Equipment and supply management is critical to the success of any food equipment servicer. The stronger grip you have on parts inventory and the status of equipment, the easier it is to deliver the service customers love.
Unfortunately, if you’re trying to keep track of equipment and parts inventory on your own, work can pile up. Luckily, field service management software is made to lift the burden off your shoulders.
In this article, we explore four ways field service management technology can simplify equipment management and help food equipment service companies streamline their business.
Why is Proper Parts and Equipment Management Important?
Without technology, parts and equipment management can eat up your time and chip away at the productivity of your employees. However, it’s critical to any food equipment service company’s success. Here’s why:
It Influences Employee Efficiency
When techs head out to a job, information becomes critical to getting the job done. With efficient equipment management, techs will know the background of a piece of equipment heading into a job. With more complete service histories and a clear picture of the equipment’s lifecycle, they can diagnose fixes faster and increase the company’s first-time fix rate. All-the-while, having a more efficient team improves a service company’s relationship with manufacturers.
It Impacts Customer Satisfaction
In addition to improving your team’s first-time fix rate, parts management allows employees to explain the expected timeline and lay out the reasons behind delays. When they can accurately track parts and know what parts will be available when, it’s easier to chart clear timelines for customers. As a result, customers are happier and more likely to spread the good news about your business.
What’s more, having stronger data makes it easier to know when equipment is poised to break down. That way, your team can get ahead of issues, make pre-emptive maintenance checkups, and keep the right parts on-hand. Ultimately, these preventative actions boost customer satisfaction and put more money in your pocket.
Equipment Is Valuable to Your Customers
A piece of equipment is an extremely high-cost item for your customers. So they expect your team to help them get the most out of some of their most valuable assets. With efficient equipment and parts management, you have the knowledge to explain why a piece of equipment needs to be repaired or why it’s a smart option to replace it. In turn, customers can see how much you value their business.
Additionally, direct and proper equipment management will extend the life of the equipment. That gives customers a higher return on their investment. In turn, they’ll appreciate your services that much more.
It Informs New Preventive Maintenance Contracts
Software allows you to spot trends in equipment fault codes and better predict equipment life expectancy. That means you can schedule timely, efficient appointments and secure more service agreements. The more accurately you can track the life and status of equipment, the easier it is to set up service programs that benefit your business.
4 Ways Software Can Give Food Equipment Services an Edge
Wondering how field service management software helps push your business forward? Here are a few ways to use field service management software to improve your commercial food equipment service business:
1. Better Equipment Control
With field service management software, you can easily track equipment and monitor its condition. The software gives you a clear view of the lifecycle of installed equipment, which allows you to uphold service agreements and avoid any unexpected hang-ups that throw a kink in your scheduling.
At the same time, insight into equipment lifecycles improves customer relationships. People like to know why you’re making changes. Because you can easily explain why it’s better to replace equipment or conduct an upgrade, your customer will be faster to embrace change.
2. Easier Parts and Inventory Tracking
Field service management software automates inventory monitoring and parts purchasing. Besides lifting a huge burden off employees, parts inventory tracking simplifies work for the whole team. Because employees can see which parts are in stock, and the status of new orders it’s easier to avoid delays or communicate timelines to customers.
At the same time, techs are able to access critical customer and job information from their mobile devices, on-site. That opens the door to faster fixes and happier customers. Plus, because techs can submit purchase orders, payment is much more convenient for the customer, and you get paid faster.
3. Tech Tracking and Scheduling
Field service management software doesn’t just provide more control over equipment. It inspires better productivity all around. It allows you to see the status of jobs and receive real-time updates on a tech’s progress. That makes scheduling easy, so techs can reach more customers, and your dispatching office stays organized.
Also, better insight into all of the moving pieces out in the field lets you create more billable hours throughout a day. That means your team reaches more customers and finishes more jobs in less time. On top of increasing efficiency, software opens the door to electronic billing, which helps you get paid faster and see revenue sooner.
4. Spending Control
One of the biggest advantages to field service management software is the control it gives you over your finances. Here are a few ways such software gives you more control over the money you bring in:
- Create on-the-job invoices: With field service management software, techs can generate invoices on the spot. That means customers pay sooner, and they can see what they’re getting while new repairs are fresh in their minds. The result is more cash for the company and fewer billing disagreements. Also, software lets you generate an electronic invoice from the field or the office. With a clearer view of open invoices and late invoices, you don’t have to waste time playing collections.
- Eliminate double entries: When the whole team is working within the same software system, employees don’t have to bother entering the same data in multiple programs. That leads to less work, better communication, fewer mistakes, happier employees, and more accurate reporting for managers.
- Free up cash flow: Field service management software moves payments into a digital space that’s simply more efficient than manual accounting methods. Because you aren’t dealing with checks or collections, you get paid faster. The result is more cash on hand to improve the business and pay employees. Also, by creating a more efficient back office, you save time and cut down on overhead.
- Prepare for progress: With field service management software, you can see exactly where the money is flowing and identify any areas where it’s being lost along the way. Those insights allow company leaders to manage business metrics, dig into important KPIs, and improve the organization.
How to Choose Field Service Management Software
If you’re shopping for field service management software, it’s worth it to take a moment to pause, nail down your priorities, and research your options. After all, the software you choose now should power your business for years into the future. Here are some quick tips for choosing the right program:
It Should Be Scalable
It’s easy to forget about scalability as you’re shuffling through field service management software options, but it will be critical in the future. If your company plans to grow, you’ll want your software to keep up with customer demand. At the same time, you’ll want it to have the power to keep up with your organization’s new needs as they evolve.
Before picking software, make sure it’s and designed to scale with your business. Otherwise, you’ll be left shopping for additional software with new capabilities down the road.
It Should Be All-in-One
Too often, a company will pick up a simple field service management software program that doesn’t account for multiple use cases. In addition to leaving the team disjointed, having multiple systems creates several challenges that can hamper companies for years to come. You will save yourself headaches and be able to streamline your processes by picking software that’s all in one right away.
It Should Be Built for the Industry
The food equipment service industry is uniquely demanding, and it comes with challenges that are in a class of their own. That’s why it’s important to pick out software that’s equipped for the industry. The partner you choose should have a history of success in the industry and understand what you’re up against.
Use Advanced Software to Improve Your Business
The right field service management software will help you strengthen your business, understand your food equipment services, and streamline your processes. We’re here to help you along the way.
Davisware has a long history of helping businesses in the food equipment services industry use software to launch their organizations to new heights.
Want to see how our technology can improve your business? Schedule a demo today and see how field service management software works.
