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.
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