Enterprise Resource Planning Systems and Field Service Management Software Open New Revenue Streams

The field service management market has seen steady inflation with the latest research that predicts a growth from $1.78 billion in 2016 to $4.45 billion in 2022. This growth influences more businesses to choose field service operations as an option when deciding upon their growth strategies. The world of field services is reaching great heights. In an era where there is an advancement in technology, the companies' main goal is to gain maximum profit through their services.

As of now, the companies have opted for new business ideas to cover the flaws which the existing enterprise resource planning systems were incapable. The ERPs' functions are unable to handle are mobile technician scheduling, contract and warranty management, and subcontractor management. an integrated field service management software solution helps in managing all these functions.

If these two business components can be combined together, field service providers can improve their offerings and thereby open fresh opportunities for revenue. The amalgamated solution can better the prospects for the future of the field service lifecycle entirely. 

No Standard Solution :

Even though the combined concept of these two business components sounds beneficial, it is not easy to bring two different enterprise platforms together. Integrating the two systems is not very simple. The solution is not a single step ahead. Combining the FSM software along with the other business tools can pose as a challenge.

There is no proper solution that can help all the providers. Field service software needs to be highly configurable. It needs to be flexible enough to manage data and business processes which is distinctive to each customer. 

The providers need to make sure that they are looking for a flexible solution that is capable of subsuming multiple services and is also able to accept configuration from their existing ERPs. For instance, there needs to be a solution that can combine its own core functionality with that of multiple independent software vendors. This would mean that those vendors can help with planning the integration plan. Each arm software builds around in a way that allows them to stick to their own identities and USPs while also help in facilitating maximum compatibility with central teams. 

Important Merging Points :

No matter whichever FSM solution is combined alongside whichever ERP solution, for the integration to run successfully, a few key areas needs to be considered. In modern business, data is immensely important, and this is held by the ERP solution. If the data is about the customers, suppliers, inventory, etc., which is accessed by the FSM platform, the chances are that permission is granted for data transformation. This is the reason why the decision needs to be taken on whether this function will be handled by the FSM software of the ERP will be allowed to control.

The other field which requires data sharing between FSM software and ERPs is sales and purchasing. The FSM software requires to extract information from the ERP to create invoices, sales orders and service orders. Then this data stores in the FSM. The alternative option is to take data from both systems, which will increase the complexity of the task and is also quite time taking. In this case, information about the price needs to confirm in the ERP before the FSM solution allowed invoice creation. 

We can also take stock as an example in this case. It will demand the on-site technicians to adjust their inventory levels in order to carry out their job. If the FSM software is able to modify the master data, then it will be easy to adjust the stock levels in no time.

The other example that we need to keep in mind is scheduling. The properly planned ERP solution, it provides visibility into skillset, availability and location as well as their holiday time. This will also help in changing customer contracts that might have a possibility to affect regular service. If there is no such holistic view, it will be difficult for the companies to allocate works to engineers. 

Another field that needs consideration is the mobile data requirements of on-site technicians. FSM data access considers important as engineers need to utilize these systems regardless of the fact that they have internet connection or not. Ithe data can be accessed without an internet connection, this will help them to work more efficiently, with the database being in sync with the ERP once there is an internet connection.

If we optimize and streamline all the processes between the two systems via the exchange of information that is quite helpful, then this will lead to benefits for the business and its customers. If less time spent on operations through optimized processes and also fast delivery services, the businesses will be able to achieve better revenue for their company. 

Conclusion :

With proper planning of FSM and ERP working together, it can open additional revenue streams for businesses which will help in gaining profit by increasing the expectations of the customers thereby helping in the growth of the business. If there is no effective solution, there can be chances of duplicate data entry and lack of visibility that will negatively impact the business processes. This will hamper the growth of the business and prevent the business from looking after the demands of its clients.

If the companies want to earn profits through their services they should look after the efficiency, easy use of technology and the access to information. 

Workforce Management Software Outlook 2020

The Marketing resource management market is developing and expanding at a significant pace. The marketing resource management is mainly a technology which is utilized to effectively handle individuals, related technology and operations, which includes production, planning and design of the marketing process. By using the functions, marketing departments can plan their budgets, specify the expenses and period closeouts.

Field workforce management solutions offer a mix of products and services which provide seamless interconnect between all the workforce management points such as time and attendance management, absence management, workforce scheduling, analytics, performance management, desktop and process analytics, and others. These solutions can either be integrated within one complete product offering or be opted as per requirement, making the implementation flexible for organizations.

The marketing resource management market is primarily driven to the rising demand of marketing integration with various systems that have paved the way for technological firms to provide marketing resource management applications in combination with project management as well as capacity planning. Even the rising diversity in delivery channels has fielded growth. However, the absence of application has negatively impacted the development of the marketing resource management market, considering the global scenario.

Regional Analysis:

The regional analysis of Global Marketing Resource Management Market is considered for the key regions such as Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, Latin America and Rest of the world. North America is the fastest-growing region across the world in terms of market share. Whereas, owing to the countries such as China, Japan and India, the Asia Pacific region is anticipated to be the dominating region over the forecast period 2018-2025.

North America is expected to be the largest workforce management market during the forecast period. The market in this region has been further categorized into the US, Canada, and Mexico. In 2019, the US-dominated the workforce management market, followed by Canada and Mexico. Rapid advances in digital technologies and the presence of early adopters in the region are some of the factors driving the growth of the market. Moreover, increasing mobile penetration and adoption of cloud across organizations are also some of the factors responsible for the development of the market. Asia-Pacific is expected to have the highest CAGR during the forecast period, 2020-2026. This means that the region has immense opportunities in terms of revenue growth. This is because more and more enterprises are looking for automating their workforce management process, therefore creating more demand for workforce management solutions in the region.

Impact of COVID-19:

The COVID-19 outbreak is causing widespread concern and economic hardships for consumers and business communities across the globe. As the governments make significant interventions in response to the pandemic, businesses are rapidly adjusting to the changing needs of their employees, customers, and suppliers, while navigating the financial and operational challenges.

Throughout January and February, a majority of the companies continued their business operations on-premises. However, March saw the industry take strict action to promote work from home, in sync with government advisories, to keep the working personnel safe, thereby accelerating the adoption of the remote working culture.

The outbreak of the pandemic has caused a slowdown in the business, which might lead to recession and reduced IT spending. Furthermore, it also caused many of the locations to close down their doors leading to an increase in the national unemployment rate. According to the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the increase in the unemployment rate during the COVID-19 pandemic is the most massive over-the-month increase in the rate since January 1975.

For businesses that are still operating, there is plenty of stress as they are coping with difficult situations such as:

• Operating from remote locations
• Confirmation of business continuity and employee productivity
• Protection of front-line employees who may still need to come into the workplace.

The small and medium-sized enterprises and the non-IT companies in India are some of the most affected during the pandemic due to the lack of knowledge and awareness related to collaboration and communication tools.

Coping with the situation:

Workforce management solutions and services are expected to gain opportunities from the remote workforce as the organizations strive to keep track of employee productivity and business performance. During periods of remote working, workforce management solutions help enterprise management and HR to track and optimize the productivity of the employees and maximize employee performance. Furthermore, it helps in forecasting employee requirements, creating and managing the work schedules, and analyzing performance.

The solution collects real-time data about employee performance, manages the company's resources from a remote location, helps in carrying out employee training, recruitment, management, and scheduling, and analyses and forecasts the productivity and business outcomes.

The ongoing spread and reaction to the COVID-19 virus in various countries across Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific are expected to cause a delay in the economic restart. However, the interest in workforce management solutions is expected to increase as a few corporate giants are planning to continue this work from home trend even after the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have reduced.

Growth and Forecast:

The high demand for automation across different sectors is propelling the adoption of workforce management solutions. This is expected to cause the global workforce management market to thrive at a 10.8% CAGR during the assessment period.

Workforce management systems offer valuable insights into employees' performance. Rapid industrialization is creating numerous job opportunities. Hence, the expansion of the workforce base requires a useful management tool. It is due to which workforce management systems are experiencing a high rate of adoption across different verticals. Thus, the global workforce management market is expected to witness a sharp rise in its valuation in the years to come. Additionally, the growing number of startups and the adoption of workforce management systems across SMEs is also likely to spur its market growth.

The Workforce Management Software Market was valued at USD 2.4 Billion in 2018 and is projected to reach USD 3.18 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 3.1% from 2019 to 2026.

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