D365 for Field Service: Offer Your Customers a Harmonious Experience

Harmonious Service Experiences with Dynamics 365 for Field Service

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Field Service is transforming the way in which organizations manage their representatives in the field and, more importantly, offer customers a harmonious service experience from the initial inquiry to service completion. The innovative end-to-end technology of Field Service allows companies to do more with less staff, maintain a competitive advantage, and cut costs of mobile servitization.

Field Service builds on the already powerful platform of Dynamics for Customer Engagement (CE) by introducing a comprehensive service solution comprised of new entities, dashboards, workflow automation, scheduling algorithms, and even a companion mobile application for those in the field. In addition to the components included in Field Service, organizations can also incorporate current Dynamics customizations – like custom fields, views, and entities – into the Field Service application. With the breadth of configurations available, Field Service is perfectly tailored to increase ROI for businesses across all industries and specializations, including:

• Service and Utilities – Geolocation offers dispatchers a better way to manage and organize the service schedules for technicians covering a large territory
• Health care – Remote health care service providers can see real-time patient information when arriving for in-home services, and update vital information in just a few clicks
• Manufacturing – Recurring maintenance schedules can be automated to reduce the need for human intervention while increasing the lifespan of expensive machinery
• Equipment Repairs – Technicians can be assigned and dispatched to troubleshoot faulty equipment based on their expertise of specific technology

Adapting to new technology and shifts in customer interaction is vital to stay competitive in today’s markets. Dynamics 365 for Field Service offers cutting-edge technology for the price of a standard software package, which ensures organizations of any size can utilize the expansive functionality with the familiar look and feel they have grown accustomed to Dynamics 365. Some of the most exciting features of Field Service include:

• Geolocation – With the Field Service Mobile application, dispatchers know where their technicians and resources are at all times, and can even schedule work orders to optimize fuel efficiency and technician availability.
• Resource Management – Keep track of company resources – whether its employees, contractors, equipment, meeting rooms, or specific technology – and manage their unique characteristics, skills, and proficiency levels to help dispatchers align the right resources with the right customers.
• Agreements – Automatically generate work orders for equipment maintenance, routine service, or check-up appointments to increase customer satisfaction and retention.
• Incidents – Prepopulate work orders with products, services, tasks, price lists, and resource requirements to ensure service consistency.
• Universal Resource Scheduling (URS) – Whether you’re scheduling for a work order, job, project, or other custom entity, URS helps assign the best resources based on availability, skillset, proficiency level, location, and time frame.
• Schedule Assistant – A semi-automated way to optimize available resources, Schedule Assistant does the heavy lifting by aligning the right resources with the right jobs, all you have to do is book!
• Resource Schedule Optimization (RSO) – A fully-automated scheduling client that uses advanced algorithms to automatically book resources to jobs to optimize travel time, work hours, and technician skillsets.
• Connected Field Service and IoT – IoT (Internet of Things) technology enables organizations to be proactive in their service by using data feeds directly from equipment to monitor when an issue is imminent, and dispatch technicians automatically based on severity.
• Remote Assist – Utilize the power of mixed-reality by combining Field Service with Microsoft HoloLens to let remote experts collaborate with field agents through holographic annotations and file sharing.

With so many great features and technology, is Field Service the right solution for your organization? Contact the CRM experts at TrellisPoint to schedule a consultation and find out how you can:

1. Increase scheduling capacity without increasing human resources or extending work hours
2. Better utilize field agents based on their abilities, and improve first time fix rates
3. Provide techs with important information real-time for rapid troubleshooting and repair
4. Reduce costs in travel, down time, and staffing needs
5. Improve customer satisfaction through proactive servicing and flexible, responsive scheduling

Learn more about Microsoft D365

Dynamics 365 for Field Service FAQ

1. How does Dynamics 365 for Field Service integrate with other Microsoft products beyond Dynamics CE, such as Microsoft 365 or Azure, to enhance field service operations?

   Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service integrates with various Microsoft products to streamline field service operations and information management¹. Here are some key integrations:

   Microsoft 365: With Microsoft 365 integrations for Field Service, frontline workers and managers can create, view, and manage work orders in Outlook and Teams. This allows organizations to use the capabilities of Field Service using Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft Teams or both.

   Finance and Operations Applications: Seamless financial and inventory data flow between Dynamics 365 Field Service and Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management helps ensure the frontline and back office stay in sync. By syncing real-time price and cost information from work orders and automatically updating financial and inventory data as work orders are executed, this integration reduces the effort required to connect data between these Dynamics 365 apps.

   Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management: With an easy integration of Field Service with Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management and Dataverse, you can set up two-way sync for more comprehensive inventory tracking, resource planning, and asset management across systems.

   Dynamics 365 Remote Assist: If your organization is using Dynamics 365 Remote Assist, integrate it with Field Service to better support your frontline workers when they need to perform tricky procedures onsite. Technicians can start a mixed reality video call from the Field Service mobile app or their HoloLens to connect with a remote expert.

   Dynamics 365 Guides: Integration with Dynamics 365 Guides lets you attach mixed reality guides to Field Service tasks. Frontline workers can launch the Guides HoloLens app and follow step-by-step holographic instructions to get their work done.

   Microsoft Teams: With Teams integration, frontline workers can chat with team members in the context of their work orders to quickly get answers and troubleshoot issues. The chat history makes it easy to see which team members worked on a work order.

   These integrations help to unlock a leaner and flexible business model that also enables future scalability. They ensure better workforce management through flexible scheduling, route optimization, and quota management.
   

2. What are the specific capabilities of the Field Service Mobile application, and how does it support technicians in remote or challenging service environments?

   The Dynamics 365 Field Service Mobile application is designed to empower technicians with the tools and information they need to succeed in remote or challenging service environments¹². Here are some of its key capabilities:

   Work Order Management: Technicians can view and update work orders, customer assets, accounts, and more on the go.

   Offline Data Access: The application is offline-enabled, allowing technicians to access their data regardless of internet connectivity.

   Camera Capture and Barcode Scanning: Technicians can use the device camera to capture images and videos, and scan barcodes from global search or at a field level.

   Driving Directions: Technicians can use their favorite in-app map application for turn-by-turn directions.

   Speech to Text: Technicians can insert notes with native device speech-to-text capabilities.

   Time Entry: In-application Time Entry is enabled by default.

   Connected Field Service and IoT alerts: Technicians can receive IoT signals and send commands directly from the mobile app.

   Inspections: A Field Service technician can find and capture inspections associated with a work order.

   Push Notifications: The app can send user notifications, such as a new booking appointment and other out-of-the-box triggers.

   Geofencing: The app can automatically set booking status as a technician arrives or leaves a location.

   Reporting: Technicians can generate customer service reports with a signature, with the option to email a PDF.

   Location Sharing and Auditing: The app enables real-time sharing of the technician's location with the back office.

   These features help technicians to be more efficient and effective in their roles, particularly when working in remote or challenging service environments. The app is available for Windows 10+, Apple iOS, and Google Android devices at no extra charge.
   

3. Can Dynamics 365 for Field Service predict equipment failures, and if so, how does it utilize IoT data for proactive service management?

    

   Yes, Dynamics 365 for Field Service can predict equipment failures and utilizes IoT data for proactive service management.

   Predictive Maintenance: Dynamics 365 Field Service, coupled with AI, offers features like equipment performance data analysis, predictive failure alerts, and automated maintenance scheduling. It harnesses machine learning capabilities to analyze the historical records of various customer assets, including equipment, devices, machinery, and appliances, supplemented by real-time performance data from IoT sensors where available.

   IoT Integration: Dynamics 365 Field Service integrates with Azure IoT Hub, a cloud-based service that provides a secure and scalable platform for connecting, monitoring, and managing IoT devices. IoT devices send data to IoT Hub over a network, and this data is then processed and stored for analysis and reporting. For instance, Azure Stream Analytics, a service that queries device data as it enters IoT Hub, can detect faults based on threshold rules.

   Proactive Service Management: When a potential failure is detected, Dynamics 365 Field Service can automatically create a work order and dispatch a technician to the site before the equipment fails. This proactive approach helps to minimize downtime, avoid costly unplanned shutdowns, and ensure uninterrupted service.

   Mobile Application: The integration of IoT data provides technicians with information and tools for efficient onsite service delivery. Technicians can use the Field Service mobile app to view IoT data and get more information and details about the context of a repair.

   These capabilities make Dynamics 365 for Field Service a powerful tool for proactive service management, helping organizations to anticipate equipment failures, schedule maintenance proactively, and deliver efficient service.