Three Advances in Technology Changing the Way Small Businesses Run Their Field Service Teams

Three Advances in Technology Changing the Way Small Businesses Run Their Field Service Teams

As this is a technological era so, to level the playing field between small-scale and large-scale businesses, technology is playing a huge role. Now, various technological advancements are taking place in every field to get the competitive advantages that it is difficult to ignore the impact of technology.

It also happens in the small business industry where they are using an array of technological advancements not only to improve their present operations but to make room for future expansion as well. You will be surprised to know that significant growth has been noticed in businesses only due to technology!

An era of technology is already here as a lot of businesses are using state-of-the-art technology not only to meet the current clients’ expectations but to get more efficiency and precision in the business. The businesses who fail to apply the advancements are lacking behind in every field as compared to the businesses who are enjoying success due to the applications of technology. According to the prediction by experts, technology has already changed the way of doing business but still there are the biggest advances that you will face in new future. This guide tends to highlight the most effective technology available in the market that can entirely transform the way small businesses run their field service teams. Let’s explore these advances in technology in detail!

1. Preventative Maintenance

In the business world, it has become mandatory to deliver high-quality products and services at a low cost. Maintenance is always the need of the hour if a certain piece of machinery or equipment fails to function properly. Now, technology has also changed the concept of maintenance by introducing preventive maintenance or smart maintenance so all the equipment can show 100 percent efficiency. Such maintenance is driven by innovations such as the smart systems, Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality, big data applications, mobile solutions, remote monitoring and much more. As a service business owner, you can easily embrace preventive maintenance so that you can manage your field service teams properly. There are many benefits that preventive maintenance can provide to a business. These include:

• Increase productivity
• Few major repairs
• Limits overall maintenance cost
• Increase asset life
• Serves as a cost-saving investment

Smart Systems

There are various smart systems out there that have the capability to predict the maintenance before the actual issue arises. These smart-systems can make relationships with your customers better as there are scheduled check-ups instead of customers calling someone in an emergency situation.

Internet of Things (IoT)

Along with the smart systems, there is another technology that can ensure preventive maintenance. An Internet of Things (IoT) system is a set of digital machines as well as computing systems that can exchange the data over the network without the need of human-to-computer or human-to-human interaction. This IoT wave can assist your business a lot in transferring the data with other connected devices to gain insight over a range of equipment. In addition, you can take advantage of the smart machines and connected devices not only for increasing safety and security but to develop new business models and improve business endeavors. 

Remote Monitoring

The field service businesses have to manage the company resources through a mobile workforce. They have to manage the field operations including the automation of various tasks such as scheduling service orders, dispatching work or locating vehicles. Moreover, such businesses also need to manage the task of accounting, billing as well as inventory. Now, to keep an eye on the systems, you can introduce remote monitoring in your service business. 

Do you know remote monitoring is opening up new avenues for small businesses in delivering the service and expertise to their customers?

Yes! It is true! It is the remote monitoring that can allow you to monitor the operational activities of the field team using remote devices. Remote monitoring can minimize the network downtime as it resolves the storage or network problems ahead of time, ensuring preventive maintenance. 

2. Mobile-Friendly Technology

According to the recent research by Verizon Telematics, about two-thirds of consumers do not like to take the services of home service professionals if he is not technical or expert in his field!

Time is changing constantly and so is the technology. Now, the businesses, either small or large-scale, are looking towards mobile solutions to run their teams productively. More than 70 percent of businesses are using mobile technology to increase the rate of employees’ productivity along with customer satisfaction.

Equipping the workforce with suitable mobile-friendly technology

To ensure efficiency and convenience in the customer end, the field service businesses are using mobile-friendly technology. As a small business owner, if you want your field service staff to record important data while they are on-site, then you should definitely go for embracing mobile technology. With the help of this technology, you can not only equip your field service technicians with the proper technology but can also improve your transactions to get smooth as well as an effective business. The other benefits of using mobile-friendly technology in your service business are:

• Ensures better coordination between the on-field workers and the team members
• Improves responsiveness
• Enhances productivity
• Saves time and reduces operational costs
• Ability to work from anywhere

Moreover, to take full advantage of mobile technology, you need to overcome the challenges related to hardware as well as software. You need to make sure that the software your field teams are going to use can automate the overall process of collecting data, signatures, dispatching, creating an invoice or not. You also need to make sure that whether the systems can follow-up the appointments or not. To make your field service technicians track the daily appointments in a better way, you can use various cloud software tools as well as third-party integrations.

3. Virtual Reality (VR) Training

Time has come when there are new opportunities that ensure improved professional training as well as customer service. This advanced technological innovation that can facilitate the service business to run their field service teams is Virtual Reality (VR) Training. The technology of virtual reality is completely changing the way of doing business for field service businesses. It can not only help your business to train current employees but you can also give training to the new staff to work on equipment. 

Virtual reality training is an active learning environment that can not only train the employees but can eliminate the barrier between the actual reality and the virtual reality. There is no physical training environment as well as attendance of instructors, minimizing the cost of training programs ultimately. Moreover, field technicians can be trained before getting to customer sites. They can also get to know the site topology and can become familiar with the environment in which they will be working. Instead of reviewing the PowerPoint presentations or technical manuals, they can have a better understanding of materials and layout using virtual reality training. In addition, with this latest technology, you can improve the overall workflow of your business by streamlining the invoice and dispatch processes. 

Painting the full picture:

To get the most out of the technological solutions that have recently released in the market, it is vital to stay on the top of such advancements. These days, the small business owners are making efforts to improve their communication process with their customers along with increasing employee productivity. It can only be achieved by integrating the business processes with the technological advancements of the time. If you are a small business owner and planning to get the maximum benefit in the long run, you need to go for implementing preventive maintenance, mobile solutions, remote monitoring, Internet of Things (IoT) systems as well as virtual reality training in your service business. 

So, what are you waiting for? The benefits of all the above-mentioned technological advancements are huge. So, if you want your small business to run the field service teams in an efficient and effective way, you need to incorporate these technologies into your business.

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