CRM Chapter 8 Field Service

What is Field Service CRM?  The ability to effectively and efficiently deliver great service in the field that maintains and enhances customer relationships  Must be planned and managed as part of the overall CRM and incorporated into workflows and integrated with other departments

Field Service “Forms”  1) Contract Management/Service level agreements (SLA)  Warranty management, pricing and delivery  Tracking and renewing SLAs is challenge  2) Dispatch and Scheduling – Efficiently scheduling and dispatch of reps  Geographic proximity, skills, SLA communication, service evaluation, optimal technician routes, parts replacement  Scheduling models: Decentralized, Centralized, Optimized*

Inventory, Logistics, Parts planning  Managing shipping & receiving costs  Parts replenishment can be automated  Parts ordering can be done effectively, not haphazardly  Analytics can help control inventory costs by identifying which parts are chewing up costly shelf space

Other issues  ROI on field service is key  Billing, invoicing, order issuance  Remote diagnostics  Analytics  Cost tracking  Asset management  Repair management

Strategy  First key to success is field service strategy  Create best practices model  Increase productivity over time  Increase service satisfaction and up- selling opportunities to enhance revenue

Mobility  28% of all mobile workers are field service techs  Mobile technology: Pocket PC, Palm, PDA, Notebooks, Pager, Cell, Radio

Final Thoughts  Field service performance is important part of effective CRM and customer retention  What are challenges for field service?  In what ways have you seen field service delivered well? Poorly?