Does data flow between field service and fleet?
Does data flow between field service and fleet?
In the first FSN Research study of 2023 we have partnered with GPS Insight | FieldAware to better understand the relationship between fleet management and field service operations…
Our goal in the study is to understand if the two business units work together and use these shared tools to drive efficiencies across the business as a whole or if they’re being used in isolation.
Across a series of articles, we will now explore the findings of the study’s quantitive phase, presenting the data with little editorialisation so you can see the trends directly. In this third article we are now looking at the trends relating to the how data can flow from fleet management systems to field service operations.
Having established in the previous features in this series, that the systems used for field service management and fleet management are siloed and used exclusively in their respective business units, does this mean that the data from each is also siloed?
There are significant benefits of allowing data to move from one business unit to another – particularly concerning field service data being shared across the wider organization – which FSN Research has covered in previous studies.
However, while often the flow of data from field service operations can be beneficial to other business units, including sales, marketing, and product design, in this scenario, the benefits of having access to fleet management data could undoubtedly play a role in helping field service management avoid unnecessary disruption to day-to-day operations.
Additionally, data from field service work schedules could be beneficial for fleet management in terms of understanding the mileage of vehicles and scheduling necessary maintenance accordingly.
So is data able to flow across the two business units? Or does it stay in the same siloes as the systems themselves?
To better understand the common scenarios for field service organizations, we asked our respondents which of the following three options best described the situation in their business.
In the first FSN Research study of 2023 we have partnered with GPS Insight to better understand the relationship between fleet management and field service operations…
Our goal in the study is to understand if the two business units work together and use these shared tools to drive efficiencies across the business as a whole or if they’re being used in isolation.
Across a series of articles, we will now explore the findings of the study’s quantitive phase, presenting the data with little editorialization so you can see the trends directly. In this third article, we are now looking at the trends relating to the how data can flow from fleet management systems to field service operations.
Having established in the previous features in this series, that the systems used for field service management and fleet management are siloed and used exclusively in their respective business units, does this mean that the data from each is also siloed?
There are significant benefits of allowing data to move from one business unit to another – particularly concerning field service data being shared across the wider organization – which FSN Research has covered in previous studies.
However, while often the flow of data from field service operations can be beneficial to other business units, including sales, marketing, and product design, in this scenario, the benefits of having access to fleet management data could undoubtedly play a role in helping field service management avoid unnecessary disruption to day-to-day operations.
Additionally, data from field service work schedules could be beneficial for fleet management in terms of understanding the mileage of vehicles and scheduling necessary maintenance accordingly.
So is data able to flow across the two business units? Or does it stay in the same siloes as the systems themselves?
To better understand the common scenarios for field service organizations, we asked our respondents which of the following three options best described the situation in their business.
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"The most common response was the first statement - which stated that the two business units operated their systems and there was no data flow between them. This was the situation for 36% of the organizations..."
Fig.3 Is data shared between field and fleet?
Dark Blue: Data is central – 30%, Light Blue: Data shared – 34%, Mid-Blue – Data not shared – 36%
The options were:
- Our fleet management tools are owned by the fleet management team, and our field service management tools are owned by the field service management team, and data is not shared across the two.
- Our fleet management tools are owned by the fleet management team, and our field service management tools are owned by the field service management team, and data is shared across the two
- Our fleet management and field service management tools are owned by a central IT team and provided to the relevant operational units
The responses were fairly balanced across these options.
Of these three options, the most common response was the first statement – which stated that the two business units operated their systems and there was no data flow between them. This was the situation for 36% of the organizations.
For 34% of organizations within the study, this was also the same situation where ownership of the systems sat in the relative business unit, but data did flow across the two divisions.
Finally, 30% of organizations cited the third option as being closest to their situation, whereby the systems are owned by a Central IT team and provided to the relevant operational business units.
In this latter group, a centralized approach could facilitate data moving between systems to be leveraged simultaneously where needed. However, for those organizations that stated that they are not sharing data across the field service and fleet management business units, this does seem to be an area where quick wins could potentially be seen in terms of providing insights that can drive incremental efficiencies in operations.
Indeed, in the final question of this opening section of the study, we can perhaps see some correlation, albeit anecdotal, between how organizations perceive their organization in terms of technological maturity compared to their competitors, giving them a ranking scale of 1 to 10 with 10 much more advanced and 1 being much less advanced.
In general, looking at the ranking of all companies in the study, we see that the average response is 5.8 on this scale, indicating that most companies believe they are slightly ahead of their competitors. However, when we look at the smaller response set of companies with data flow across the two business units and systems, we see this number rise to 7.3.
While this dataset relies on self-reported perception, it offers a glimpse of the broader maturity curve for technology in this area. Improving data flow across FSM systems and fleet management systems would appear to be a desirable inclusion for those on the other end of the maturity spectrum.
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Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content GPS Insight who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this briefing report.
