Companies today know that the service and maintenance of what they are selling
to their customers is the key to their future success. The challenge
is to do it effectively and efficiently.
White goods, computers, medical equipment. The list goes on and on. They
all require service and maintenance support, warranty and after
sales support, plus a returns system.
If your company services or maintains equipment—either as a
manufacturer or as a reseller—then your day-to-day activities probably
include the following:
- Providing product support, service, and maintenance to your customers
- Logging, managing, and tracking service jobs
- Scheduling jobs and tracking work in progress
- Maintaining inventory of parts, spares, and kits
- Managing staff and contract labor
- Processing warranty claims and returns authorizations (RAs)
- Monitoring job budgets and profitability
- Accounting and financial reporting
A service and maintenance application is software that helps you do
all of the above. A good service and maintenance application saves
you time and money by eliminating the need for many of your manual
processes. A top-tier application will also empower you to increase
your earnings opportunities by providing you with more targeted
information, more strategic insight, and more sophistication.
In the past, companies were generally faced with sales systems
that were separate from service, and job tracking
that was mostly done manually. What should companies be looking for today?
Ten Essential Features to Look for in a Service and Maintenance Application
- Complete back-office integration with General Ledger, Accounts Receivable, Order Entry, Inventory Control, and Purchase Order modules
- Scalability to accommodate future growth
- Sophisticated job management tools, including the ability to estimate jobs and compare estimates to actuals
- Integration with Internet and mobile technologies such as e-mail, text chat, PDAs, and cell phones
- Real-time updates to and from the back-office accounting system—as opposed to periodic batch updates
- Browser-based, graphic interface that's easy to learn and use
- E-commerce capability
- Advanced reporting capability
- Support for global business, including accommodation for multiple currencies
- Minimum implementation time
If your current system isn't providing these capabilities, it may be time for a change. But finding a solution that involves so many aspects of your business is a daunting task. What can you do to avoid the pitfalls that lay ahead?
Pitfall #1: Not doing enough homework
Analyzing and then selecting a service and
maintenance application takes time and effort.
Information is critical to selecting the most
appropriate system for your organization.
Make sure you spend enough time to analyze your particular needs and how
it relates to capabilities available.
Pitfall #2: Misunderstanding the benefits of automation
Automating service operations and related
functions can save your organization considerable
time and money. However, if you don't also
improve your current core processes, automating
your system won't deliver the full return on
investment you require.
Pitfall #3: Ignoring hard-to-quantify benefits
It is difficult to calculate possible future gains
such as increased productivity, better efficiency,
improved customer service, and other hard-to quantify
benefits after a new system has been
successfully implemented. Remember, these kinds
of benefits can dramatically improve your bottom
line and should not be overlooked.
Pitfall #4: Passing the buck
Top management and other key personnel within
the organization must be involved in the selection
and the implementation process. For the project to
be a success, management needs to stay involved.
Pitfall #5: Underestimating the ramp-up and debug phase of a project
Many companies assume a well-designed system
will operate at peak levels shortly after they make
the purchase. The best system will not perform
as expected until properly trained personnel
have developed complete competency with the
system. Allow users to gain confidence through a
gradual process of operational ramp-up, including
incremental training and system usage. Wait to
introduce users to new and more complex system functions until they have mastered the basics.
If you think it may be time to look at improving your service management
system, let us know. We'll be glad to help you. For more information contact
Alan Ogilvie at info@computerworks.bc.ca or 604-552-4008.
