The last few years have sent shockwaves throughout the field service industry, and changing markets are bursting open new opportunities for organizations. Unfortunately, field service companies don’t always have the insights to see the most profitable opportunities right away. Worse yet, midsize and enterprise-level field service companies often come out of moving markets behind on their growth plans, with many of their business units lagging behind.
However, there is a tool leaders can use to easily identify which locations are profitable, which business units are struggling, and what opportunities each unit can seize to drive growth: all-in-one field service management software. In this article, we explain how to use all-in-one field service software to highlight the most profitable opportunities in the market.
How does field service management software open new market opportunities?
All-in-one field service management software makes it easy for enterprise-level organizations to spot and take advantage of market opportunities. Here are a few ways advanced field service software makes it easier to drive growth organization-wide:
Identify new trends.
The pandemic served up a reminder of how market disruption can sweep in and cause demand to shift. In the field service industry, many companies saw their clients reduce in-person services, temporarily close offices, or quickly move to offer quick-service or touchless options.
As the market shifts, all-in-one software gives users the ability to spot trends and adjust for more profit. For instance, advanced software will let you capture critical data as your team services equipment, including the equipment’s type, model, serial number, and failure code. This information tells you a story about each piece of equipment, so you know how likely it is to break down in the future.
By tracking equipment lifespans, your field techs have the information they need to decide whether a piece of equipment is better off being replaced or serviced. When they pass those data-backed recommendations on to customers, your customer base will reward you with repeat business. At the same time, this predictive approach to equipment makes it easy to make more profitable strategic decisions, such as choosing which manufacturers your company needs to become certified with to get the highest ROI possible.
See a clearer accounting picture.
All-in-one field service management software also gives enterprise organizations a major edge through accounting. Here are a few key advantages of using advanced field service management software platforms to handle accounting in-house:
- Report on profit by location. Some all-in-one software, such as GlobalEdge, lets you drill into the performance of individual companies and examine the unique factors influencing those specific units. By examining intricate field service KPIs within each business unit, you can spot the trends in those individual markets and adjust processes for more profit.
- Automate net profit reports. Some field service software will allow you to report gross profit, but only the most advanced platforms will provide net profit reports. These reports provide a clearer picture of demand as well as each company’s performance. With that data in hand, you have the info you need to scale individual business units efficiently.
- See WIP figures. Advanced all-in-one field service software will lay out a fuller financial picture, including work-in-progress (WIP) figures. That means you can see the total cost of jobs that aren’t complete yet—even for large projects that span weeks or months. Ultimately, that makes it easier to understand costs and plan for growth.
Use metrics to unify and improve companies.
One of the biggest dangers that enterprise-level organizations face is diluted culture or mission creep. Field service management software helps by providing important KPIs that business leaders can rally around. With metrics unifying teams, it’s easier to keep company culture aligned with the mission of the broader organization.
At the same time, software gives you the data to scale every company efficiently. With key reports at your fingertips, you can make decisions based on an individual branch’s strengths, weaknesses, and market. For instance, you may dig into an individual branch’s numbers and realize material costs are uniquely high in its region. In that instance, you may want to create a plan that reduces material usage at that branch, or you could exclude that company from any organization-wide processes that rely too heavily on those expensive materials.
Ultimately, by examining reports from each individual branch, you can create organization-wide efficiencies without triggering top-down decisions that stifle growth in smaller or different markets.
Get an inside look at the most advanced field service management software.
All-in-one field service management software can lay out clear opportunities for enterprise leaders, especially as markets shift. However, not all software will provide the same level of support and deliver the insights you need to scale your organization.
Davisware’s all-in-one software was built specifically for the field service industry. It’s designed to allow enterprise-level leaders to run, report on, and enhance the operation on a single platform. Want to see how the most advanced field service management software out there works? Schedule a demo now for an inside preview of Davisware’s all-in-one software.
