Business owners are increasingly becoming aware of the fact that packaged software is not always a complete solution for every business. Since every business has different requirements, it is very difficult for one product to accommodate multiple needs simultaneously. Custom field service applications are designed to cater to your business’ needs, and to function exactly how you want them to, which can in turn simplify your business processes.
The rise of inexpensive and readily available mobile devices is making a custom field solutions app a viable solution for mid-sized and even smaller companies. And these apps are leading a wave of innovation in business processes. Custom field service applications offer a range of advantages that can ultimately help your business grow and function more efficiently. The benefits of using a custom field service application entails the following based on several field service industries;
Waste Food Collection Companies
A custom-built application has features and functions designed specifically for your business that can make a positive impact on your business. Today, waste food collection companies are beginning to customize field service apps to suit their business mission and vision. One of the benefits of using custom field service app is that it allows you and your business create an interface that suits your business work processes.
A good example is a waste oil company which collects the waste oil and the waste food of restaurants and also delivers vegetable oil for them. The difficulty was that it had to be done in 3 different documents, printed separately. Their specific request was that the user interface should be simplified to the most for the delivery drivers.
So, the solution was a custom app with one screen solution with three tabs. The tabs consist of Waste oil with only those products / Waste foods with only 1 product and the Sales with the delivery products. Another specific request was to remind the drivers if they didn’t collect waste oil. Are you sure you did not collect waste oil? And if they did, they had to take a picture of the invoice they got from the restaurant.
HVAC & Plumbing Companies
Accuracy and timeliness help to create and maintain strong customer relationships. Waiting and guessing will break customers’ willingness to hire your company. Also, it hinders the workflows inside the company. Another benefit of opting for custom field service app especially for HVAC & Plumbing Companies is that it allows you to optimize workflow without hindrance.
A great example is Hank’s Plumbing which has a team of technicians who service commercial and residential buildings for plumbing, HVAC, and gas fitting. The growing company needed to replace a manual paper system for work order management that was causing delays and inefficiencies. They implemented a customized field service apps to manage dispatch, invoicing and inventory, and make building information available on technicians’ smartphones.
Also, it helped Hanks Plumbing improve invoicing which is all automated now within the customized field service app, and is completed on field technicians’ smartphones. When a technician updates a call and marks it complete, the application creates the invoice, converts it to a PDF file and emails it to the technician’s mobile device, all within a few seconds.
Construction & Building Companies
Field service industry implies work with various types of data: daily logs, inspections, audits, estimates, invoices, reports and more. Field service apps offer the easiest and most convenient way to collect different data.
LVM, a division of leading engineering construction firm EnGlobe Corp., was faced with a difficult challenge: having only one week to define and deploy a custom mobile inspection solution. The division had a commitment to one of Canada’s largest retailers to complete building inspections of 380 retail locations across the country within a very short timeframe. For previous projects, Englobe had used paper forms to gather inspection data.
LVM evaluated several solutions and decided to go with a customized app that met their requirements for data collection, mobile information access, database reporting, and ease of use of the iPad client. LVM has gained a distinct competitive advantage by achieving real-time information flow to and from the field. They were able to achieve better visibility, more accurate data, and more productive field operations, which has led to an optimized field force.
Also, the introduction of a customized field service app gave a competitive advantage over their competitors. “This is because our clients are reassured that we are using the latest mobile technology for real-time management of field operations, and gathering accurate, rich information at each building site,” said Branconier.
Environmental Consultancy Companies
Field service staff need constant connection with managing office. Custom mobile field service apps change the way managers communicate with field employees and technicians. With a custom mobile field service app, everything from requesting and invoicing to notifications and reporting can be done from anywhere.
An excellent example is Hemmera which is a leading environmental consultancy that delivers a range of services including Site Assessment and Remediation, Planning and Management, and Community Engagement and Social Sciences. With a large team of professionals performing high-value activities in the field, Hemmera needed a custom field service app that will help to improve the efficiency of its field data collection and reporting, and communicating that information to clients.
The paper forms, digital cameras and commercial handheld devices previously being used in the field were causing inefficiencies, which prompted the company to search for a custom mobile platform.
Since implementing a customized field service app, Hemmera has achieved significant time savings. Data collected in the field is entered directly into mobile iPad forms, resulting in higher quality, real-time data that requires fewer revisions. Staff who are not on site receive data from the field staff ASAP making reporting and other project tasks easier and more efficient,” said an Environmental Scientist, Hemmera. Also, it has improved real time information with project management and customer service
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