30 ROI Ideas for Mobilizing Field Services

I was reviewing my notes from past mobile strategies workshops I have conducted for field services organizations and thought some of my notes might be useful.

First, what are service companies trying to achieve with mobility?  Here is a summary:

1. Increasing productivity – more average service calls per service technician in a day.
2. Improving management visibility into work done in the field
3. Efficiencies in
   communicating information between the office and the remote service technician
   or job site.
4. Efficiencies in
   planning and scheduling work based upon qualifications, location, parts and experience.
5. Reducing fuel costs.
6. Reducing travel
   times.
7. Reducing overtime
8. Using least cost employees and contractors
9. Increasing
   productivity – more average service calls per service technician in a day.
10. Increasing onsite product and service sales.
11. Increasing
    collections with mobile invoicing, mobile printing of invoices and onsite
    collections.
12. Improving
    inventory control and management – visibility to parts needed, the location of
    inventory and parts used on each job or service ticket.
13. Reduced risks by
    reminding service technicians of safety hazards and safety procedures on the
    job.
14. Improved customer interactions 

1. Eliminate time spent in the office re-typing data collected
   in the field
2. Eliminate time spent on the phone dispatching service
   tickets or work orders – both the time of the dispatcher and the time of the
   service technician: Dispatch electronic service tickets direct from your work order
   management system in the office with the mobile device of your service
   technician.
3. Save time finding each work location: Send driving
   directions, or links, in the electronic work order that work with the GPS and
   mapping software in the mobile device.
4. Avoid the high fuel costs incurred delivering paperwork to
   the office and picking it up: Synchronize the data direct from the field to the
   central database application.
5. Avoid the time cost transporting paperwork from the field to
   the office: Synchronize the data collected from the field with the push of a
   button.
6. Save time and provide better customer service by providing
   real-time access to enterprise parts, orders, and inventory data while in the
   field: Enable mobile access to customer history, product documentation,
   warranty information, inventory information, time sheets, work schedules and
   much more.
7. Save time with field data collection by using barcode
   scanners and barcode labels, or RFID readers and RFID tags on assets: A quick
   scan with a handheld computer can automatically display all stored information
   related to the asset for quick review, edits and additions.
8. Save time and reduce admin costs by creating and scheduling
   new service tickets direct from the field:
9. Provide immediate invoicing for faster collections and
   better cash management: Allow field tech to print the invoice on a mobile
   printer at the job site.
10. Save time and postage costs: Print the invoice and leave it
    with the customer at the job site, rather than wait and bill later from the
    office.
11. Document proof of work completed to reduce invoice disputes:
    Leave a GPS audit trail of where work was performed and include a time and date
    stamp. Digital photo evidence of before and after work is also useful.
12. Reduce the introduction of errors: Paper based systems are
    inherently slow and error prone due to human interaction, copying and
    re-typing. The more human hands that touch a paper form and add or edit data,
    the more chances that errors can be introduced to the data which will cause
    invoice disputes, inaccurate records and confusion.
13. Reduce administrative costs by ensuring complete data is
    sent from the field, as incomplete or inaccurate field data can take hours of
    work to track down and correct: Send data from the field and ensure it is
    complete with data integrity features on the mobile devices.
14. Reduce administrative costs by avoiding errors and
    misinterpretations due to poor or misread handwriting: Create electronic forms
    with pre-made options, check boxes and lists, and by using onscreen digital
    keyboards.
15. Reduce administrative costs by ensuring the accuracy of
    data: Validate answers in the mobile software application on the handheld PDA.
16. Reduce time on the phone and dangerous note taking while
    driving: Push documents directly from the office to the handheld.
17. Save time and fuel by providing electronic dispatch and
    least cost routing: Use vehicle and/or handheld GPS tracking to view your
    workforce locations. Smartphones with GPS functionality can display the location of the field worker to help managers better
    organize service responses.
18. Save time by developing estimation and job analysis mobile apps that can help field users
    make quicker and more accurate decisions and job estimates.
19. Save time in the field by automating business processes in
    the mobile apps: Mobile apps can be configured to perform all kinds
    of automated business functions, queries, computations and analytics.
20. Enforce quality work habits: Automate “best practices” into
    your mobile apps and provide visibility to managers.
21. Automate quality and best practices – Activate the
    appropriate business process based upon the data entered: A specific answer can
    trigger the required business process in mobile apps.
22. Reduce inventory loss – Avoid undocumented inventory usage
    and unbilled time: Enforce real time data entry before clock out or work order
    completion.
23. Improve job estimates: Require clock in and clock out on
    projects to document and analyze the accuracy of work estimates.
24. Improve technician training: Train new service technicians
    and inspectors with audio memos or video clips in the handheld computer
    application.
25. Reduce disputes by documenting deliveries and work with
    digital signatures, date and time stamps and barcode scanners on the handheld
    computer.
26. Save travel time and fuel cost finding parts: Query available inventory in
    nearby company vehicles.
27. Increase profit per customer: Use information in mobile apps connected to CRMs to up-sell more products and services while onsite with the customer.
28. Provider quicker and more accurate estimates: Query latest
    shipping status, schedules or inventory levels via smartphones or tablets while
    onsite with customer.
29. Increase warranty revenues: Include updated customer
    information on mobile devices so the service technician can sell
    warranty and maintenance plans, new products and upgrades.
30. Dispatchers with real-time visibility into job progress and status can more efficiently dispatch least-cost service technicians (contractors vs. employees).

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