Salesforce has launched the next generation of Salesforce Field Service, equipping teams across industries with AI-powered tools to deliver trusted, mission-critical field service.
By Mark Cattini, senior vice-president: field service management at Salesforce
Salesforce Field Service includes new appointment scheduling and optimisation capabilities, AI-driven guidance for dispatchers, asset performance insights and automated customer communications, all of which help ensure jobs are completed the first time, on time, every time.
When the pandemic first hit, many industries that send employees out to complete jobs in the field had to shut down entirely.
But critical machinery still needs to be repaired – medical devices require servicing, air conditioning units need to be fixed and assembly line machines still malfunction.
After getting over the initial shock of Covid-19, frontline workers are returning to work. Following an initial dip in March, Salesforce Field Service saw usage jump more than 50% between April and July 2020, and is actually now being used 20% more than at pre-Covid levels as companies and frontline workers scramble to clear the backlog of service requests created earlier this year.
What’s new with Salesforce Field Service
* Dynamic Priority enables dispatchers to focus on the jobs that matter most, with scheduling and optimisation capabilities that automatically prioritise jobs based on the service level agreement or how critical the work is. For example, if maintenance is due or a warranty is about to expire, that job will automatically receive higher priority over others.
* Einstein Recommendation Builder enables organisations to rapidly deploy machine learning models to enhance service, including AI-powered recommendations to ensure mobile workers always have the right parts for the job. Einstein will scan past work orders for previous similar jobs to identify which parts will be needed for the current one.
* Asset 360 is a new set of asset management capabilities that ServiceMax is building in partnership with Salesforce. With Asset 360, companies will have complete visibility into their install base, service contracts and asset performance (e.g. machinery, medical equipment) to maximise the uptime of complex equipment and reduce operational costs.
* Appointment Assistant uses live status updates and GPS to automatically update customers on the technician’s arrival time. This keeps customers informed, and gives them a chance to vacate the premises and/or adequately prepare before the technician arrives–increasing safety for both technician and customer while social distancing is advised.
Our customers tell us that it is more crucial now than ever for their field technicians to have the right information and tools to maximise equipment uptime and first-time fix rates.
Decades of industry expertise and innovation have gone into building our next-generation field service management product, and organisations across industries are deploying it to keep their equipment working, businesses running, technicians productive and end customers safe.
These innovations are the latest in a series of milestones for Salesforce Field Service, which include last year’s acquisition of ClickSoftware, a leader in field service management.
And with the combined power of Salesforce and ClickSoftware, we are delivering a complete field service product with all of the capabilities leading service organisations require.
This was proven recently, when Salesforce Field Service was named a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Field Service Management.