Field service management has always been complicated and difficult, or at least, doing it well has always been complicated and difficult. It’s been getting more complicated with every passing year, and promises to be still more complicated going forward, what with the explosion of the “internet of things.” Companies have been offering more and more different levels of pricing based on services purchased, length of warranty, and length of contract, and that requires close tracking. They have also discovered that all their service data can be mined for increased sales. And increasingly, enterprise resource management has been going mobile, which can lead to delivering dramatically better and more streamlined field service.
Microsoft Dynamics SL, the project-focused business management solution for project-driven organizations, delivers field service management capabilities for small to medium sized businesses that solve field service headaches now and into the future. The capabilities in the base solution are all most organizations need, but if your field service management needs are unique or extensive, Microsoft Dynamics SL also offers four field service management modules that are available a la carte with the Advanced Management edition of the solution: Equipment Maintenance, Flat Rate Pricing, Service Contracts, and Service Dispatch.
All that field service data Microsoft Dynamics SL collects can be used to track customer choices and fuel proactive sales. Expiring warranties can be shifted to annual contracts, next-day service can be upgraded to four hour response time, etc. So Microsoft Dynamics SL can be used not just for field service management, but also as a sales tool.
Analysis of all that data can also tell you in detail what services, contracts, projects, and service providers are earning your organization the most net profit and the least, so that you can adjust quickly. Looking into the future, the “internet of things” may lead to proactive service, as parts will be able to alert your system automatically when they are failing or wearing down, and a service technician sent to replace those parts before customers ever even knew there was a need. Field service just keeps getting better, but you need the right business management solution to deliver it.
