If you’re a field service manager, you probably have a difficult task mastering more than one trade.

You have to schedule and coordinate employees' work activities, as well as the company’s vehicles and equipment like fleet managers, while simultaneously ensuring excellent customer service and satisfaction.

Dropping the ball on any of these tasks can directly impact the company’s revenue. That is a lot of pressure.

Well, thank goodness for fleet management solutions that have everything you need all in one place.

Let’s delve more into this and how it will help you up your field service game.

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What does field service management involve?

Field service management (FSM) is about the complete management of your company’s resources to ensure the fulfilment of excellent customer service. It involves the coordination of the work activities of employees, as well as the company equipment and fleet/vehicles and proper communication with customers. 

For example, a field service manager at an internet service provider company will need to dispatch skilled technicians to install or repair the internet fibre cable or other types of internet connection. In addition to this, they have to ensure that the right technician is assigned to the task and that they are equipped with everything they need.

For businesses with company fleets, field service managers also have to make sure that a vehicle is available for the mobile worker. Take into account that these technicians have to perform different tasks, at different times and in different locations. FSM is about seamlessly coordinating every part of this process for efficiency and success. 

Let’s break down field service management a bit more:

• Field service scheduling - which is arranging employee schedules, matching service appointments with available technicians and creating realistic work order completion timelines
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• Field service dispatch management - this concerns coordinating and monitoring the field service specialists when dispatched on their work assignment
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• Work-order management - this refers to the process of tracking service work orders from creation to completion and customer invoicing
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• Inventory and equipment management - this involves keeping track of any supplies, parts, products etc. for all the service tasks to be completed

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‍4 main challenges for field service management

Companies involved in the field-service business like professional plumbing, courier services, repairs and maintenance services, telecoms services and professional electrical services amongst other service businesses, face specific challenges relevant to their industry. To be successful these businesses have to combat the following four main challenges:

1. Poor customer service

Customer service is the lifeline of any service business, so ensuring higher customer satisfaction rates is the smartest way for businesses to stay ahead of their industry competitors. Any mishaps in field service management can instantly affect the customer service experience and can make a difference between a five-star review and a one-star review online. 

2. Tedious paper-based process

If your business has not gone digital already, it is a few steps behind its industry competitors. It’s time to digitise your processes, but many businesses find this to be challenging. This is because some FSM tools do not seamlessly integrate with the business's other processes.

Going digital and reducing the paperwork, is one of the smartest ways for businesses to keep up with their work from job creation to completion while keeping the customer informed at all times.

3. Inefficient routing

Poor scheduling and routing can crumble an entire business, and directly impact sales, profitability and customer retention. Most service businesses are challenged by employee, inventory and fleet management as this is a complex process.

When workers call in sick or require leave, the process of rescheduling can result in stress. So can the problem of products being unavailable or vehicles being serviced or under repair. Each of these problems can disturb a manager as they attempt to keep tabs on all these elements.

 4. Poor driver and fleet management

Field service managers can often struggle with the continuous fleet analysis necessary to ensure the fulfilment of any work order. Getting fleet management software allows FSM to track the relevant data concerning certain fleet vehicles, and makes it easy for those on the road and those in the office to secure constant communication. 

These challenges may seem daunting for any field-service business or management team, but did you know that fleet management solutions can help businesses streamline this process and easily combat each of these challenges?

We unpack this in more detail below:

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‍Fleet management solutions help businesses combat field service management challenges

Fleet management solutions can easily be integrated with FSM systems, for deliveries, service dispatching, asset management and healthcare/medical service providers and other services to ensure the fulfilment of excellent customer services. 

For example, if a business requires a task to be completed at point A only. Well, this can be effectively completed with advanced fleet management software platforms.

Here’s how:

‍Scheduling work

The right integrated technology can help a business schedule their technicians, couriers and other service providers' daily work tasks. It can help with effective task management, to ensure drivers complete work within their shift times, and start and end their route in the designated place. Regarding equipment, managers can dispatch equipment to ensure it gets to the designated location for a specific period.

Live tracking

Fleet management can be used to optimise routing and dispatching, making it possible for managers to monitor the planned and actual routes with live tracking. This real-time visibility of your service task process ensures the timely completion of tasks. Fleet managers gain full visibility of driver location, and can assign tasks to them while they are en route. Customers can also be updated on the progress of their delivery.

Mobile app for employees

Managers need to be able to communicate with their mobile workers, and a mobile app is the perfect tech for these kinds of businesses. With a mobile app for employees businesses can ensure they have continued communication with their employees on the road, can easily assign tasks while they are en route, and ensure there is no miscommunication. Employees also feel more empowered with an app because they can easily fulfil tasks with less frustration when there are changes to their routes or cancellations.

Customer notifications

Customers can receive information about the date their products will be delivered or when their service person will be coming. Customers can also receive notifications about when the service provider or delivery person is on the way and when the item has been successfully delivered or the service completed. This is a major advantage for businesses as it maintains customer satisfaction and good customer relationships, which will help with overall business growth and sustainability.

Data and software management

There are multiple types of field service management software on the market, but the best fleet management solutions can be customised to suit your business service delivery. The best fleet management software can do all of the above, and manage and store the advanced data for managers to compile reports about successful and unsuccessful delivery, hours worked by employees and other challenges faced when completing a delivery or service.

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‍Benefits of using fleet management solutions for your field service business

Fleet management solutions are one of the smartest and most effective ways for businesses to make their employees happier, and ensure satisfied customers and a thriving business.

1. Increased mobile teams’ productivity and output - Mobile teams can finish more jobs each day, and experience less frustration because of scheduling issues etc. This all ultimately results in more productivity and output.
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2. More tasks completed with ease - Managers get to easily eliminate dispatching errors, and ensure the right and equipped technician arrives on time, every time for every task
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3. Improved communication across teams - Get rid of the communication woes between the team in the office and the mobile teams. This has been one of the biggest challenges for fleet and field-service managers, this type of integration greatly improves communication between each team.
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4. Cut business expense - Managers can keep track of inventory and fleet, and effectively reduce business costs such as fuel, hardware & resources through efficient resource management. Moreover, with efficient communication.
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5. Better customer experience - Improved customer satisfaction often leads to more referrals and repeat business. With a fleet management solution, field services businesses can fulfil the promise they made to their customers, and ensure they get more customers.

Ready to unlock the advanced software, with a user-friendly app, and customisable features that are helping businesses get the best field service fleet management solution?

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‍Cartrack Field Service - one of the best field service fleet management solutions

Cartrack Field Service is the solution for field service businesses. This smart software does not depend on a tracking device for its function. This is great news for businesses because this driver-based software means you do not have to worry about tracking device installation or the integration of a unit with your vehicle. This means no downtime, it’s just plug and play — everything seamlessly happens.

This is how it works:

‍Cartrack Field Service web features for easier, faster task management

Dispatch managers or field-service managers use Cartrack’s Field Service solution, which is easily accessible through on web-based platform. This tool helps you manage your tasks, jobs, deliveries and drivers, ensuring everything you need, is all in one place. 

Cartrack Field Service users can easily set up new drivers using the “Advanced driver settings” on the app. This is where all the relevant information regarding drivers/mobile workers is uploaded and managed to ensure that the mobile worker is equipped and available for the assignment.

Here are a few of the popular features field service managers enjoy using:

1. Right person for the Job
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   A To-do list allows the users to select the type of task the driver/mobile worker must complete. At the same time, the Job selection/validation option ensures that users elect the special equipment or vehicle required for the job. The system automatically notifies users, if the selected driver is not licensed or equipped for the specific job selected. So you’ll never accidentally send your IT person for a plumbing job again.
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2. Faster job completion
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   Users can set priority for each job and set a time window for which workers can complete a service using the priority and time window. With fully customisable options, users can also change the priority order for jobs, and this is instantly communicated with the driver. In addition, users can either schedule new work and plans for drivers or select auto-schedule on repeat deliveries, pick-up or routine service using the pre-planning and auto-planning jobs option.
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   With Route optimisation - the system can design the best route plan for your drivers so that whenever you assign tasks to them, they get the time and cost-efficient route option.
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‍How Cartrack’s all-in-one field service app empowers workers and customers

Drivers, service providers and technicians are all empowered thanks to Cartrack’s all-in-one Field Service app. They see what tasks have been assigned to them, and can tick off items from their to-do list. This automates the entire process and gives you full visibility of all your task progress so you can complete jobs faster.

1. Empowered field-service workers
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   Drivers/mobile workers can simply sign in using either their username, mobile number or email address and their unique password. This one app is data efficient, and mobile workers can switch to low data mode whenever necessary. In addition to this, in areas where they may have no network, they can switch to offline mode. Whenever they take a break, they can upload the driver mobile mode to break mode, this also helps keep everyone else updated on availability and progress. 
   
   By getting instant updates on their job scheduling and information users can see all the jobs assigned to them. They get instant messages on job details as soon as the task managers make the updates, such as cancelling, or changing priority. With the to-do list feature on the app, drivers can tick off completed tasks, scan forms, and add an attachment or confirm proof of completion by getting customers to digitally sign through the app. This digitises your entire manual process for more efficiency and ends the headaches from lost paperwork. 
   
   Workers can also complete vehicle/driver pre-checks before starting a job to confirm what tools are required. This helps to ensure their safety and also makes sure that they don’t waste time by showing up on-site with the incorrect equipment.
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2. Enhanced communication with customers
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   Customers can receive automated emails/SMS notifications about when the scheduled service will take place. They can also confirm the completion of a specific service by digitally signing onto the app and completing a customer feedback form to help improve customer service.
   
   Since field-service agents can also (when enabled) instantly communicate with customers, they can also confirm the time, location and availability of any service. They can notify customers when they will be slightly late due to traffic and other delays.
   
   With customers/clients, communication is key so giving information about delays, changes etc. is one way to strongly impact them.
   
   Well, there you have it, a quick and seamless integration to your field service management via the web and a mobile app for field service workers. This simple but advanced tech is perfect for boosting business productivity and helping businesses achieve customer service excellence.
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‍Take any field service job from do to done the fastest way with Cartrack Kenya

Cartrack field service has proven to help businesses reduce fuel costs and other stress related to managing a field service team. With an empowered team, it’s your business's turn to shine with glowing reviews and ratings.

Let’s strategise on how you can master Cartrack Field Service to empower your team and secure customer loyalty with service excellence.

Contact us for a demo today