RSMUS.comField operations involve hard physical costs – trucks, fuel, parts, tools, labor. Coupled with constraints such as customer access and availability, geography, spotty internet access, warehousing and truck inventory, resource scheduling, certification and licensing and more and there is no wonder that field operations can become very complicated and expensive. Most companies began with highly manual processes and basic tools, coordinating activities with spreadsheets, cellphones and sticky notes. Every day requires heroic efforts to deal with chaos and growth. Throw in some last-minute customer schedule changes, a few sick days or a broken-down vehicle and your field operations can grind to a halt.
Some of the more common challenges faced by companies with field operations include:
Limited visibility and coordination between field teams and office staff, leading to wasted time and resources. Managers have to manually plan, assign and change work orders, which can cause overbooking, underuse, missed appointments, and dissatisfied customers. Without a centralized solution, it is hard to arrange and monitor field work, communicate updates and changes, and ensure service efficiency, quality and consistency. Every “truck roll” is a high cost that includes physical and labor costs. A missed appointment, a truck that comes back full, a missing part that needs a second visit are examples of situations that create extra cost.
Poor customer ratings and retention due to bad service experience. Without a customer-focused solution, you will miss chances to satisfy and impress customers. Customers may feel annoyed by the lack of online booking, notifications and reminders, technician location tracking, online and well-documented trip reports and feedback options after the service. The best companies in the industry can simply utilize existing technologies to differentiate from the competitors who are technology laggards.
Revenue loss and other missed opportunities to generate more revenue and value. Without automation, data and insights, field service can be seen as a cost center instead of a profit center. Managers and technicians may not have the information and systems to take advantage of upsell and cross-sell opportunities. Every customer interaction on-site is an opportunity to understand, educate, impress and build stronger relationships with the customer. The inability to capture customer-facing activities while on-site can result in lost revenue, such as when a field technician has to “do the paperwork” days later at the office and forgets to bill the customer for extra work done.
Salesforce Field Service software tackles these issues head-on by streamlining communication, optimizing scheduling, and providing real-time data for both field technicians and back-office staff. Furthermore, RSM’s team of Salesforce consulting professionals bring their deep knowledge to the table, ensuring a smooth implementation and ongoing support to maximize the value of this powerful software. By embracing Salesforce Field Service and RSM consulting services, companies can transform their field operations into profit centers that deliver exceptional customer service and drive sustainable growth.
For more information please visit RSM Salesforce consulting services.
