Being Resourceful: Why Field Management Services Makes sense for you

Gone are the days when getting electrification or plumbing issues fixed in a building meant endless number of phone calls and long hours of waiting. And mostly at the end of this the issue may or may not be fixed. A myriad of issues from lack of accountability, coordination and centralized system for tracking and follow ups cause frustration and loss of reputation.

There used to be a number of issues like these with regular paper-based field service management systems, all of which contributed to the general inefficiency of the market as a whole. But organizations these days have become much more sophisticated as many of them have already realized the need to move to Field Service Management (FSM) software.

Today, Field Service Management solutions are being adopted by various industries for their field service operations. They play a very important role in enhancing organizational productivity and efficiency. According to a recent report by MarketsandMarkets the global FSM market is forecasted to grow from $1.58 billion in 2014 to $3.52 billion by 2019 and the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) is expected to be 17.3%. And the biggest market in terms of market size is expected to be North America.

That said, here are some reasons which have led to the expansive adoption of Field Service Management solutions by organizations and, of course, the growth of the market:

Real-time based solution – The technicians or the field service agents, as well as the providers, have real-time access to all the required information. The providers are always aware of where their agents are, what work they are doing, when they finish their work etc. So, the agents are always in contact with the providers unlike the old system of field service management.
Quick, systematic scheduling and dispatching – A service can be assigned to a field agent based on availability, location or manually by the manager. The field agent can be alerted to new work orders through SMS, E-mail or push notifications on his smartphone. Thus, service to the customers is made faster and more efficient.
Limitations of ERP and CRM solutions – There was once a time when ERP and CRM solutions had the upper hand in the field services industry. They could enhance efficiency by automating the processes and optimizing resources. But they failed to meet certain specific demands of field service management like scheduling, dispatching performance management etc. These demands led to the increased adoption of Field Service Management solutions and thereby increased productivity. And, of course, most advanced field service management software easily integrate with ERP and CRM solutions.
Reduction in operational cost – The overall cost of operations are reduced when compared to paper-based field service management. All the costs relating to maintenance and storage of paperwork and contacting service agents etc can be eliminated. Moreover, the costs involved in the process of a particular field service can be tracked easily because of the transparency of the solution. This helps to keep a check on costs and avoid redundancy or duplication. Also, its history can be tracked to save on inventory costs and even fuelling costs, by finding the most efficient way to reach the area of service.
Integration with mobile devices – It is important for the field agents to have access to information relating to their job or client while they are at their work. They may also need to record job details. Field Service Management solutions have the advantage of being mobile integrated and so all these activities can be done easily. Hence, mobile integration is one of the biggest factors that has contributed to the increase in adoption rate of FSM solutions.

These factors put together with the ease of use, really makes Field Service Management Solutions popular. Although, companies still use ERP and CRM solutions for managing field services due to lack of awareness.

FSM solutions help workers to collaborate and work effectively. They enable real-time collaboration among the field agents as well as the providers and thereby increase productivity and organizational efficiency. They also have features like automatic notifications, advanced GPS tracking, reporting etc. which further help in making work more organized and efficient.