Improve Customer Service & Employee satisfaction with SAP Field Service Management
As a business you’re always on the lookout for innovation either for your end customers or the services/products you provide. But what if you could improve internal processes at the same time?
You can save time for your employees, improve communication, and provide your customer with impeccable online service. SAP Field Service Management allows you to do all those things: let’s explore the possibilities of this tool in detail, shall we?
What is Field Service Management?
Field Service Management, or FSM for short, is a cloud solution from SAP that focuses on all field service processes. With this you can optimize your internal scheduling processes, and digitize your workforce with a native mobile app. Additionally, your end-consumer can reap the benefits too, and take control of their own schedule with the website portal and they are also able to provide feedback, allowing you to analyze and report on your services based on relevant data.
Let’s focus on the basics first
When you buy a car, you want it for driving first and foremost: all of the other options are nice-to-have but they are not essential. The same goes for cloud solutions, with the added benefit that once you have acquired the most important functionalities it’s easy to add more features. That’s why I would like to focus on the three main functionalities I came across that fit together like neat little puzzle pieces for your customer service: the Customer Self Service module, the Planning and Dispatch module, and the Mobile Field Service Management module.
Simplified scheduling through automation
With SAP FSM, you can let the Planning & Dispatch module do all the hard work to help you find the best schedule for your service personnel. Imagine you are a company that sells printers and scanners. What’s more, you also provide a technical maintenance service to your customers. This means your technical teams are sent out to install and maintain machines in situ. Managing their schedule can be quite a challenge. Weighing skills, availability and location to name just a few of the factors that a planner needs to keep in mind. Based on predefined criteria – like location and skill set – and AI (Artificial Intelligence) your FSM solution does all the brainwork for you: it automatically creates the ideal schedule, so your technical personnel’s time is used optimally. Here you can also opt for a fully automated process or allow for some manual adjustments after the initial schedule has been generated because sometimes you need a human touch to keep everyone happy.
Field Service Management on the go
So now your planner person has the optimal schedule for your field technicians, but they need an efficient way to communicate this information to that particular person or team. Enter the Mobile Field Service Management module!
Your technical staff has got a mobile app – compatible with iOS, Android and Windows – on their phone or tablet which allows them to get their schedule automatically. They can consult this during the day to know what to do (hello checklist!) and where to go next. It also has some handy tools to help them do their job even better. There is a route planner which will show them the most efficient way to a customer, but also certain procedures or access to orders in case they need to order a spare part. End customer can also be notified by email or text message to indicate the technician is on its way. The app works online and offline, so even if the internet is spotty in their work location, the app will work. And after a signature from your customer, your technician is on their merry way to the next customer. This significantly reduces administrative tasks, which frees up operational time to keep your customers happy.
Easy, time-efficient way to report
Happy customer, happy business
Don’t you just hate when something breaks, and you don’t know when someone will get there to fix it? Well, to help with customer satisfaction a Field Service Management solution can include a Customer Self Service module. This module consists of a portal website or mobile app where your customer can schedule or update their own appointment, raise a question or submit a request. This way, there is an easy, time-efficient way for your customer to report when something is broken and when it would suit them for your technician to come and fix the problem. However, this module also allows your customer to gain access to relevant product information, helps them ask the right questions offers guidance by way of chatbot, and when they are expecting your technician, they are kept up to date with real-time ETA information via notifications.
Functional extra features of FSM
Satisfied with the essentials, but you want to broaden your FSM horizon? Don’t worry, there’s more. Allow us to introduce them to you in a nutshell:
Customer satisfaction is important, but do not underestimate employee satisfaction. You can empower your employees through knowledge and job success and limit return visits, thus gaining time. This module allows you to:
- Create documentation
- Create dynamic checklists to support your personnel
- Capitalize on knowledge
- Share data and increase transparency
Learn from you mistakes and do better, but it helps when you have sufficient data to progress your growth. With this module you create business insights so you can efficiently manage your field service operations through:
- An analytics cockpit, allowing you a quick view of your field service KPIs
- Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
- Customizable analytics
- Mobile access
All SAP FSM information is also easily integrated in your SAC (SAP Analytical Cloud) environment.
Level up your customer service with this module and make life easier for them, and for you. You can:
- Reduce breakdowns through automatic work orders
- Introduce alerts to prevent breakdowns
- Act when necessary to avoid unnecessary interventions
- Support your technicians by providing real-time equipment information
This module matches your business growth, and makes managing the necessary external workforce for you to get the job done by providing:
- A configurable registration platform for partners and freelancers
- Intelligent planning and selection of personnel
- Dedicated time slots for crowd workers
Conclusion
Field Service Management allows you to scale your business in the 21st century, so your customers and your workforce can get the best service and return, which ultimately includes an increase in satisfaction leading to a positive public image you can rely on to attract more customers and skilled employees. Win-win!
Want to know more about Field Service Management and which configurations are perfect for implementing into your company: start with giving one of our experts a call. They’ll be happy to share their knowledge and insights.
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