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How going digital cuts service costs for your business

Tania Piunno
Tania Piunno
September 26, 2022
5 min. min.

The customer visits made by technicians, engineers, auditors, inspectors and delivery drivers can become very expensive for service companies. With the right software however, your business can fully transform its operations, work smarter, and significantly reduce costs.           

Service companies reap the rewards of paperless processes

Field service management software is 100% cloud based which means costs associated with paper files, storage, invoices, etc., are instantly eliminated. By operating in a digital environment you immediately reduce your carbon footprint. In addition, your technicians look more professional in the face of customers and make a better impression when interacting with them.

The time you save is priceless

Moving to paperless operations has many advantages. Still, the benefit that surpasses the rest is the time that is saved when software is used to automate operational processes. Time you get back in a day to focus on other (more important) things. Time that would otherwise be spent on monotonous tasks.

Make better use of space

Before field service management software, technicians had to drive to and from the office to get their schedules, customer information, and spare parts, and to submit their work order reports at the end of the day. Let’s face it, that’s a lot of useless driving.

With field service management software, going to the office isn’t even required. Technicians are equipped with a mobile device that includes a mobile app for all of their work order needs. Accessing their schedules, messages, client information, historic data, and receiving job-related notifications is all done remotely.

Anything that is logged through the app can be viewed by administrators and managers at the office in real time, thus no need for technicians to be driving back and forth. Once data syncs, it is available and accessible indefinitely, from any device.

No more looking for lost or misplaced work order reports

Before field service management software, the chances of the technician losing or misplacing physical copies was fairly high. With all the stops and driving they were doing, reports would easily get lost along the way. Illegible penmanship was another issue for admins to deal with upon receiving the documents.

With field service management software, information pertaining to work orders is submitted by field technicians digitally. No need for a paper and pen. Physical copies can never get lost or misplaced.

Time is money

As cliché as that sounds, it’s the truth. Time savings mean less money is spent on unnecessary driving or lost work order reports. Not to mention, the money saved on office equipment such as printers, fax machines, paper, ink cartridges, and storage. In fact, eliminating paper processes also frees up office space for other uses. With no filing cabinets filled with files and forms, you can maximize your workspaces to improve efficiency and productivity.  

Speed up invoicing

Digitized work order management makes the process of invoicing the customer faster. This means, the service business gets paid faster for the work they’ve done.

More cost savings with streamlined operations

The latest advances in artificial intelligence let you adopt smarter ways of working to streamline operations and cut even more costs. 

Optimized travel routes

Optimizing service routes helps technicians work more efficiently in the field. It also reduces the overall cost of delivering a service. With GPS functionality in vehicles and the ability to connect your scheduling software to apps such as Google Maps and Waze, travel distances are instantly reduced.

Praxedo’s SmartScheduler enables dispatchers to optimize technician routes in seconds. And, technicians get updates in real time. The SmartScheduler uses algorithms to adjust technician schedules instantaneously when unexpected events disrupt the original plan.

Reduced fuel consumption

Fuel costs are significant for service companies with large fleets. Encouraging technicians to drive in more fuel-efficient, economically-responsible ways can help to reduce these extra costs. Your technicians will enjoy a smoother ride, and your company will reduce its carbon footprint.

Less phone calls made to the office

With fast and easy access to all of the information they need through their smartphone or tablet, technicians will make a lot fewer phone calls to the service center. They are notified about schedule changes and emergency jobs right on their mobile devices. Additionally, are Instead, they can use software, such as Praxedo’s field service management software, to interact in real time with staff back at the service center.

Improved customer relations

Mismanaging service calls can be very costly, especially if customer problems are not resolved in a timely way. Unhappy customers will quickly turn to your competitors — at significant expense to your business. 

Easily increase your first-time fix rate

Your first-time fix rate is a critical key performance indicator (KPI). When problems are not fixed on the first attempt, customers can become dissatisfied and switch to another provider. And, multiple service calls to fix a single problem rapidly becomes a costly burden.

An Aberdeen Group study shows that even a first-time fix rate of 50% can lead to a 3% loss in annual revenue. Moving to software-driven processes dramatically simplifies and accelerates communications and spare parts management to improve first-time fix rates for service companies.

Avoid legal battles

Legal disputes are extremely expensive. With Praxedo’s field service management software, technicians can complete work order reports on-the-spot. They can even include date and time, and location-stamped photos to prove that the work was completed within the agreed timeframe. Moreover, customer signatures can be acquired onsite as well.

Empower your technicians

Let’s not forget that moving to paperless processes and optimizing travel routes empowers technicians to become more autonomous and take more initiative. For example, technicians that save on driving time and work more efficiently can use their mobile app to take on additional work while they’re still in the field. Furthermore, happy, and empowered technicians are more inclined to sell extra services during a customer visit. These opportunities create more revenue streams for your business and of course, new customers that will likely turn into loyal ones.

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