentation about the problem or asset, and more in the hands of field technicians. But it also enables dispatchers and managers to receive real-time status updates from the field. With access to information everywhere and anywhere, mobility empowers field supervisors in many ways. They can confidently make real-time updates to schedules, locate a replacement tech to handle an appointment for a delayed technician, assign an emergency service call to a nearby tech, and even manage and train technicians in the field. And they can do this from a mobile device while in the field.

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So what software and technology is needed to enable mobility in the field? First is easy-to-learn software—built on industry best practices—that delivers accurate, up-to-the-second data to a well designed, user-friendly, continually updated mobile app.

However, savvy field service executives are connecting mobile device management, the Internet of Things (IoT), automated scheduling, and big data to further advantage. Smartphones connected to IoT sensors in homes, factories, and more provide technicians and scheduling software with real-time data and diagnostics. These sensors can even inform technicians about faulty equipment before a customer complains. With IoT and big-data-crunching capabilities, organizations now accurately predict service volumes and automatically schedule accordingly.

Barriers to Adoption of Mobile Solutions

With a clear imperative to deliver higher levels of customer service faster and better than ever, you would think mobile workforce management would be seeing rapid uptake. While field service organizations grasp the benefits of adopting this software, they must address a few issues on their path to modernization.

First are the typical difficulties that come with deploying new technology:

  • Getting buy-in to make a change
  • Ensuring proper deployment and integrations
  • Training employees to make mobility part of their daily routine

This brings us to the second biggest barrier: aging technicians who push back on new ways of working. Change isn’t usually welcomed by anyone, but older generations in particular can be obstinate about embracing new technologies. Getting these experienced, skilled workers on board is essential to success.

Finally, organizations cannot overlook the costs associated with a mobile workforce management initiative. The expense to introduce any new technology can spiral out of control if the project isn’t managed well and adoption issues aren’t overcome.

Deploying Mobile Solutions

Despite the challenges, mobility is a worthwhile and strategic initiative. Organizations that take a strategic approach to mobile workforce management can reap tremendous benefits. By adopting a workforce mobility solution that meets the most challenging needs of today and supports the field service organization’s future direction, companies can position themselves for ongoing success. Such a solution empowers technicians and managers to satisfy customer expectations for personalized experiences and rapid resolutions that set the company apart.

field service software for enterprise

About Field Force Tracker

Field Force Tracker (http://www.fieldforcetracker.com) is a leading global provider of its award winning mobile workforce solutions for service-based businesses of all sizes delivered as software-as-a-service (SaaS). Our solutions enable businesses of all sizes (from 1 user to 10,000 users) to meet the challenges associated with managing and running complex service operations. It helps in improving the productivity of their mobile workforce.

With Field Force Tracker, customers can create service schedule and route quickly, dispatch sooner, collect correct information at once in the field and invoice faster. The field service software makes it easy for users to eliminate waste, get more done in less time and be more profitable.

Field Force Tracker is a wholly owned unit of Rapidsoft Systems Inc. (http://www.rapidsoftsystems.com). Rapidsoft Systems, Inc. has its main office in Princeton, NJ, USA, a US R&D Center in Mercerville NJ, and sales, support and development offices in Palo Alto, CA, USA, Singapore, Dubai (UAE), Bombay, and Noida (India).

Mobile Apps Revolution in Field service

This is an era of Mobile apps. All areas of life are being revolutionized by the use of mobile applications. Smart Mobile phone are everywhere, and mobile networks have become very reliable. This is the right time to deploy Mobile applications for field service and benefit with increase productivity.   This article describes some changes how mobility will impact field service in the future.  Using information here, you can develop a case for field service software in your organization.

Moving From Paper Based Solution to Field Service Software

Service  companies are trying to move to electronic model of providing services. Paper based operation is too slow to address customer concerns. Field Force Tracker is the most comprehensive software for field service management.  It takes care of everything from customer management to the payment collection for a service company. By using this software, our clients can see major improvement in their productivity and the customer satisfaction.

The question is asked about what mobility will look like in future.  A recent study in field service technologies states that an interesting starting point for this is to look at what their survey respondents said when asked about why they were investing in field mobility.

The Field Service Technologies survey found that nearly half of all respondents state their primary objective with their field mobility investment is maximizing productivity. This was followed by 35% saying that improving the customer experience is most important.

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Benefits of Mobile Apps in Field Service

Whatever your reasons for looking at investing in field mobility this year,  You can always benefit by deploying mobile based software. Below we describe four ways to maximize  your advantages from any investment that you make in a field service software.

  1. Easy Integration With Existing Processes

Organizations with a team of workers out in the field often use a mix of different solutions and technologies to carry out their work. There are many different parts to the workflow and different systems are used to oversee these. This can often mean that systems are used in isolation and data from one system doesn’t always ‘talk’ to others.

Back office processes are essential to any service operation, so a field service solution which integrates easily with the existing systems is important. This means that all parts of the business and the workflow can be connected. There is visibility of the work and the day’s performance and decisions can be based on real-time information.

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  1. Make Better Use of your Existing Systems

Integrating with back office systems (such as accounting systems, ERPs or CRMs) means that the worker out in the field has access to the job history and customer records. They can get information about the job they are going to and also, if they need to, see what has happened before and why. Knowing the details of the job like this can make the difference between being able to sort out the problem first time or not. This means delivering better customer service, as well as reducing the need for further visits to fix the problem.

  1. Get Up and Running Quickly for a Better Return

With any new solution, how fast you can be up and running is key. A solution which integrates easily with existing systems will be far quicker to implement – a great benefit in any technology choice. Being up and running in days, not weeks, months or even years, means your business is not affected and you get a better return on your investment as it starts straight away.

  1. Keep it Simple

Managers and technicians all report that the difference between good and bad technology choices is often how easy it is to use. Taking time to learn new, complicated ways of working can mean that workers don’t like them and may go back to the way things used to be done or patch together their own way of working round it. With a solution that is easy to use alongside existing systems, the implementation is easier and the quicker people start using it, again the better the return on the investment.

Even if you are not 100% sure of your field service technology needs today and where to make that investment, with an easy to integrate solution you are able to future-proof your requirements because of the flexibility it can bring. It is provided via technology you already have – smartphones and internet – and upgrades, changes and adaptions can all be quickly and effectively made as your business needs change and develop.

For the best results, you need a solution that meets your business needs. Field Force Tracker helps field service companies simplify this decision-making of where to invest.

medical equipment software

Mobile enabled, cloud-based field service software was designed to provide ease of use with incredible flexibility. Along with the ease – and speed – of our implementation and the ongoing support service that we provide we enable companies to take full advantage of today’s mobile field service.

Field Force Tracker’s power mobile apps for iPhone and Android are available to all new and existing Field Force Tracker customers. They can extend the feature set with the enhanced mobile forms capabilities, and better system integration.  Field Force Tracker, a mobile enabled web-based field service management software, streamlines technician scheduling, dispatch, customer management, vendor and employee management, work orders, equipment maintenance, inventory tracking, contracts, estimates, invoices, payments and accounting. It is considered one of the most feature rich software of its kind.

About Field Force Tracker

Force Tracker (http://www.fieldforcetracker.com) is a leading global provider of its award winning mobile workforce solutions for service-based businesses of all sizes delivered as software-as-a-service (SaaS). Its solutions enable businesses of all sizes (from 1 user to 10,000 users) to meet the challenges associated with managing and running complex service operations. It helps in improving the productivity of their mobile workforce.

With Field Force Tracker customers can create service schedule and route quickly, dispatch sooner, collect correct information at once in the field and invoice faster. The field service software makes it easy for users to eliminate waste, get more done in less time and be more profitable.

Field Force Tracker is a wholly owned unit of Rapidsoft Systems Inc. (http://www.rapidsoftsystems.com). Rapidsoft Systems, Inc. has its main office in Princeton, NJ, USA, a US R&D Center in Mercerville NJ, and sales, support and development offices in Palo Alto, CA, USA, Singapore, Dubai (UAE), Bombay, and Noida (India).