Business intelligence is critical for field service management. Discover how to boost performance with real-time insight into your business using field service management software.
According to Accenture, when field service businesses focus on business intelligence, they see a 20% increase in operational efficiencies, compared to those that don’t.
Business intelligence improves all areas of operations… Because with real-time data and actionable insight, field service businesses can make the best decisions on efficient resource management and how to improve customer satisfaction.
Not to mention how you can improve financial performance (there are a lot of ways it does this – more on this below).
Given today’s volatile market, business intelligence is hot on the agenda for many field service businesses.
If you’re looking to improve business intelligence, take a look at this blog 👇
Quick definition: What is business intelligence in field service management
Business Intelligence (or BI) in field service management is the output of capturing, storing and analysing data on a business’s entire operations.
Collectively, this highlights:
- Areas of improvement
- How the business is performing against goals
- How customers perceive the business
- And so much more.
Ultimately, this information then shapes a field service business’s strategy – allowing you to seize new opportunities and pivot strategies if things aren’t going so well.
Improve field service management with business intelligence
In today’s fast-paced environment, field service companies are continuously looking for ways to improve operations and deliver the best customer experiences.
Business intelligence plays a key role here.
Let’s dive into why and how it's a must-have to gain a competitive edge. 👇
#1: Better reporting of overall business performance
With the right tools, field service businesses can run more accurate, reliable, and timely reporting. They can even visualise performance, seeing trends in past behaviour and then using this for forecasting.
This is why this is number one. Right now, it's essential to access real-time data to make decisions quickly and respond to changing market conditions.
Here are just a few examples of how it supports field services:
- Monitor your sales pipeline and identify chances to secure additional projects.
- Improve business profitability by seeing which jobs and accounts are most profitable and which lose money.
- Gain control over cash flow with real-time reporting of payments and outstanding debt.
#2: Generate more revenue with lean resources
Business intelligence maximises the use of all resources – stock, field workers' time, back-office administration, and much more – to reduce waste and generate more revenue with what you have.
This is particularly valuable during economic uncertainty because field service, like any other industry, needs to do more with less to survive and thrive.
Here are a couple of examples of how industry leaders are doing this with business intelligence:
- Set and track key performance indicators
- Gain insight into project performance and identify opportunities for process improvement.
In fact, with some bespoke-built field service management BI tools, you can even look into reporting on driver behaviour and where fuel and vehicle maintenance costs can be reduced.
#3: More easily track and hit customer SLAs
Retaining customers and winning new ones is a must-have for survival during turbulent times.
That’s why customer service makes it into the top three.
With insight into customer behaviour and preferences, you’re much better placed to deliver the experiences they expect – everything from service delivery to marketing preferences.
Plus, with some BI tools, you can even capture and analyse customer feedback, which you can then feed directly into business strategies.
Here are a few other ways it helps:
- Complete projects efficiently with inventory reports that prevent a shortage of supplies – and prevent you from over-ordering by just ordering what you need per job.
- Enhance service provision by flagging and resolving common sources of failure.
- Improve customer satisfaction by monitoring job response times and hitting SLAs.
So, how are field service businesses doing all this?
How field service management businesses boost BI
The key to all this is the data. More specifically, it's the real-time data that field service businesses want.
🔍In fact, 63% of field service businesses say that real-time data access and analytics is the most important factor to improving operations (Field Technologies Online).
So, how are industry leaders capturing, storing, and analysing this?
The answer: With the right field service management software.
Here are the key features they look for 👇
Resource management and tracking ⏲
The right tech should have automated reports built in that allow you to track and improve job performance on demand. For example, job response times, first-time fix rates, safety checks (like vehicle checks), working hours, overtime, and more.
You can even use it to check stock levels at multiple locations to make managing and re-ordering stock much quicker.
Mobile access for field teams 📳
Access to business intelligence software on mobile devices is a game-changer. For the engineer, it means they’ve access to real-time job information and customer data on their mobiles – allowing them to work effectively, even when they’re away from the office. And they can access the documents they need – like sitemaps and job sheets – and update job details and statuses instantly.
For those back at the office, it means you can see engineer’s locations in real-time and update jobs and customers, and even book them into nearby emergency call-outs – quick response times are a bonus for the customer.
Customer management 🤝
With access to stock levels, engineers' schedules, and more, field service businesses can take customer experiences to new heights. You can make sure:
- Jobs get done the first time with the right supplies and the right field staff
- Track and ensure job response times fall within agreed SLAs
- Identify common issues that impact the quality of service (like causes for failure in first-time fixes)
Financial reporting integrations 🔄
This is a must-have for financial reporting. You need tech that integrates with your account systems – whether it's Xero, Sage etc – because this helps to track customer account statements, track payments and debtors.
And, ultimately, it allows you to better monitor margins and keep costs within budget.
Maximising growth with field service business intelligence
So, to sum up, boosting business intelligence is a must-have for a field service business to grow – even without having to hire new field service workers or invest heavily in additional storage space.
With access to real-time data – all made easy with the right business intelligence software – field services can make instant data-driven decisions to streamline business processes, improve job profitability, and increase customer satisfaction.
Want to see exactly how you can improve business intelligence? Get in touch with our field service experts and they’ll show you how BigChange improves BI for leading businesses, across a range of field-based industries.
