In this final article of this series, run in partnership with Trimble PULSE, we look at another two key areas where field service organisations, in particular those working in heavy equipment sectors such as construction, mining, and agriculture, are able to tap into the ‘long tail’ revenue of spare parts and revenue.

In the first part of this series we explored how your organisation can deliver faster service response times, more accurate service windows and improve first time fix rates by utiliing modern field service management solutions like Trimble PULSE.

In part two, we looked at how service organisations can increase the efficiency and capacity of their field engineers whilst also reducing their administrative workload.

If you missed those first articles you can get back up to speed with part one here and part two here

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#5 Accelerate the Service-to-Cash Cycle

The service-to-cash cycle can have a significant impact on equipment dealer cash flow. The gap between when a technician completes a job to when accounting receives payment and recognizes the revenue is often measured in weeks or months by service organisations.

Customers are less likely to dispute items on the invoice when dealers provide timely and accurate proof of service. Some major drivers of the service-to-cash cycle can be managed by automating the process steps following the completion of service.

The first step is the job documentation, which often consists of a paper form that is filled out in the field and later input manually by administrative staff into the work order and billing system, causing errors and delays in closing the work order.

Second, when a work order is closed, often the service staff does not have access to complete customer data, such as discounts, service contracts, or warranty information. Finally, when a customer receives an invoice, there may be little or inconsistent job details added, which leads to disputes and delay in payment.

With the Trimble PULSE technician app, job details can be accurately entered in the field against the work order segments, including parts consumed, photos, notes, and inspection results. This information is instantly visible in the back office to the person closing the work order, who can also see other relevant customer details including their service history, contracts, and OEM warranty information through integrations to dealer business systems. This ensures timely generation of an invoice which accurately represents the work completed.

#6 Improve the Service Experience Through Communication

Service organisations employing hundreds of technicians schedule and complete a significant amount of work orders with their customers each day.

Keeping their customers informed of the work status and changes is a constant challenge. Studies have shown that over 70 percent of customers prefer text messages for updates instead of phone calls, and 98 percent of text messages are read within 6 minutes of delivery.

With Trimble PULSE and the integration with MODERNTM, dealers can easily keep customers up to date through automated text communications triggered by changes in the status of a work order.

The integrated solutions provide automated notifications from the dealer to their customer throughout the work order execution, providing the customer with real-time status updates as the dealer performs service on customer equipment. The customer is automatically notified when the technician is en route and is provided with an estimated arrival time.

Additional notifications include when the technician has arrived on site, when they have completed the work, when service has been restored to the customer asset or equipment, and when delays occur in completing the work.

The integrated solution is easy for dealers to implement, requiring no change to existing technician and back office business processes.

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