Field Service Management: What It Is and Why You Need It

Field Service Management, or FSM, is an essential aspect of countless businesses – but many of those fail to incorporate the right tools for the job. If you run a business which involves having teams out in the field, such as service engineers, a quality FSM provision can literally transform the way in which you operate. In today’s article, we’ll give you the lowdown on FSM, and why exactly your business needs it.

Field Service Management 101

The entire concept of FSM refers to software systems like, like our very own AutoVu platform, that provides the logistical and operational help business with field teams need. There are many different industries that can benefit from a quality FSM implementation. For example, telecoms companies that need to install phone lines or repair exchanges; garages and mechanics that have field teams sent out to help broken-down customers; mobile nurses in healthcare business… the list goes on. As you can imagine, managing ever-growing field teams can become something of a problem without a scalable solution – and that’s where Field Service Management comes in.

The nuts and bolts of FSM

So what can a Field Service Management actually do in real terms? Well, the answer to that is: plenty! For most businesses that have field teams, the key thing is being able to keep track of open jobs and then assigning staff to take care of them. To make things as simple as possible, here is a non-exhaustive list of the things that a Field Service Management system can help with:

• Scheduling work for field teams
• Assigning specific jobs to field workers
• Managing job tickets
• Live updating of job tickets from on-site
• Capturing customer signatures from on-site

These are just the basics of FSM; as you can imagine, its role can grow and change as a business becomes familiar with the software.

The core benefits of Field Service Management

So we’ve looked at what FSM can do, so the next question is why? What are the benefits of installing an FSM system? Well, the primary goal of most companies that invest in FSM is efficiency and operational streamlining. Without an FSM system in place, everything has to be done manually, which is time-consuming and prone to errors. With a quality FSM system, the opposite is true. Jobs for field teams are tracked in real-time, and can be assigned to any available workers in a few clicks. There’s no more ‘round the houses’ as the head office team tries to find staff to fill job tickets. The beauty of FSM is really in the fact that it streamlines the entire process, from end to end. And that efficiency translates directly to lower costs and a boost to the bottom line.

Want to know more about the AutoVu FSM platform? Explore the site today and discover how easily both FSM and CRM can be managed by our cloud-based solution.