Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service is used to manage the workforce by delivering timely products and services to locations, all in Microsoft Dynamics 365 environments. It adjusts to changing needs as your organization extends to new markets and can add workflows and detailed scope to your services.
Continually evolving factors make Field Service management challenging. Every job assignment decision must consider every detail to make sure you get the right person with the right resource at the right time. Some details to consider include field resources, location, customer availability, parts, job duration, due date, time window, and Service Legal Agreement among others. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service app can help you manage all of this in a more efficient way.
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Benefits of Using Dynamics 365 for Field Service
Since the goal of the Field Service app is to get all of the factors correct and in sync the first time, it can provide many benefits to your organization. For example, by optimizing travel time, there can be up to a 15% savings in fuel, vehicle maintenance and normal wear and tear. In addition, the Field Service application can decrease your carbon footprint with an average reduction of several tons per year per technician for greener efficiency.
Taking Advantage of Social Medias
Field Service leverages the power of social applications such as Skype and Yammer. For example, you can use Yammer to contact another technician about how the jobs went and then use Skype for real-time video conference. Another useful way to use Skype with Field Service would be for a tech service guy to call their IT manager about an issue that he may not know how to resolve. He could Skype with him instead and show him the problem live, which would ultimately save time. With those tools, Field Service provides customers real-time access via web portals and mobile apps by having all technicians using mobile devices. This not only makes the technician’s life easier, but increases the company’s efficiency since everything is real-time.
A Time Saving Solution
Field Service is an end-to-end solution that delivers advanced scheduling, inventory tracking, and asset management for service depots with in-field specialists fulfilling work orders and providing preventive maintenance across multiple sites under complex service agreements.
In the application, you can define proficiency and competency levels and set them as requirements for a work order. Proficiency and competency levels are part of the worker profile. This functionality makes it easy to create an appropriate match when scheduling resources. These can be defined and set as requirements on any work order to ensure the correct technician is scheduled for a specific job. Additionally, with a detached schedule, Field Service supports time allocation outside of a work order. For example, a field technician can schedule time for lunch or supply provisioning without having to associate that time with an empty sales order.
Project Service Automation Integration
The Field Service and Project Service Automation apps share a resource pool. Resource schedules appear in both, providing a simplified structure throughout Microsoft Dynamics CRM for multiple tasks and schedules.
Let’s say you have an experienced service technician who’s familiar with coding and development. You can book this technician for a service job or to update software. You can now use the same person for a new project that needs a developer. Since resources are utilized across both solutions and are interchangeable, you only have to update the skill set for that resource once.
Accessible on Mobile
An essential element of Field Service is the use of mobile applications. Without mobile availability, efficient Field Service would not be possible. For mobile devices, drip scheduling enhances and de-clutters the user experience by displaying fewer future work orders. It improves the dispatch control by limiting the number of declined work orders or change requests by field technicians., In the app, you can see the various record types, from work orders to scheduling board to resource bookings, monitoring agreements, accounts, contacts and even time-off requests. You can manage purchase orders, inventory transfers and inventory management, as well as return management and return to vendors.
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Who Uses Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service App?
All companies requiring on-site visitation are ideal candidates for this application. Some business areas examples are medical services, landscaping services, home healthcare companies, industrial services, utility departments, safety inspectors and IT technicians. If a customer calls with an issue, you can check the schedule to see who’s immediately available to go on-site to resolve it. This application will enable your company to be a lot quicker and increase your customer satisfaction.
How to Use Field Service?
Work Order Management
Service requests are tied to work orders and correct parts monitoring which improves inventory management. In the work order life cycle, they are created, scheduled, dispatched, serviced, reviewed or approved, invoiced and inventory is adjusted.
Resource Management
In Field Service, there are three primary resources: dispatchers, managers and field service technicians. Field service dispatchers are responsible for scheduling and need to manage resources and work orders. This provides for more work orders and managing resources with a minimum of staffing and overhead. Field service managers organize resources to ensure maximum efficiency.
The managers verify that dispatchers and field service technicians are assigned to the right place and inspect everything for proper alignment. They’re involved with the service tasks from beginning to end and a work order must first be reviewed and approved by a manager before being closed. Inventory managers are responsible for inventory, purchase orders and managed returns. The returns include return merchandise authorizations (RMAs), and return to vendors (RTVs).
Field service technicians can access the Field Service application from a mobile device while on-site. In the field, a technician is notified via email or text to check their job queue. They can quickly capture information that might be important such as tasks, product parts, notes, photos and even signatures obtained directly on the field on their device. This allows them to have complete customer insight, real-time guidance and cross-team collaboration. When the job is complete, a final status change displays in the Microsoft CRM application.
Inventory Management
Field Service inventory management oversees the inventory and provides updates and stock history for any warehouse, which can be company locations where inventory can be located such as actual warehouses, depots, distribution centers or trucks. Real-time updates ensure that your inventory is accurate and replenishment and purchasing can be done in the system or through integration.
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Conclusion
Dynamics 365 for Field Service is the ideal tool for any organization looking to increase customer satisfaction. With features such as scheduling, contract management and inventory management, users are able to significantly increase operational efficiency. Most importantly, they’re able to deliver better experiences for their customers. If you wish to learn more about Dynamics 365 and how you can get involved as a partner, download our complete guide here.
