Nashua Communications, a leading provider of converged enterprise network and communications solutions, has employed a new mobile tool to optimise and streamline the service management processes used by field technicians who install and support Nashua Communications products.
Chief operating officer Jan Holtzhausen says that at a time when smart devices and applications are so entwined into life at work and at home, a mobile application was the obvious choice for streamlining the operations of the Nashua Communications field service agents.
“This new application has allowed the business to get closer to meeting its overall goal of maximising output from our field service technicians and has dramatically improved customer service levels.”
Holtzhausen says that from the outset, the solution had to address four key issues: optimising field technician travelling time; reducing the cost of resolving client issues; improving customer satisfaction ratings; and increasing revenue by simplifying on-site billing processes.
The product, designed and built by workforce management specialists Mobile 1, underwent a series of testing phases in the field and was implemented on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1-inch tablet.
The device was chosen due to screen size, connectivity, device storage capacity and processing power. The device also allowed for remote installation and updating of the application, with minimal user interaction as well as the monitoring of device activity and battery life through an in-built monitoring capability in the app itself.
“By implementing the mobile application solution, we’re now able to monitor field service agent’s service calls in realtime and improve overall productivity,” says Holtzhausen.
Other improvements include:
* Agents are no longer required to manually capture service call information, allowing more time to focus on customer service;
* Information captured is more accurate as the time delay between the action performed and the data recorded has been reduced;
* Manual paper storage and tracking has been eliminated and data stored is electronically accessed allowing for instant retrieval and analysis;
* The assignment of calls and scheduling is now fast and efficient and has eliminated the need for multiple telephone calls to a busy service desk or interrupting technicians while they are busy on site;
* The application is integrated with mapping technology allowing the agent to see the client location the moment they receive a call and the service desk to assign the closest technician to priority calls, reducing response times; and
* Nashua Communications has now implemented an automated invoicing service where the signature of the customer is embedded onto the invoice when it runs through – as well as the comments and resolutions made from the device.
The application has been so successful that it was recently presented the “Best New Product or Solution” award at the Enterprise Mobility Forum (EMF).
“We’re very proud to be running the mobile service effectiveness application, and our agents in the field have become more productive, responding quicker and eradicating the antiquated and inefficient manual systems. We look forward to further upgrades to the application in the future,” concludes Holtzhausen.