Why Your ERP Should Support Field Service Management

Your Field Services Team will maintain optimum performance levels with the right ERP.

Field Service Management has come a long way in the last 10 years, with the realization that real-time reporting and analytics provides 100% visibility of inventory and the ability to manage a full lifecycle for every asset.

The true value of field service management can be best realized with a robust ERP that supports scheduling and dispatch with a seamless solution. NetSuite’s custom-designed FSM is used by more than 10,000 field service professionals and administrators across a multitude of industries. Built on and for NetSuite, its FSM mobile app serves a wide range of industries which include: 

• Wholesale
• Transportation and Logistics
• Public Service
• Plumbing
• Manufacturing
• Information Technology
• Healthcare
• Food and Beverage
• Facilities Management
• Energy
• Construction
• HVAC

To evaluate what your ERP must have to effectively support Field Service Management, look for the benefits outlined here.

Productivity

Since field service ERP is used by all members of your organization, you want to ensure that the solution is accessible from any device, anytime and anywhere, for team members working on the road, from home, or in different geographical locations. 

If international expansion is in the scope, search for a solution that supports multiple languages and currencies. Other components to boost your productivity are workflow automations, alerts and notifications, document sharing capabilities, and comprehensive reporting. To aid your field services team in having to juggle multiple systems, search for a solution with pre-integrated add-ons and all-inclusive modules that cover all your management needs. 

Functionality

Good basic field service management software should have systems for scheduling, dispatching, job tracking, and invoice management. Even better are modern ERPs for field service which also have systems for inventory management, project management, route planning, GPS tracking, customer relationship management (CRM), and much more. Also note that the approach to building your field service ERP solution can greatly determine the implementation costs for each feature and ease of integration between systems. 

Technology

Solutions with a responsive design, intuitive interface, and customizable dashboards and widgets will greatly impact productivity. Field service ERP platforms that are easy for everyone to navigate on any device enhances overall efficiency.

Your choice of technology should provide market challenges and opportunities for expansion. A true Cloud-based design will allow for ‘anytime, anywhere’ user access and real-time data helping everyone to collaborate efficiently. Your best choice of ERP will allow customization of industry standard tools and easy upgrades that require little to no assistance.

Value

The value of any software can largely depend on the size of your organization. Some solutions become costlier as you expand, while other solutions have a cost-scale that reasonably matches the size of your company. Search for solutions that allow you to only pay for the modules you need, and add new functions as you grow. Avoid solutions with per-user fees on top of per-resource fees, as that unfairly charges you for the growth of your team. 

Many ERP implementations fail due to lacking compatibility between the software and the company’s needs. When evaluating ERPs for field services, search for a solution with time-tested, proven benefits.

Risk

Reducing risk is also important for data security. A well-designed Cloud ERP automatically saves all data on the cloud, where it is significantly less susceptible to ransomware. Cloud-deployed solutions also reduce the costs for backup and data recovery, because the data will always be updated and backed up to the minute. 

Above all, Cloud ERP for field service reduces the time and money spent on IT support and upgrades, as most updates are automated and require no on-premise action or system downtime. 

The field service management industry is expanding as is the rise in new technology. Your search for the right solution must begin with a strong understanding of all the different types and functionalities of ERPs for field service management.

To help you determine the best choice of an ERP for your organization, download the Conexus SG ERP Mapping Tool. It will guide you in defining the essential competencies and business procedures you need when choosing an effective ERP software solution for your organization.