How going digital cuts service costs for your business

Service companies can find customer visits made by technicians, engineers, auditors, inspectors, and delivery drivers very expensive. However, with the best field service management software, your business can fully transform its operations, work smarter, and significantly reduce costs through field service digital transformation.  

Service companies reap the rewards of paperless processes

Cloud-based field service management software is 100% cloud-based, which means costs associated with paper files, storage, invoices, etc., are instantly eliminated. By operating in a digital environment, you immediately reduce your carbon footprint. In addition, your technicians look more professional in the face of customers and make a better impression when interacting with them.

The time you save is priceless

Moving to paperless field service management has many advantages. Still, the benefit surpassing the rest is the time saved when software is used to automate operational processes. Time you get back in a day to focus on other (more important) things. Time that would otherwise be spent on monotonous tasks.

Make better use of space

Before field service management solutions, field service technicians had to drive to and from the office to get their schedules, customer information, and spare parts and to submit their work order reports at the end of the day. Let’s face it, that’s a lot of useless driving.

With the best field service management software, going to the office isn’t even required. Technicians are equipped with a mobile device and a field technician mobile app for their work order needs. Accessing their schedules and dispatches, messages, client information, historical data, and job-related notifications is done remotely through remote assistance.

Anything logged through the field service technician apps can be viewed by administrators and managers at the office in real time, so there is no need for technicians to drive back and forth. Once data syncs, it is available and accessible indefinitely from any device.

No more looking for lost or misplaced work order reports

Before digital field service management, the chances of the technician losing or misplacing physical copies were fairly high. Reports would easily get lost along the way with all the stops and driving they were making. Upon receiving the documents, illegible penmanship was another issue for admins.

With the best field service management software, field technicians submit information about work orders with the help of digital technologies. There is no need for paper and a pen, and physical copies can never be lost or misplaced.

Time is money

As cliché as that sounds, it’s the truth. Time savings mean less money is spent on unnecessary driving or lost field service work order management reports. Not to mention the money saved on office equipment such as printers, fax machines, paper, ink cartridges, and storage. Eliminating paper processes also frees up office space for other uses. With no filing cabinets filled with files and forms, you can maximize your workspaces to improve efficiency and productivity.

Speed up invoicing

Digitized work order management makes invoicing the customer faster. This means the service business gets paid faster for the work they’ve done.

More cost savings with streamlined operations

The latest advances in field service management AI let you adopt smarter ways to streamline operations and cut even more costs.

Optimized travel routes

Optimizing service routes with field service route optimization helps technicians work more efficiently in the field and reduces the overall cost of delivering a service. With field service GPS tracking functionality in vehicles and the ability to connect your field service scheduling software to apps such as Google Maps and Waze, travel distances are instantly reduced.

Praxedo’s SmartScheduler enables dispatchers to optimize technician routes in seconds. And technicians get updates in real time, significantly enhancing dispatch management. The SmartScheduler uses algorithms to adjust technician schedules instantaneously when unexpected events disrupt the original plan.

Reduced fuel consumption

Fuel costs are significant for field service companies with large fleets. Encouraging technicians to drive in more fuel-efficient, economically responsible ways can help reduce these extra costs. Your technicians will enjoy a smoother ride, and your company will reduce its carbon footprint.

Less phone calls made to the office

With fast and easy access to all the information they need through their field technician mobile app, technicians will make fewer phone calls to the service center. They are notified about schedule changes and emergency jobs on their mobile devices with the help of mobile apps. Instead, they can use field service call management software, such as Praxedo’s best field service management software, to interact with staff back at the service center in real time.

Improved customer relations

Mismanaging service calls can be costly, especially if customer problems are not resolved promptly. Unhappy customers will quickly turn to your competitors — at significant expense to your field service business.

Easily increase your first-time fix rate

Your first-time fix rate is a critical key performance indicator (KPI). When problems are not fixed on the first attempt, customers can become dissatisfied and switch to another provider. Multiple service calls to fix a single problem rapidly become a costly burden.

An Aberdeen Group study shows that even a first-time fix rate of 50% can lead to a 3% loss in annual revenue. Moving to software-driven processes dramatically simplifies and accelerates communications and spare parts management to improve first-time fix rates for service companies.

Avoid legal battles

Legal disputes are extremely expensive. With Praxedo’s best field service management software, technicians can complete work order service reports on the spot. They can even include date and time and location-stamped photos to prove that the work was completed within the agreed timeframe. Moreover, customer signatures can be acquired onsite as well, enhancing digital field services.

Empower your technicians

Let’s not forget that moving to paperless office field service operations and optimizing travel routes empowers technicians to become more autonomous and take more initiative. For example, technicians who save on driving time and work more efficiently can use their field technician mobile app to do additional work while in the field. Furthermore, happy and empowered technicians are more inclined to sell extra services during a customer visit. These opportunities create more revenue streams for your business and new customers that will likely turn into loyal ones, enhancing customer satisfaction.