Improve customer service and revenues as well as technician and vehicle utilization with Motorola and Zebra field service mobility solutions
All day long, your service technicians are out in the field, installing and servicing equipment and performing other functions on site at customer locations. It is this workforce that is your primary interface with the customer post-sale. The quality of the interaction between customer and field technician plays a major role in driving customer satisfaction and retention. And the efficiency of this field operation—which extends to drivers as well as vehicles—can have a significant impact on your profitability.
If paper-based processes are utilized in your field service operations today, technicians are forced to spend time in the office every morning collecting work orders, at the customer site completing paperwork, and in the office every evening to enter the information collected on various paper forms into the computer. Determining what tools and parts are required for the day's work is also a time-consuming task—and an error can result in a very costly second trip back to the parts warehouse and customer site, increasing costs and reducing customer service levels. In addition to reducing the number of customers per day that can be serviced, these manual procedures offer increased opportunity for data errors—including the inadvertent omission of parts that may have been used or an improper calculation of time spent on site.
With a Motorola/Zebra mobility solution in hand, your field technicians have the tools they need to act as efficiently and effectively as possible, regardless of where they may be or what task they need to perform. A Motorola mobile computer provides real-time voice and data communications as well as bar code scanning, signature capture and more. Now, dispatch can send electronic work orders to field technicians, anywhere and anytime—providing the dynamic routing functionality required to control mileage and fuel costs, while ensuring the ability to meet customer service level agreements (SLAs). A list of required tools and parts can be automatically compiled based on the work orders for the day and past service history for those customers scheduled for the day, ensuring that technicians have everything they need for the day’s work before they leave the office. Revenues are protected: the mobile computer can automatically track time on the job; parts can be scanned as they are used; and a scan of the bar code on the equipment to be serviced ensures that technicians know when work is in or out of either warranty or included on an existing service agreement. Sales are increased: The ability to provide technicians with a list of appropriate related products and services for a specific customer enables the enterprise to effectively enable this service-oriented workforce to also help increase sales.
Regardless of whether your enterprise is business-to-consumer or business-to-business, a Zebra mobile printer enables the on-site completion of end-to-end transactions. Technicians can provide customers with printed, signed estimates that authorize work as well as signed, completed work orders that provide proof of service, helping eliminate potential disputes. The ability to process payment cards on either the Motorola mobile computer or the Zebra mobile printer enables technicians to collect payment at the time of service. And the ability to print and place an information-rich, highly durable label on equipment that contains asset identification, the date of service, service specifics, company contact information and if applicable, next date of service, provides a value add for customers—and for any future technicians who might service that piece of equipment.
The result is a new level of efficiency in field service operations. The ability to complete all transactions on site dramatically improves field technician productivity. As a result, the same number of technicians can now execute more service calls per day, improving workforce utilization and customer service levels. The ability to accurately and easily capture all charges on site as well as enable cross-selling maximizes revenue. And the ability to eliminate multiple trips to complete service not only improves technician productivity, it also reduces vehicle wear and tear as well as fuel costs.
field service management | 
