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Q:  Who Needs Real-Time Service?
 
In the business environment today, successful companies are finding ways to cut costs and increase productivity while protecting - or rather enhancing - their customer service capabilities. Leading companies are using this period to gain advantage over their competitors by enhancing their service delivery capabilities, all the while being vigilant in ensuring investments bring the expected improvements.
 
In my experience, companies can recognize the following improvements as they gain the ability to deliver real-time service:
 
Reduced Operating Costs and Improved Cash Flow - When a technician can input the service details directly and immediately into your field service management system, service orders are more accurate and redundant paperwork and data entry is eliminated. In addition, you know as soon as a service order is completed, and can generate an invoice - including the customer's electronic signature - the same day. Timely invoices bring you revenue sooner, but can also reduce overall payment cycle time by preventing billing disputes since the customer can still remember the service call when they are asked to pay for it.
 
Increased Service Operating Efficiency - First and foremost, real-time service allows you to serve your customers "better, faster, and smarter." When you have the ability to efficiently manage your mobile resources, you can ensure the skilled technician gets to the right location, with the right part, on time. With the ability to see the actual location of your workforce and communicate with them instantly, you can commit to (and charge for) premium service level agreements.
 
Improved Productivity of Field Service Personnel - What does one more call per technician per week mean to you? How about one more call per day? More efficient scheduling and routing enables your technicians to spend more time with customers and less time on the road. Once on-site, your service professionals can spend more time doing what they are trained to do, and less time waiting on hold when they can directly access contract details, inventory information and service histories. Your technicians would also benefit from reduced paperwork that comes with electronic service orders and the automation of simple, yet time consuming tasks, such as updating current inventory status when a service order is completed.
 
Improved Customer Service and Loyalty - Whether you operate a pure service company or are responsible for maintaining and repairing products your company sells, you want to use exceptional service to cultivate life-long customers. When you can complete more calls on the first trip, and respond faster than your competitors, you will win more business. Real-time service gives you the ability to correctly set your customers expectations, and deliver on your promises.
 
Better Inventory Management - In the service business, you may have inventory in literally hundreds of places, from central and regional warehouses to each technician's trunk stock. When a call for service comes in you need to know now where the closest parts are to the customer. With real-time service you can find and track inventory as it is used and then dynamically replenish supplies, keeping just the right amount on-hand.
 
Improved Tracking and Visibility - When the entire service organization has easy access to real-time information, they are empowered to make decisions, solve problems and get the job done for your customers. Your customers also want real-time visibility of the status of their service calls, and a way to communicate without sitting on hold in your call center. Real-time is also the key to your future growth and profitability. With accurate, electronic data you can build a solid historical foundation for analysis and trending to help further optimize your operation. How Can I Provide Real-Time Service?
The advancement of technology has made the ability to provide Real-Time service a reality today. Consider the following advancements:

• Web-based software provides universal access from any computer with Internet access. Customers can initiate and monitor service calls, and search a knowledge base for self-help; technicians can update the system directly and immediately; remote offices can use the same system with no additional infrastructure investment.
• Wireless, mobile technology allows field technicians to work together in real-time with the central office. They can receive and accept electronic service orders, and directly access customer, contract, history, and inventory information.
• Integrated mapping and GPS allows dispatchers to locate the nearest technician to a customer, analyze skill sets, schedule and status information, and inventory data, and then assign the right technician that can complete the call quickly, on the first visit.
• Configuration, Automation and Interoperability of applications today allow for a high degree of customization by the customer, ensuring software facilitates the optimal work flow. The integration of various service components can automate simple, but time consuming tasks such as using service order completions to update inventory information. In addition, with XML data transfer capabilities, integration to back-office accounting or ERP systems or to other specialized applications becomes relatively simple.