What To Look For In The Best Dispatch Software

Competition is stiff in the home appliance and consumer electronics industry. Outstanding post-sale service is just as important as producing a quality product, and that makes scheduling and dispatch software vital to driving repeat sales. Your customers expect quick service, with the job done right the first time a field technician comes on site. The best dispatch software helps you put the right technician with the right tools and the most accurate information possible on the job.

This blog will illustrate the key features of the best dispatch software and demonstrate how they translate into more responsive and cost-effective field service.

What Is The Best Dispatch Software?

Scheduling and dispatch software help you get technicians in the field faster, optimizing schedules and routes in the process. 

The best dispatch software increases the productivity and efficiency of your workforce. The right technology improves the customer service experience by helping to ensure a higher rate of on-time service calls and increase first-time fix rates. Dispatch software should leverage AI technology to wrangle complex service schedules — optimizing field resources in real-time and with models built on configurable business-driven constraints. The best dispatch software will also streamline your service workflows, scale operations as service call volume fluctuates, and automatically assign jobs to technicians regardless of whether they are employees or contractors.

What Features Are Included in The Best Dispatch Software?

To put it simply, they are the features that increase visibility and flexibility, making it quicker and easier for you to deploy the right personnel with the right equipment to where they are needed. The following features help achieve that end and are critical for organizations seeking to improve customer experiences, increase productivity, and reduce operational costs.

Smart Scheduling That Streamlines Operations

The first step towards streamlined scheduling and dispatching involves automating cumbersome tasks like double-checking parts inventory, making sure a technician is available at the required time, or confirm that you’re sending someone with the right skill sets or performance criteria. When evaluating dispatch software, look for smart scheduling features that are capable of automating the following tasks:

• Confirming available inventory before scheduling service calls.
• Searching available employee or contractor field service technicians based on predetermined performance criteria or special skill sets.
• Configuring cost parameters by product line into workforce scheduling.
• Optimizing scheduling based on your business key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Delivering real-time updates on service call status, booking changes, and technician timeliness. 

At the operational level, these features provide you with the tools necessary to be sure your field service operation is functioning within your business requirements and focused on achieving specific performance goals

Intelligent Field Service Automation Chooses The Right Resources For The Job

A schedule is only as good as the resources available to make every service call. We believe the best dispatch software is intelligent and able to send out the right contractor for the job based on:

• Real-time availability, factoring in the current location, and jobs in progress
• Skills match for the work required
• Ability and willingness to operate within the coverage area
• Relationship(s) with preferred suppliers and partners
• Ranking based on technician performance and overall costs

This feature set saves time because dispatchers do not need to manually confirm specific details about a contractor’s skillset, location, or real-time availability. Customers have a better experience without late arrivals or canceled appointments.

Integrated Mapping Lights The Way 

So you’ve got your service schedule optimized and all the right field technicians at the ready for every call on the calendar. Now you need a system that gets them where they need to be on time and in one piece. When evaluating scheduling and dispatch software, look for these robust, integrated mapping features:

• Dispatchers can see where their field service team members are thanks to real-time technician geolocations.
• Field technicians get there on-time more often with the help of dynamic, traffic-enabled, route optimization.
• The best dispatch software provides accurate locations for customer sites and parts warehouse locations, so no one relies on their smartphone’s not-always-accurate mapping apps.

Integrated mapping helps you deliver the right parts and service technician to the customer site on time, every time.

Real-Time Reporting Provides More Operational Visibility 

It’s also important to know how your team is doing while they are in the field serving customers. Real-time reporting keeps you in the know at all times, helping to eliminate stress-inducing surprises. Top tier scheduling and dispatch software provide reporting with these key functions:

• Enterprise-wide visibility.
• Configurable dashboard, so you customize reporting views to meet your needs.
• Mobile-enabled to ensure you have scheduling and dispatch capability while working remotely.
• Performance tracked against custom KPIs.

Greater visibility shows you how your team is performing at the moment — helping you make real-time tweaks that optimize scheduling, avoid delays, and improve the customer experience.

Scalable, Integrated Solution That Plays Nice With Your Technology Infrastructure

Scheduling and dispatch software can’t just sit on a server in the break room closet. It needs to integrate with your other systems including mobile applications and claims processing systems as well as your ERP or CRM. This saves headaches for the IT department and saves you money in the long run.

Summary

Customers will always expect the best. If your service team can’t provide the experiences they demand, your competitors will. Smart technology can make the difference by automating scheduling and dispatch and freeing service technicians to focus on your customers. The best dispatch software makes your operation more responsive, productive, and cost-effective — automating more of your workflow, scaling as demand fluctuates, and deploying the right person every time. 

ServicePower offers robust scheduling and dispatch solutions. Experience ServicePower’s ServiceDISPATCH and Schedule Optimization Software for yourself with a custom demo.