Many fleets start out with a truck or two and high hopes, but rarely anticipate the need for a system designed specifically to manage their business as it grows, adding assets and personnel as they evolve into a multi-line service company.
BACK TO THE FUTURE…
For 25 years, Barry Grahek has been well-engrained in the world of fleet management. From the time he started a one-truck operation in the recycling industry, to growing it to more than 60 trucks in daily operation, he saw the need. Today, running more than 1,200 customers on his fleet management application, the users achieve a paperless, two-way exchange of jobsite and activity from the field to the office. The fleet and the companies are efficient and as profitable as possible.
“As our fleet grew beyond 10 trucks, the paperwork was hard to manage,” says Grahek, president of ServiceWarrior, “and getting the work orders to the right vehicle took hours each night. This changes all that. It is now just minutes.”
THE GAME CHANGER
Let’s take a closer look at ServiceWarrior, a leading provider of mobile application solutions for the logistics and field service industries. ServiceWarrior uses 20 years of industry experience to help businesses manage, grow, and maximize profits, all controlled from a completely web-based, back-office solution that can be customized for a variety of industrial fleet tracking and asset management needs.
SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE
For enterprise and small businesses alike, the trend of bringing computerization to the cabs of service vehicles began more than a decade ago. Industry players have begun recognizing this key opportunity for improvement. On-board computers play a major role in solving customer service problems with real-time, two-way communication between the dispatchers and trucks in the field.
“To have live insight into the work being done in the field is so valuable to the dispatchers,” says a longtime ServiceWarrior user in the home services business. “More jobs are completed and you operate a safer fleet. When revenue goes up, and safety expenses go down, it is pretty compelling.”
Featured Image: ServiceWarrior in action—Electrician.
Above Left: ServiceWarrior in action—Service Job Summary.
Above Right: ServiceWarrior in action—Traveling.
Using spreadsheets and non-integrated accounting packages equates to double entry of every aspect of the company’s service and billing information, and unfortunately, it also means the risk of potential errors is constant: missed service, a misplaced dispatch ticket, an incorrect invoice, or even missing or stolen assets. Each inaccuracy costs the company revenue in one form or another and often goes undetected. Furthermore, the management and maintenance of all paper created in the field service process, including the manpower to support it, comes with a tremendous cost and impact on efficiency.
Eliminating excess re-keying of data in the office increases your job accuracy and productivity. ServiceWarrior’s integrated administrative and accounting software solution, RouteManager, is 100% Web-based, so you can manage your fleet from the office, field, at home, or the beach.
If you’re already using an administrative and accounting package, many other accounting software packages are integrated with ServiceWarrior to make the integration as seamless as possible.
Turn-by-turn navigation to all jobs is automatically sent to ServiceWarrior. Now, your crew can get to the jobsite quickly and get right to work. Navigation, service details, and customer information are displayed on the app and drivers can easily record complete jobs and update service information. The total job cost is on the app along with credit card payment and captured customer signatures. Receipts are printed on the spot or emailed directly to the customer, while also updating the back-office accounting.
Highlighted below are some of the functions of ServiceWarrior that immediately improve fleet efficiency and customer satisfaction:
- Driver login
- Pre-trip truck inspections (oil leaking, etc.)
- Service area/day selection
- GPS/mapping navigation
- Verify services with video/phone feature
- Detailed job instructions and checklist
- Capture customer and driver signature, customer satisfaction survey
- Collect and record payment, print/email receipt
- Post-trip truck inspections
- Daily driver summary and scorecard
ASSET MANAGEMENT
With the Asset Tracking Module as part of the in-field process, the inventory of every one of your orders, products, tools, and other equipment, past and present, is tracked in real time. Wireless communication and vehicle camera options are available to further increase transparency and documentation, as well as provide a higher level of safety. Asset control is truly at your fingertips with the ability to electronically scan and confirm part numbers and track inventory.
Barry Grahek points out, “Your crew adds services and inventory to the work order as they use them in order to complete the work order, which adds to the total of the job and increases the accuracy of the job cost.”
GPS capabilities provide instant visualization of drivers and trucks, giving the dispatch office the ability to manage more routes, stops, and trucks without the additional labor costs. Mount a large screen TV on the wall to see a live view of every vehicle, jobsite, and time on the current jobsite. Knowing exactly where your trucks are gives you the ability to add a service stop or redirect them on the fly. This not only accommodates service needs, but also decreases the labor hours required to prepare and service the routes. Engine diagnostic alerts and preventive maintenance reminders help you control repair costs and keep your trucks working.
PROVEN ROI
Mobile software solutions and applications are available to any size business, small or large, with immediate results for minimal investment or equipment leasing. When your CEO asks how much each stop on a route costs, or if the customer is even on the right route, it’s time to begin looking into a software package that will improve efficiency, profitability, and provide real-time job costing.
Consistently, after the implementation of software, businesses experience increased service to customers at lower costs (reduction in fleet usage, etc.) with fewer inaccuracies. Currently, some of the industries that are benefiting from ServiceWarrior’s software solutions are:
- HVAC install/repair
- Pest control
- Plumbing
- Electrical repair/install
- Towing
- Furniture delivery
- Floral delivery
- Appliance repair and install
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
ServiceWarrior offers Field Service Management, Complete Customer CRM, Quotes, Contracts, Work Orders, Scheduling, Dispatching, Billing, and QuickBooks Online Integration in a Web-based application. ServiceWarrior’s Android App for Field Service Employees includes Time Tracking, Work Order Management, Navigation, Jobsite Instruction, Billing, and Mobile Payment Acceptance. Find out more, visit www.servicewarrior.com or call 800.547.7082.
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MODERN WORKTRUCK SOLUTIONS: AUGUST 2016 ISSUE
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