Field Services: How to Optimize Resource Scheduling

Managing your field service operations requires nothing less than perfection because, as you know, the domino effect of cascading inefficiencies can bust a budget.

You might schedule an expert technician for a basic job while a more complex issue pops up elsewhere and your less experienced technicians simply aren’t qualified to fix it. Or maybe a lack of parts means frequent return visits, so you resort to overstocking parts and wasting money. Maybe customers complain about timeliness of service visits or having to explain their problem multiple times to different agents or technicians.

Learn how to optimize field service operations

How can you improve resource usage? Increase first-time fix rates? Boost customer satisfaction? While these are certainly big questions, thanks to modern technology solutions the answer to all of them is simple: implement an integrated field service solution.

We’ll share a few ways an integrated field service solution transforms your business below, and please join us for our field service webinar for a deep dive with our field service experts.

Watch Now OnDemand: Manage Your Employees En Route or at the Client Site with D365 Field Service
 

Now, on to some big advantages of Dynamics 365 Field Service:

Improve resource usage

When it comes to resource scheduling, travel time, and faster fixes, automating your resource management starts with the right software solution. With Dynamics 365 Field Service, you get:

• Accurate scheduling: Tailor your scheduling to meet your business needs, automating it as much or as little as you want.
• Reduced trips and travel time: Use automatic scheduling, AI-based recommendations, and real-time resource tracking to optimize scheduling and routes, reducing travel time.
• Faster fixes: Make sure technicians have what they need to fix the issue the first time, eliminating return visits (more on this in the next section) and unhappy customers.

Increase first-time fix rates

Higher first-time fix rates reduce expenses while making customers happier, but the issues that force return visits can be difficult to resolve. Dynamics 365 Field Service even makes it possible to leverage IoT so you can monitor and resolve issues remotely. An integrated software solution helps increase first-time fixes by making it much easier to manage a number of different factors.

• Customer and work order history: Give technicians instant mobile access to any information they need about the customer, past issues, and ongoing service requests.
• Equipment and repair information: Gather more information about equipment and common repairs, optimize parts inventory, and make it easier for technicians to access this information on site.
• Schedule the most qualified technicians: Use advanced resource scheduling to make sure you send the right technician to the right place on the first try.

Boost customer satisfaction

Another way Dynamics 365 Field Service is revolutionizing the industry is by making it possible to focus less on logistics and more on customers.

• Arrival times: Keep customers in the loop with the ability to track technicians in route and providing accurate ETAs.
• Convenient scheduling: Optimize your scheduling process with customers as well as internally. Give customers more convenient times and options for scheduling a visit – and do a better job of showing up on time.
• Communicate status: Keep customers updated about the status of their issue, what the next steps might be, and when it gets resolved. Automatically send them the necessary documentation and notifications.

Want to learn more?

If your business is looking for new solutions to help you meet long-term goals, Western Computer is here to help you understand your options and implement solutions that boost field service outcomes. Contact us today to see how easy it can be to empower your teams and drive more revenue.