Michiel Toppers
Paper-free field service apps improve more and more. They became incredibly important to equipment-driven rental and leasing companies. Remote field service delivers many benefits, in particular if it helps you harness documentation for planning and execution. If your mobile app equips your remote field staff to a smooth work flow. For example, by receiving, managing, and delivering service-related documents and communications from your ERP system. You can establish an error-free, 360-degree digital loop. In addition it ends paper trails and digital information islands. Technicians can initiate, execute, and invoice in just about real time. As a result it boosts service and order-to-cash efficiency—both performance and profitability.
What companies with remote equipment service and maintenance processes ad needs for a paper-free field service app should look for:
Field service software built on a mobility platform that’s connected to ERP
Ideally, look for ISV software that integrates with ERP. In addition is has to have a paper-free field service mobility solution. And a built-in connector for the mobile platform and your system.
Mobile platform flexibility that lets you define how users work and with what information
We talked about mobile field service workflows in a recent article. In addition to seamless process flow, you’ll want your mobility solution to give techs information from the back office that’s molded to their specific jobs and roles, displayed in a device-friendly format. For example, a work order initiated by a planner should land on a tech’s mobile device as part of an intuitive experience, “packed” with automated steps and all relevant communications, ready to send and receive. As a tech complete steps, all information updates in ERP across all areas. It also updates customer-specific communications and invoices within the mobile device.
Ability to cover all angles of field service from a mobile app
Remote technicians can unify processes and communications per task and across your business easily if they can use their mobile device for:
- Time & Materials Registration
- Electronic Signature capture
- Formatted customer communications and invoices
- Mobile scanning to auto-register information
- Customer- and task-specific notes added by users
Action Management that automates sending and receiving documentation
Configure triggers to auto-send documents via email to customers, partners, or suppliers, including approvals, status, invoices, and notices for completions, delays, or requests. For example, when a tech pushes a button that completes a job, action management can be defined so that all job details and invoicing go to back office workers and even as emails to customers. It’s not enough to go digital—you can be paperless and still have too many hands inputting information and pushing buttons. Action management sharply reduces manual input and back-and-forth across teams, departments, and customers.
Document handling that empowers techs and reduces planning department work
Consequently, with the right app, techs can open documents linked to service task and equipment from mobile devices, and store pictures and other documents that transfer instantly to the back-office system.
There’s more ground to cover on this topic—especially around emerging technologies that are key to paperless field service that nourishes your full system. The Internet of Things, Machine to Machine, Augmented Reality are powerful examples we’ve discussed as part of a data-driven business strategy.
Interested in learning more? You can explore one app, DynaRent Mobile and our related fact sheets for Mobility. For your general interest, we hope you’ll also check out the articles mentioned in this blog.
And check back in next week as we continue our mobile field service focus—we’ll be jumping on the cloud and into analytics.
Michiel Toppers