Field Service management (FSM) as a category is growing fast and is expected to rise exponentially due to enhancement of technology in this sector. Today, companies need real-time based solutions for the field teams, so that they can accomplish their task without any delay or interruption. Also, organizations are in need of solutions that can solve their specific demands that CRM and ERP failed to do – thus new Cloud based ERP and CRM solutions are becoming quite popular. Furthermore, there is increasing demand of low cost solutions among large companies as well as small businesses.

Cloud ERP helps businesses to improve their efficiency and productivity by offering proficient solutions such as work order management, inventory management, customer management, reporting, and billing and invoicing. These solutions are gaining traction in various industry verticals such as construction, oil and gas, security and alarm, transportation, and healthcare to name a few. Superior field service is critical not only to win customer loyalty but also to converting it into a strategic revenue center than a cost center. It can give you the edge you need to beat competition and become a brand of trust.

Field service management involves complex processes that span across multiple functions. It requires field service management team to have visibility of customer orders, service contracts and warranties, third-party service partners, logistics, technical support team, business analytics and much more.
Field service teams thus need an enterprise wide system to which provides single view of all the activities that each individual; group, department, or partner in the organization performs. Yet, only 10% of field service teams have any sort of field service management software in place today. Most of the work is managed with excel spreadsheets. As a result, field staff rarely has access to all the information they need to deliver superior quality service.

Cloud ERP which is enterprise wide on demand platform offers a solution to long neglected challenges of field services management.

1. Access to accurate data
Accurate data is backbone of robust and self evolving system. Traditionally data entry and reporting in the field is primarily done manually using excel sheets. Human error, lost paperwork, data entry delays often lead to inaccurate data entries which weakens the complete system and value chain.

A cloud ERP system access offered through browsers and preferably mobiles & tablets provides a robust technology solution to field agents even in remote areas. No paperwork, instant data entry, real time database sync, comprehensive reporting and single dashboard accelerate decision making and improved service levels.

2. Control cost of operations
One of the biggest challenges for field service managers is to control cost of operations. From service administration to dispatching and execution to warranty handling complete value chain involves cost of operations. Inefficiencies in warranty handling result in rework. Manually created schedules often lead to wasted trips, travelling expenses, missed SLAs which all add to the cost.

Cloud ERP provides for automated workforce scheduling. Workforce scheduling and optimization provides all the decision support, visibility, and control that service organizations need to optimize,
Automate, and monitor their field-service resources and control cost.

3. Meeting Service delivery expectations
Customer today expects the service delivery beyond what was promised. They demand not only the quality but discipline, transparency and predictability in service delivery. With manual operations it is difficult to keep track of expiring warranties, complaints, product returns and other service requests which often lead to delays, unresolved complaints and inconsistent customer experience.

With cloud ERP automated workflows and tracking, it is possible to streamline service contract and warranty management, complaints, returns and speed up overall service order lifecycle. This ensures SLA enforcement ensuring superior service delivery experience. With a single dashboard view, your business will be able to share all information across the business, achieving total transparency between all departments and view real-time information on KPIs.

Cloud ERP solutions such as ERP in Cloud caters for all of the processes necessary to support teams of mobile field service teams and enables organisations to perform all of the usual contract and SLA management functions as well as the core business management process across sales, purchasing, inventory and accounting. ERP in Cloud is a Cloud-based and accessible anywhere and anytime platform , and will optimise your processes, delivering field service management and giving you peace of mind for complete, end-to-end service management

For more information about ERP in Cloud product, kindly contact us on sales@erpincloud.com