What to Look for in “Best-of-Breed” Field Service Software

When it comes to field service management, investing in the right software can determine success. As a B2B decision-maker, you understand the importance of facilitating seamless service coordination, efficient resource allocation, and a positive customer experience. But with so many software options available, how do you distinguish the best one that meets your organization’s specific needs? That's where "best-of-breed" software comes in. 

Best-of-breed software is purpose built for one specific industry, like field service management. It offers specialized features and functions that cater to the unique challenges of this industry, while swiftly adapting to the latest industry trends. In contrast, all-in-one solutions like Salesforce provide a wide range of functionalities across several industries but lack the same level of field service specialization and speed. 

In this blog, we'll explore the qualities to look for in best-of-breed software, helping you make an informed decision that maximizes technician productivity, customer satisfaction, and time to achieve ROI. Let's dive in and discover the perfect fit for your field service management needs.

What Is the Benefit of Field Service Management Software?

Field service software provides a wide range of benefits by automating the administrative aspects of your operation and empowering your customers, contractors, and employees with actionable data. With intelligent field service management software, your organization can:

Increase Service Efficiency 

Leveraging field service management software powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) empowers your organization to be as efficient as possible. By automating technician scheduling and dispatching across employees and contractors, you can rest assured that the best technician for the service job will always be scheduled. Advanced inventory and parts management, along with real-time route optimization, ensures that every technician has access to the necessary tools and equipment they need to complete the job on the first try. 

In addition, mobile field service applications with detailed service work orders and Augmented Reality (AR) technology enable technicians to troubleshoot complicated issues directly in the field. This leads to tangible improvements in service efficiency and quality. For instance, field service companies using best-of-breed FSM software found a 40% increase in first-time fix rates and a 20% decrease in time spent on site. 

Improve the Consumer Experience

Modern field service consumers expect high visibility and ownership over their service. When an appliance breaks, they want to be able to schedule service quickly, know exactly when the technician will be coming to fix it, and even be able to communicate with the technician directly. Field service software provides customers with access to an intuitive self-service portal, offering them the autonomy and visibility they crave. With full self-service capabilities, your customers can take control of their own schedules, access real-time information regarding their appointments, communicate with technicians directly, and provide immediate feedback after job completion. Utilizing a field service customer portal has helped companies improve Net Promoter Scores (NPS) by 27%. 

Maximize Time to ROI

Ultimately, field service management software modernizes organizations. A major aspect of this modernization includes collecting operational, service, and customer data and transforming it into actionable insights that drive data-driven decisions. Software suites with comprehensive field service reporting allow you to track and measure performance metrics such as contractor data, technician utilization, customer satisfaction, expenses, and fraud management, as well as trend analysis for custom KPIs that align with your unique business needs. By accessing these insights, your company can boost operational efficiency and accelerate field service ROI. 

The best field service software empowers companies to streamline service operations, deliver an exceptional consumer experience, and drive growth via actionable data-driven decisions. Now, let’s review the key features of FSM solutions that facilitate these exceptional benefits. 

Key Features of Field Service Software Solutions

Not all field service solutions are built alike, so keep these important features in mind when searching for the perfect solution.  

• Configurability and Flexibility
• Integration Capabilities
• User-Friendly Interface
• Mobile Accessibility
• Blended Workforce Management
• Comprehensive Reporting and Analytics
• AI-Driven Schedule Optimization and Dispatching
• Contractor Management
• Self-Service Consumer Portal
• Resource and Inventory Management

What Differentiates a Best-of-Breed Field Service Management Solution From the All-in-One?

A best-of-breed field service management solution stands out from an all-in-one solution by offering several differentiating factors: 

• Specialized Focus: A best-of-breed solution is purpose-built to meet the unique needs and challenges of field service management. 
• Depth of Functionality: With a best-of-breed solution, you can access a deep and extensive range of capabilities, such as real-time AI-driven scheduling and dispatching, work order management, inventory tracking, mobile workforce support, real-time communication, analytics, and reporting.
• Industry Expertise: Designed by industry experts, best-of-breed solutions speak to operational nuances, regulations, and customer expectations specific to field service management. For instance, Gartner recognized the industry expertise of ServicePower’s in-depth best-of-breed solution, explaining “ServicePower has significant depth in areas such as warranty claims adjudication, subcontractor management, customer self-service and out-of-the-box analytics.”
• Integration Capabilities: Best-of-breed solutions offer seamless integration with other systems commonly used in field service operations, such as CRM, ERP, inventory management, and IoT platforms. 
• Scalability and Flexibility: These solutions offer scalability and flexibility to adapt to changing requirements, support growth, and handle increasing volumes of service requests.
• Configurability: Best-of-breed solutions provide customization to align with the specific workflows and processes of individual field service organizations. 
• Support and Training: Providers of best-of-breed solutions offer dedicated support, training, and resources to ensure successful implementation and usage of their software. 

Still curious about the differences between best-of-breed and all-in-one solutions? Explore the insightful industry guide, What’s Best For Field Service Management: Best-of-Breed or All-in-One?

Advantages of Choosing a Best-of-Breed FSM Software Solution

If you’re looking to simplify your tech stack, then consider investing in a best-of-breed solution. That’s because best-of-breed solutions are intentionally designed to integrate with other systems, while all-in-one solutions are larger and less concerned about an exact fit. 

All-in-one solutions have a hand in several industries, so they can’t meet the needs of every specific industry. With a best-of-breed solution, each feature and functionality is specifically designed to improve field service operational efficiency and delight field service customers. 

Important Factors to Consider

In addition to the factors discussed above, it’s important to think about your organization’s objectives and goals. Will this new software solution help or hinder your overall performance? How does this investment fit into your IT budget? What level of support and training are you looking for? How will this software scale with your needs? Asking your decision-makers these questions will help your organization identify the best solution for your needs now and in the future. 

ServicePower stands as a true best-of-breed solution for field service management, surpassing the competition with unparalleled expertise and comprehensive functionality. With a laser focus on the unique needs of the field service industry, ServicePower offers a depth of features that optimize operations, empower technicians, and elevate consumer experiences. 

Don't miss out on this opportunity to streamline your operations, delight your customers, and maximize time to achieve ROI. Get started with ServicePower today.