Talk is Cheap, and a Picture is Worth 1600 Words
I get lots of comments from prospective customers about “going paperless” using tablets and smartphones. In many cases, however, they are talking about simply making the technicians in the field type character information into digital forms that otherwise would have been paper. Maybe if you are going to go “paperless” you should reconsider how you […]
New Year’s Resolution – No More PC Apps!
Software as a Service (SaaS) is the only architecture for business applications that small and medium-sized companies should consider purchasing in 2014. Period. In my mind this battle had already been fought and won by SaaS, but I continue to come across good companies with thoughtful management teams that are still considering buying new, core […]
Customers Speak Louder than Marketers
We can market our message about the effectiveness of ServiceTrade all we want, but there is no substitute for a customer doing it for you. Thanks to Karim Nice and BlueHat Mechanical for this review of ServiceTrade capability. Here is the key message: By using software wisely, we can work together with our customers to […]
The Labor Market is Speaking – Are You Listening?
In early 2001, I had just been appointed to be the Vice President of North America sales for Red Hat. Many of my early meetings with prospective customers were geared toward understanding what was going to drive buying behavior for large scale adoption of Linux technology. One meeting in particular sticks in my mind today […]
Ripe Bananas, Seat Miles, and Service Labor Hours
What do these things have in common? They all represent “perishable inventory.” Ripe bananas have a short shelf life – sell them or throw them out. A flight that takes off without being full means seat miles were available and not sold. A service labor hour without a corresponding service invoice is likewise “perishable inventory” […]
Never Miss a Service – Managing Recurring Services
There are two keys to profitable service operations – job service density and job route density. I discussed job route density in a previous post entitled “Field Service Scheduling – Kill the “Where-wolf” that’s eating your profits.” Using a mapping tool simultaneously with a job scheduling calendar helps minimize drive time relative to work time. […]
Track the Truck? Track the Tech!
Fleet tracking has become very popular due to low cost GPS and software as a service (SaaS) solutions. I believe the same trends that are driving fleet tracking adoption – low cost/low hassle SaaS and real time feedback – will drive a new wave of technician tracking via the smartphone. Fleet tracking is an important […]
Smartphones are Smart Business
If you have been looking for an excuse to arm your field techs with smartphones, I am going to give you several in this blog post. The goal of any business expenditure is to make your business more competitive by lowering costs, improving customer service, or increasing revenue. I believe an investment in smartphones for […]
Field Service Scheduling – Kill the “Where-wolf” that’s eating your profit
Field service scheduling is hard because it involves both time AND space. You can’t decide “when” until you know “where.” And knowing “where” is not just one location. The scheduler needs to see ALL jobs on a calendar AND on a map simultaneously to make good decisions for the schedule. In most cases, “where” actually […]
Why Cloud Applications are Perfect for Small Service Companies
If the thought of new software for running your field service business brings on pain, remorse, indigestion, or any other unpleasant malady, this blog post is for you. Software that is well designed and delivered to you as an Internet application (or cloud based application) should not bring on any of these symptoms of distress. […]