This article needs additional citations for verification .(June 2011) |
Field service management (FSM) refers to the management of a company's resources employed at or en route to the property of clients, rather than on company property. Examples include locating vehicles, managing worker activity, scheduling and dispatching work, ensuring driver safety, and integrating the management of such activities with inventory, billing, accounting , and other back-office systems. FSM most commonly refers to companies that need to manage installation, service, or repairs of systems or equipment. It can also refer to software and cloud-based platforms that aid in field service management.[ citation needed ]
Field service management is used to manage resources in several industries.
FSM software has significantly evolved in the past 10 years, however, the market for FSM software remains fragmented. The software can be deployed both on-premises or as a hosted or cloud-based system. Typically, FSM software is integrated with backend systems such as service management, billing, accounting, parts inventory, and other HR systems.[ citation needed ]
The large majority of FSM companies are fee-for-service and offer different features and functionality that vary from one company to the next.[ citation needed ] Whereas one company will provide most, if not all, of the desirable features in field service management, another will be missing one or up to several functions. Pricing is dependent on several factors: a company's size, business needs, number of users, carrier selection, and planned data usage.[ citation needed ] Some popular fee structures are pay-per-franchise, pay-per-use/administrators, and pay-per-field technician/employee.[ citation needed ] Costs can range from $20.00 per month for an unbundled solution that does not include carrier data charges to upwards of $200.00.[ citation needed ] It is not uncommon, although not always the case, for there to be other fees incurred with the use of the FSM platform; namely, fees for software, extra technical support, and additional training.[ citation needed ]
For the enterprise market, Gartner estimates that market penetration for field service applications has reached 25% of the addressable market. Software sales in the FSM market can only be approximated. Gartner's research puts the revenue for packaged field service dispatch and workforce management software applications, not including service revenue, at approximately $1.2 billion in 2012, with a compound annual growth rate of 12.7%. [1]
Companies are using mobile computing to improve communication with the field, increase productivity, streamline work processes, and enhance customer service and loyalty. [2] Field service software can be used for scheduling and routing optimization, automated vehicle location, remote vehicle diagnostics, driver logs and hours-of-service tracking, inventory management, field worker management, and driver safety. Mobile software may use databases containing details about customer-premises equipment, access requirements, and parts inventory. Some field service management software integrates with other software such as accounting programs.
Mobility can
Automatic vehicle location is a means for automatically determining and transmitting the geographic location of a vehicle. This vehicle location data, from one or more vehicles, may then be collected by a vehicle tracking system to manage an overview of vehicle travel. As of 2017, GPS technology has reached the point of having the transmitting device be smaller than the size of a human thumb, able to run 6 months or more between battery charges, easy to communicate with smartphones — all for less than $20 USD.
Logistics automation is the application of computer software or automated machinery to improve the efficiency of logistics operations. Typically this refers to operations within a warehouse or distribution center, with broader tasks undertaken by supply chain engineering systems and enterprise resource planning systems.
Total cost of ownership (TCO) is a financial estimate intended to help buyers and owners determine the direct and indirect costs of a product or service. It is a management accounting concept that can be used in full cost accounting or even ecological economics where it includes social costs.
Service management in the manufacturing context, is integrated into supply chain management as the intersection between the actual sales and the customer point of view. The aim of high-performance service management is to optimize the service-intensive supply chains, which are usually more complex than the typical finished-goods supply chain. Most service-intensive supply chains require larger inventories and tighter integration with field service and third parties. They also must accommodate inconsistent and uncertain demand by establishing more advanced information and product flows. Moreover, all processes must be coordinated across numerous service locations with large numbers of parts and multiple levels in the supply chain.
Yield management is a variable pricing strategy, based on understanding, anticipating and influencing consumer behavior in order to maximize revenue or profits from a fixed, time-limited resource. As a specific, inventory-focused branch of revenue management, yield management involves strategic control of inventory to sell the right product to the right customer at the right time for the right price. This process can result in price discrimination, in which customers consuming identical goods or services are charged different prices. Yield management is a large revenue generator for several major industries; Robert Crandall, former Chairman and CEO of American Airlines, gave yield management its name and has called it "the single most important technical development in transportation management since we entered deregulation."
Enterprise asset management (EAM) involves the management of the maintenance of physical assets of an organization throughout each asset's lifecycle. EAM is used to plan, optimize, execute, and track the needed maintenance activities with the associated priorities, skills, materials, tools, and information. This covers the design, construction, commissioning, operations, maintenance and decommissioning or replacement of plant, equipment and facilities.
Workforce management (WFM) is an institutional process that maximizes performance levels and competency for an organization. The process includes all the activities needed to maintain a productive workforce, such as field service management, human resource management, performance and training management, data collection, recruiting, budgeting, forecasting, scheduling and analytics.
DELMIA, a brand within Dassault Systèmes, is a software platform designed for use in manufacturing and supply chain professionals. It offers various tools encompassing digital manufacturing, operations, and supply chain management, including simulation, planning, scheduling, modeling, execution, and real-time operations management.
Appointment scheduling software or meeting scheduling tools allows businesses and professionals to manage appointments and bookings. This type of software is also known as appointment booking software and online booking software.
Employee scheduling software automates the process of creating and maintaining a schedule. Automating the scheduling of employees increases productivity and allows organizations with hourly workforces to re-allocate resources to non-scheduling activities. Such software will usually track vacation time, sick time, compensation time, and alert when there are conflicts. As scheduling data is accumulated over time, it may be extracted for payroll or to analyze past activity. Although employee scheduling software may or may not make optimization decisions, it does manage and coordinate the tasks. Today's employee scheduling software often includes mobile applications. Mobile scheduling further increased scheduling productivity and eliminated inefficient scheduling steps. It may also include functionality including applicant tracking and on-boarding, time and attendance, and automatic limits on overtime. Such functionality can help organizations with issues like employee retention, compliance with labor laws, and other workforce management challenges.
The rental industry spans many different types of equipment from tools to heavy construction equipment, aerial to vehicles, party and event to computers and test and measurement equipment and highly specialized areas such as Crane and Temporary Accommodation rental. In the UK and some parts of Europe it is referred to as the Hire Industry.
An integrated workplace management system (IWMS) is an ultimate software platform for organizational uses of workplace resources, including the management of real estate portfolio, infrastructure and facilities assets of a company. IWMS solutions are commonly packaged as an integrated suite or as individual modules that can be scaled over time. They are used by corporate occupiers, real estate services firms, facilities services providers, landlords and managing agents. Traditionally focused on supporting real estate and facilities professionals, IWMS solutions are becoming more employee-oriented, expanding their focus to include all building occupants and visitors.
Manufacturing operations management (MOM) is a collection of systems for managing end-to-end manufacturing processes with a view to optimizing efficiency.
TOA Technologies is an American software as a service company that develops, markets, and sells ETAdirect, a web-based applications solution for companies with small, medium, and large mobile workforces across the world.
Inventory management software is a software system for tracking inventory levels, orders, sales and deliveries. It can also be used in the manufacturing industry to create a work order, bill of materials and other production-related documents. Companies use inventory management software to avoid product overstock and outages. It is a tool for organizing inventory data that before was generally stored in hard-copy form or in spreadsheets.
Mobile enterprise asset management entails extending work processes for maintaining, operating, and repairing corporate or public-entity physical assets, equipment, buildings, and grounds through mobile technology. It involves managing work orders, such as service requests, by facilitating communication between a mobilized workforce and computer systems to upkeep an organization's facilities, structures, and assets.
Modular Mining is a privately held company that develops, manufactures, markets, and services mining equipment management systems, headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, U.S.A. Modular's DISPATCH Fleet Management System is available in eight languages, and has been deployed at more than 250 active mine sites; among these are nine of the ten highest-producing surface mines in the world.
ServiceMax is a Service Execution Management company. It provides a cloud-based software platform designed to improve the productivity of complex, equipment-centric service execution for OEMs, operators, and 3rd-party service providers.
ProntoForms is a Canadian app development business providing a low-code development platform for the construction of software and mobile apps. The application digitizes paperwork to complete forms on mobile devices, collect data, and send it. The company went public in 2005 and trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the stock ticker symbol, PFM.
The industrial internet of things (IIoT) refers to interconnected sensors, instruments, and other devices networked together with computers' industrial applications, including manufacturing and energy management. This connectivity allows for data collection, exchange, and analysis, potentially facilitating improvements in productivity and efficiency as well as other economic benefits. The IIoT is an evolution of a distributed control system (DCS) that allows for a higher degree of automation by using cloud computing to refine and optimize the process controls.