Understanding technological maturity in FSM
Understanding technological maturity in FSM
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 first article in this series we are looking at the findings around the maturity of FSM technology.
The opening series of questions we put to our respondents was designed to understand the overall maturity of technology used for Field Service Management and Fleet Management.
The reason for adopting this approach was to understand how many disparate systems are in the technology stack in relation to field and fleet and to see how data can move from the solutions in place for both disciplines.
To begin, let us look at which FSM tools are in place.
It is perhaps no surprise that the most common technologies in place are Field Service Management (FSM) systems as mobile applications, which have become the backbone of modern field service operations for many service organizations.
As such, we would anticipate seeing results in line with what the study confirms, as we see 78% of companies in this response set have an FSM solution in place, and 76% have dedicated mobile applications for their field service engineers and technicians.
Another solution type that is slightly less prevalent but still widely used and could be an essential part of this study as we work through the data is Dynamic/Optimised scheduling.
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 editorialisation so you can see the trends directly. In this first article in this series we are looking at the findings around the maturity of FSM technology.
The opening series of questions we put to our respondents was designed to understand the overall maturity of technology used for Field Service Management and Fleet Management.
The reason for adopting this approach was to understand how many disparate systems are in the technology stack in relation to field and fleet and to see how data can move from the solutions in place for both disciplines.
To begin, let us look at which FSM tools are in place.
It is perhaps no surprise that the most common technologies in place are Field Service Management (FSM) systems as mobile applications, which have become the backbone of modern field service operations for many service organizations.
As such, we would anticipate seeing results in line with what the study confirms, as we see 78% of companies in this response set have an FSM solution in place, and 76% have dedicated mobile applications for their field service engineers and technicians.
Another solution type that is slightly less prevalent but still widely used and could be an essential part of this study as we work through the data is Dynamic/Optimised scheduling.
Within the organizations represented in this study, we saw that 44% of field service organizations had such solutions.
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"If there is a correlation between those organizations that utilize dynamic scheduling tools and those that use fleet management focused that also offer fuel reduction elements, this would be a clear indicator of the two disciplines overlapping..."
Fig.1 Most commonly sited FSM technologies being used.
From left to right: FSM system (78%), Mobile Apps (76%), Dynamic Scheduling (44%), IoT (37%).
While almost all field service organizations will have some layer of scheduling tool, even incorporating lighter, assisted scheduling elements, generally, dynamic scheduling solutions are more suited to either larger or mid-sized service organizations with more complex service workflows.
As we look at the breakdown of company sizes within the study, this number does align with this thesis, if ever so slightly higher than we might estimate. However, this will be an interesting data point for further analysis because those organizations who have invested in Dynamic Scheduling tools will focus on reducing fuel costs, another of the key benefits of such solutions.
Therefore, if there is a correlation between those organizations that utilize dynamic scheduling tools and those that use fleet management focused that also offer fuel reduction elements, this would be a clear indicator of the two disciplines overlapping.
One layer of technology solutions that could be viewed as a clear indicator of technological maturity would be IoT tools. These are very much at the forefront of modern ‘connected field service.’
In this area, more than a third (37%) of companies within this study’s response group are now utilizing IoT connectivity within their field service operations workflows.
However, it should be noted that a smaller percentage of organizations stated that they had real-time data analysis in place, which many would view as essential to truly leverage the potential of the IoT solutions. In this area less than a fifth (18%) of field service companies use such systems.
A couple of other interesting aspects to note here, which may indicate how broader technological trends may influence the relationship between field service management and fleet management within this section, include:
- Knowledge management: 31% of field service companies in the study stated that they were using such tools.
- Customer portals: 41% of companies in this response group are also using customer portals.
What could be an interesting cross-analysis of the data would be to explore if field service organizations focusing on customer-focused products are still investing in fleet management solutions as well – as solutions like customer portals are being utilized effectively to deliver self-help and remote service tools which may cut down requirements for fleet tools, as companies transition to being less reliant on on-site service delivery – which we shall explore further in the study.
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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.
