Salesforce has announced today the next generation of their FSM solution Salesforce Field Service. Which has been designed to equip field service organisations with the power of AI-powered tools to deliver trusted, mission-critical field service.

Built on the world’s #1 CRM, Salesforce Field Service includes new appointment scheduling and optimization capabilities as we see the fruits of last year’s acquisition of ClickSoftware bear fruit. The new release also introduces AI-driven guidance for dispatchers, asset performance insights and automated customer communications. In essence the launch comprises of an impressive suite of tools that each can play a significant role in helping field service organisations achieve the most fundamental and important aspect of service delivery – ensuring field service jobs are completed the first time, on time, every time.

When the pandemic first hit, many industries that send employees out to complete jobs in the field had to shut down entirely. But critical machinery still needs to be repaired—medical devices require servicing, air conditioning units need to be fixed and assembly line machines still malfunction. After getting over the initial shock of COVID-19, frontline workers got back to work and have been at it ever since.

"It is more crucial now than ever for field technicians to have the right information and tools to maximize equipment uptime and first-time fix rates..."

After an initial dip in March, Salesforce Field Service saw usage jump more than 50% between April and July 2020, and is actually now being used 20% more than at pre-COVID levels as companies and frontline workers scramble to clear the backlog of service requests created earlier this year.

It is more crucial now than ever for field technicians to have the right information and tools to maximize equipment uptime and first-time fix rates. This was the feedback that Salesforce heard loudly and clearly from their customers and they have reacted strongly to these industry requirements.

Leveraging the decades of industry expertise and innovation within their ranks, Salesforce have approached building their next-generation field service management product to help field service organisations overcome the challenges they face as we move towards recovery.

Some of these customers include:

GreenThumb (UK)

Greenthumb, conducts approximately 2.5 million lawn treatment visits to customers’ homes every year across the U.K. Just months after implementing Salesforce Field Service, Greenthumb started saving money—and the environment.

Smarter scheduling enabled their field crew to complete at least one extra job per worker per day, which generated more revenue. “By routing crews efficiently, we estimate it will save over £400,000 in annual fuel costs,” said Paul Edwards, Managing Director. “With no more need for paper work orders, we will cut paper requirement by three million sheets per year, which will rise as we gradually replace traditional mail with digital communications. In addition, working on a lightning-fast system has enabled our dispatchers to resolve customer inquiries an average of 45 seconds faster than before—going from seven clicks per case to just three.”

Best Buy (Canada)

Best Buy Canada is transforming how its 500-member support team helps clients with installations, repairs, and technical support. With the Geek Squad agents having access to the Salesforce Field service application on mobile, this helps provide greater visibility as clients receive real time updates of any schedule changes.

“With Salesforce Field Service, we will be able to optimize the efficiency of the team and improve the accuracy of when an agent is due to visit a client,” said Chris Sallans, Vice President, Retail Operations & Geek Squad. “There are now fewer manual processes for our Geek Squad agents, enabling them to spend more time helping clients resolve their technical issues.”

WBP Group (Australia)

WBP Group, one of Australia's largest, independent property valuation and advisory firms, needed to reshape how it operated to minimize contact between employees and customers in response to COVID-19. Service Cloud enabled the rapid launch of virtual valuations, creating a safe no-touch experience for customers and employees.

Salesforce Field Service has increased the efficiency of scheduling appointments for WBP and will be used in the future to manage valuations from end to end.

Want to Know More? As part of our beyond the headlines series Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News, spoke with Salesforce’s Paul Whitelam about the new release to find out more. Read that exclusive interview here!