Every day, we make many decisions, both big and small. Field service businesses operating in today’s digital economy are facing one of those big decisions: Is it time to say good-bye to their disconnected, legacy solution and hello to a modern field services management solution?
How to Know It’s Time for a Modern Field Service Management Solution
It’s no secret that field service businesses come up against unique challenges, including scheduling errors, charge rates, traffic fluctuations and missing parts and warranties. NexTec’s Field Services Beginner’s Guide to ERP highlights additional challenges, such as:
- Disconnected Systems: Sales, financials, supply chain management and field services data reside in siloed departments, leading to lack of communication and slow decision making
- Inefficient Scheduling and Dispatching: Too many or too little, the number of appointments directly affect the field technician’s day—not to mention the bottom line
- Health and Safety: The pandemic ushered in new protocols for service workers and their customers to stay safe
- Inventory and Warranty Management: Field technicians are expected to know warranty information and have the right tools/parts at each appointment
- Field Communications: Office and field service teams communicate client information, parts lookup/ordering and scheduling changes every day via phone calls and emails, causing delays in response times
These challenges are amplified when field service businesses rely on a legacy solution, which affects their ability to provide an exceptional customer experience. And customer experience is directly tied to a company’s success.
A Qualtrics XM Institute™ Insight Report, which looks at Experience Management (XM) (or the monitoring of people’s experience with a company to spot improvement opportunities), found that “of the respondents who rate their company’s XM as ‘significantly above average,’ 89% report better revenue growth than competitors in the previous year, nine in ten report better profitability than competitors in the previous year, and 84% report better employee retention than competitors in the previous year.”
When field service businesses recognize that a) they must ensure “above average” XM to beat out the competition, and b) simplification through the right business software is essential, they will also recognize that it’s time for a modern field service management solution.
Enter Cloud ERP and Field Services Software
If you’re not sure exactly what a Cloud ERP solution is, here’s a simple definition:
“[Cloud] ERP software serves as a centralized platform for all major areas of a company, including finance, production, sales and marketing, scheduling, inventory, human resources, field service, and customer service. [Cloud] ERP systems are designed to connect all areas of the business and allow teams to share information in real time.”
The guide further explains that product, services, customer and inventory data is integrated, synchronized and available in one system. Many cloud ERP solutions provide industry-specific software for different industries, including Field Services.
With field services software, service businesses can monitor costs for every project through the integration of financials, field services and project management modules. Every employee—whether in the field or in the office—has Mobile Access to that data through a web-enabled mobile at all times, while corporate leaders have real-time, accurate data they can use to make informed and strategic decisions. Additionally, and as noted in Stay Ahead of the Competition with Field Service Mobile Technology and Cloud ERP, a complete Cloud ERP solution offers “scheduling, route planning/map integration, equipment maintenance, inventory management, billing, dashboards and BI capabilities… .”
Saying Good-Bye to a Legacy Solution and Hello to Acumatica Cloud ERP
Saying good-bye to a legacy solution is probably one of the easiest decisions to make once you realize it’s time. But finding the right cloud-based ERP solution and field service management software is not as easy…unless you know what you’re looking for.
Omni Cart Services, Inc., a company that cleans and repairs shopping carts, backroom equipment, condenser and HVAC units, knew what they were looking for, and they found it with Acumatica Cloud ERP.
Accounting Manager Jennifer Chuha says in the customer’s success story, “With Acumatica, we’ve been able to streamline our scheduling and dispatch tasks. We can quickly generate reports to gain an accurate picture of our current and future workload.”
President Keith Wolf says, “By bringing all of our business processes into a single system of record, we can eliminate duplicate data entry tasks and ensure that all our teams are working with the most accurate, current information.”
Acumatica Cloud ERP is a comprehensive solution that offers field service functionality, including warranty management, invoice generation, equipment servicing history, scheduling tools, contracts management, warehousing and truck inventory and more. You can learn more by downloading our complimentary Field Services Beginner’s Guide to ERP.
NexTec Group experts successfully guided Omni Cart Services, Inc. through their implementation, and we can do the same for your field services business. If it’s time to say hello to modern field service management software, like Acumatica, contact us today. We’d love to chat.