Most of the businesses these days deploy a direct sales force or numerous staff across different locations in a country. Managing a workforce of this scale is an uphill task for businesses. With field force management (FFM) tools, staying in control and managing all the complex operations has become quite easy.
Over the years, the field services industry has evolved at a rapid rate. With all the advancements the field force managers have been able to collect all the vital information from the workers in the field. Below we are going to discuss a few of the ways which suggest that FFM has come a long way.
Automating the Complex Tasks
The FFM systems of today are becoming quite smart than they ever were. All the complicated tasks faced by the field managers are automated by these systems that collect real-time data and put this information to the best possible use. Along with real-time adoption, the systems help businesses to plan ahead of time. Some of the systems have advanced capabilities like predictive analytics. This has made it possible to optimize scheduling.
Dominance of Mobile
The mobile-friendly field force management software has made it possible to create a truly mobile workforce. There is no need to individually call each and every employee and instruct them about everything. This has streamlined the whole work order management. All a worker needs to do is open the mobile application in order to find the next assignment. This has enabled to save a lot of time. The overall communication with customers also becomes easier. Whenever the field workers complete an assignment or get delayed, they will be able to send an alert to the customers so that they can plan accordingly.
Better Access to Real-Time Information
The advent of the mobile workforce has made way for more real-time information. The field force systems are capable of gathering all types of data irrespective of whether it is manually input or automatically collected. Field force works are able to input all the information like the total time taken for completing the job, the estimated time for the next assignment and so on. The field force manager will be able to collect all the information automatically.
Much Better Integration
For most systems, integration is an important aspect and field force management is no different. Integrating a CRM with FFM is one of the perfect strategies for having a positive impact on the customer service. The integration of the two will ensure that the field workers are able to have a complete interaction history of customers. In addition to this, the customer service representatives are also able to access the complete service history of every customer.
Summing Up
Field force management has evolved a lot in the recent few years. Above are only a few changes, there are still a lot more enhancements and improvements that will be made in the coming years. So, if you are among those who are in search for the best field force solution then it is advisable to go for one which is both scalable and flexible. This will enable you to stay prepared for all sorts of changes that will be made in the future and manage your business in the best possible manner.
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