Home » Streamline Field Service and Transform Your Business with IoT

Streamline Field Service and Transform Your Business with IoT

by Josh Santiago
12 minutes read

For most Field Service professionals, staying connected is essential to managing customer requests. The Internet of Things (IoT) drives an evolution of modern communication. IoT, in simple terms, is a huge network of connected things that collect and exchange data. Fortunately, there are several devices available in today’s connected world to manage operations and stay connected to customers. We’re not just talking about that smartphone in your pocket; we also mean the building where you work, and the vehicle you drive. Almost every aspect of modern life can be connected and managed from the Internet, and field service is no exception.

Move from Reactive to Proactive Field Service

“Field Service should be predictive, not reactive”

Although consumer applications, such as fitness trackers and self-driving cars, attract the most attention and can create significant value, Business to Business (B2B) applications will capture an estimated 70 percent of the value of the IoT. At the enterprise level, connected technology can improve the bottom line of your company. An intelligent CRM system, such as Microsoft Dynamics 365, can transform this data into actionable insights and predictive opportunities, then intelligently balance workloads with skills-based assignments and resource optimization. Service organizations can also:

  • Continuously monitor and collect device data for more accurate analytics
  • Detect anomalies through remote monitoring and provide proactive support
  • Perform predictive (instead of scheduled) maintenance
  • Proactively identify next best actions for maintenance and repairs
  • Leverage machine-to-machine diagnosis and self-healing

Detect, troubleshoot, and resolve issues early

Analyze the data coming in from your connected products, and use it to identify and solve problems.

Leveraging IoT enables you to detect, troubleshoot, and resolve issues remotely before your customers know there’s a problem. When an issue escalates, automatically dispatch the best technician and tools to deliver a solution.

Fix issues the first time

When a remote fix isn’t an option, use schedule optimization, performance indicators, and remote diagnostics to send the person with the right skillset, and the right tools and parts, for a first-time fix.

This solution helps you transform from a preventative maintenance schedule to predictive maintenance processes — and repair, clean, or replace parts only when needed.

Integrate new technology into your field service operations

Analyze the data coming in from your connected products, and use it to identify and solve problems.

Leveraging IoT enables you to detect, troubleshoot, and resolve issues remotely before your customers know there’s a problem. When an issue escalates, automatically dispatch the best technician and tools to deliver a solution.

Why is IoT so important to field service management?

  1. Automation and customer service relationship

Field Service automation software involves taking in sales or service data in real-time and transmitting it to a mobile interface. Through the interface, field workers can communicate in real-time with the home office.

Field force automation sales tools are more like a customer relationship management portal or sales automation portal.

  1. Inventory Management

Big data is quickly permeating throughout the field service market. Even small and medium-sized enterprises are taking advantage of the changes and advancements in technology to make small gains within their own markets. Many field service teams implement GPS tracking and mobile technology into their service models. Customers sign contracts and receipts on tablets and mobile devices rather than carbon copies on clipboards.

An internet of inventory pairs nicely with field service, giving inventory providers and warehouses smoother and more refined practices by automating the picking process based on the real-time needs of service units. This saves hours and floor space in the warehouse, decreases labor and error costs, and increases overall productivity.

  1. Reduced Costs and Maintenance
“One of the best ways to save your company and customers money is to fix the issue the first time.”

Technicians usually make one trip to diagnose the problem, spend hours looking through inventory or waiting for an ordered part and make a second trip for the final fix. IoT uses real-time, predictive analytics to determine which services are needed; therefore, reducing the need for technician billable hours, and reduces the time and costs of fixing the issue.

  1. A redefining of communication

Prior to this collaboration between field operations and the IoT, the development of Field Service Management (FSM) technology resolved some of the greatest challenges that field service operations (FSO) were dealing with by introducing automation in the field. Consequently, the possibility for human error was significantly reduced, while the probability of increased customer satisfaction and workplace efficiency grew substantially.

The increased efficiencies brought in by FSM technology-enabled FSOs to greatly benefit from this innovation, and the marketplace rewarded software companies that catered to this highly specialized market. This technology quickly became an indispensable tool for field technicians, managers in the head office and their customers.

The next phase in field service automation, which incorporates the integration of the IoT with FSM software, provides opportunities that go beyond the improvement of scheduling and dispatching service professionals and begins incorporating machine-to-machine (M2M) communication.  This new communication technique transforms the entire service industry.

  1. Preparing Ahead with Automated Data 

Automated remote data lets field service companies know immediately when performance is lagging or a future failure is imminent. In fact, Best-in-Class providers are 48% more likely than the Industry Average to send service tech providers based on automated remote data, which helps them get better at service delivery and execution. Not only can remote data help service technicians come prepared to solve customer problems, but it also allows technicians who may not be true experts to get the job done.

Because connected products generate and communicate data on their status, they give businesses greater visibility into performance data, like how and when the equipment is used. Connected equipment can automatically send alerts when it detects an issue, helping service organizations troubleshoot potential problems more quickly.

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