Successful digital transformation is a by-product of the right technology, process, data, and functional changes required. Any of these areas left unanswered will jeopardize your transformation journey. Undoubtedly, business transformation is a collective team effort and Field Services require a collaborative approach.
The common aspect between the 4 key areas of dynamic field service transformation is driven by people and the expertise they bring to your team. That’s why if you choose the right team, you get the desired results.
You will benefit from an experienced Dynamics 365 development team set up to spearhead your field service transformation by:
Successful digital transformation envelopes the entire transformation team and your organization with pride and a sense of achievement because the impact is immediate. Every employee is touched by the success of a well-executed digital initiative addressing a system change resulting in increased productivity for your organization.
Furthermore, the low code platform development on Dynamics 365 empowers organizations with quicker product development, advanced integrations, and citizen development scope.
If you plan to outsource your Dynamics 365 Field Service Transformation to an expert, there are 4 key elements of dynamic field service transformation to be aware of: Technology Planning, Data Quality, Process Transformation, and Operational Efficiencies.
But, before we jump into the impact study that explores the 4 key domains, look at some immediate business benefits of field service transformation. A great example of successful Dynamics 365 Field Service transformation is that of G&J Pepsi-Cola Bottlers.
G&J Pepsi-Cola Bottlers’ utilized Dynamics 365 Field Service and Dynamics 365 Sales to streamline their operations and identify new revenue opportunities, that were previously being ignored due to the lack of a consolidated data architecture.
G&J Pepsi-Cola Bottlers is the world’s largest Pepsi franchise bottling company, a family-owned operation that employs more than 1,600 people in 13 different locations across Kentucky and Ohio. They house production units in areas of Kentucky, Columbus, Portsmouth, Lexington, and Winchester.
As 10-time ‘Pepsi Corporate Customer Service Award’ winners, the G&J Pepsi-Cola Bottlers company is committed to progressive innovation. To elevate their services, the company stood to drive customer services, field service processes and new account acquisitions. For this, G&J leveraged data analytics and AI to identify untapped revenue opportunities for process optimization. They leveraged Dynamics 365 CE to empower workers with streamlined workflows for increased output.
Thus, G&J Pepsi-Coal Bottlers implemented an end-to-end CRM and ERP solution to generate more conversions, deliver excellent customer services and boost field service transformation initiatives.
Following are the key areas of impact by field service transformation in the company, G&J Pepsi-Cola Bottlers. We also included 6 field service trends to watch out for in 2022.
The company required a link between business functions and accelerated innovation using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service and Sales capabilities. The reason for adopting Dynamics 365 was the platform’s API integration simplicity, vast app portfolio and hassle-free development process.
G&J Pepsi-Cola Bottlers uncovered a tremendous business opportunity to utilize their field service workforce for servicing equipment beyond current sales areas. By bolstering their market expansion goals with data analytics, G&J Pepsi used Dynamics 365 Field Service and Dynamics 365 Sales to omit restraints to their expansion efforts in key areas.
The company accelerated its customer management processes using automation tools.
Key areas of improvement observed in lead generation, payment establishment, installation scheduling, equipment preparation, equipment installation, technical servicing, recovery and accompanying processes being refined with Dynamics 365 platform capabilities.
“Through 2024, enhancements in analytics and automatic remediation capabilities will refocus 30% of IT operations efforts, from support to continuous engineering.”
Read more about Gartner’s prediction for IT automation in 2022.
To facilitate a unified and optimal customer experience, it was pivotal to consolidate real-time customer data with highly scalable service offerings.
G&J Pepsi-Cola built an end-to-end Customer Engagement Management Platform (CEM) on Dynamics 365 Sales and Dynamics 365 Field Service. Placing the customer at the centre of their operations, the processes required an efficient data management console.
Before implementing the CEM platform, employees would spend hours manually scanning digital and printed copies on Power BI, SharePoint, and other applications. With limited connectivity between field service agents, customer service staff and business managers, the process was creating data silos. The transfer of knowledge, data quality checking and technical infrastructure was lacking.
These inefficiencies cost the company a staggering $180,000 loss of revenue from uncaptured sales.
Now, real-time data is available in a consolidated environment with efficient permission management and governance. Dynamics 365 effectively fine-tuned the company’s communications and empowered them with increased visibility for new business. In the past, field services, sales and leadership were indirectly involved in time-lagging pathways of customer information.
Efficient data management and quality control using Dynamics 365 made insightful customer information more accessible, up-to-date, and impactful. Thus, customer needs can be met in advance through identification, implementation and predictive maintenance of processes using data.
Predictive analytics and maintenance allow the company to use various devices to form an interconnected, omnichannel experience for all users.
According to a Gartner’s recent study, 37 percent of organizations use AI in the workplace. This is especially on the rise due to predictive maintenance needs systems responsible for data quality assurance.
Read more about Gartner’s strategic technology trends for 2022.
With relevant data, processes become more efficient.
The G&J team has now identified 150 efficient processes while eliminating 200 problems preceding digitization. They achieved results by interacting with prospective users of their new system. This included frontline staff, field service technicians and sales operatives. One such risk mitigation involved eliminating 170,000 manual touchpoints in their annual processes on average.
For example, in case a delivery executive had exchanged the wrong item on an order, the field service technician would have to go back to the office to rectify the situation. Using Dynamics 365 platform-enabled order planning, the equipment manager can simply check for the asset on a computer and rectify the mistake in seconds. This information is synced with the delivery team’s dashboard for effective processing of the order.
Field service agents also became more punctual with a detailed schedule containing suggested installation time made available in advance.
The schedulers can review each technician’s workings to optimize delivery of G&J Pepsi’s services. This process clubs integrated mapping functionalities with the right equipment for each work order, as per historical data records.
With a useful mobile application, field service agents and technicians have access to all the information they need at any time. Whether it’s customer data, service history, product specs, or previous interactions, they have it all displayed in an intelligent dashboard.
The field service transformation initiative resulted in higher first-time-fix rates, which thrusted field technicians into the spotlight for capitalizing on new revenue models.
By improving order management through process automation with Dynamics 365, G&J Pepsi could facilitate an omnichannel experience for employees and customers, leading to increased productivity and convenience.
According to Gartner’s 2022 Customer Service Trends and Priorities, the goal of business growth is best achieved via positive CX outcomes, so self-service containment is most important, enabled by process efficiency that makes user experience feel synced across all channels.
Self-service portals are not just a customer need, but a tool for improved employee management. This newfound efficiency enabled by employees translates to better output of delivery at every customer touchpoint.
G&J Pepsi used automation via Dynamics 365 trigger actions inspiring Power Automate flows which connects one process to another.
An example is when an equipment is ordered by an customer, the associate places a request triggering a new work order creation that automatically passes through stages, from equipment preparation to assigning field service technicians for installation.
The manual processes causing delays are now obsolete. Using Dynamics 365 Field Service and Dynamics 365 Sales transformation, the scheduling team can assign better resources to each work order. They can cover various service locations to assign field service technicians to an order accordingly. Using a mobile app, field service agents can map the location, optimize their route, save time on travel, and update the status of each order.
Benefitting from minimal development effort, quicker order management, and increased mobility, the company also created an intelligent service reporting feature for their field agents, which has a user-friendly instant email function.
According to the Gartner’s recent report, “focused digital workplace infrastructure and operations must integrate mobile requirements into the organization’s key strategic initiatives by forming a digital workplace I&O team that is responsible for endpoints, productivity suites and collaboration software supporting all aspects of in-office, remote hybrid and mobile work styles.”
The integration of Dynamics 365 Field Service and Sales functionalities at G&J Pepsi-Cola Bottlers resulted in more cost-effective and timely operations.
Here’s the research from Gartner’s Top Trends Driving Enterprise Mobility for 2022.
G&J Pepsi-Cola’s field service transformation is just one example of the many Dynamics 365 use cases. Witnessing improvements across diverse service, sales and organizational metrics, the G&J Pepsi says their success emerges from the efforts of their frontline workers and transformation team, led by the purpose to serve customers better.
Access Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 Field Service development for G&J Pepsi-Cola Bottlers’ story here.
In fact, I set out to ask enthusiasts and social media users what they thought was a field service trend on the rise in 2022. Below are the results of my LinkedIn poll.
According to 42% of respondents, the shift to automation is inevitably the biggest trend expected to go up in 2022. Contact-free or remote services came second, with 25% agreeing. And 17% of respondents chose self-service and predictive maintenance, as rising trends expected in 2022.
Undoubtedly, all the above key areas for improvement in Field Service Transformation have unique business benefits. Using Dynamics 365, business leaders can tap into each area of opportunity while streamlining their operations to make life so much better.
Know more about our Field Force Automation capabilities here.
With a commitment to innovation, Technovert is a seasoned Dynamics 365 solutions provider. Being 1 of the top 20 Microsoft Gold partners globally, our end-to-end transformation initiatives are leveraged by Fortune 500 companies and enterprises across 5 continents.
If you would like to gain traction in the industry by improving your processes, discovering new revenue opportunities, and facilitating great experiences for users, contact us.
Let us know your Dynamics 365 requirements and show you the best way to get the results your business needs.
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