As companies across all industries adjust to the “new normal” work environment, many of them are assessing their current business systems and figuring out which of them should be upgraded or replaced. For contract furniture dealers going through this introspective exercise, some key targets include customer relationship management (CRM), financials, sales tax and field service management systems, all of which work together to create an end-to-end solution for a dealer.
Field service management is of particular importance, what with the high number of employees who are now working remotely and in need of a solid IT infrastructure that supports them as they do their jobs. The practice of managing field services, employees and equipment using software, workflows and communication solutions, field service management should be a top priority for contract furniture dealers in today’s competitive business environment.
“Efficiently managing field employees can improve customer satisfaction, increase employee engagement and cut costs,” Oracle NetSuite’s Marc Holliday points out. “The goal is to provide customers with the most satisfactory experience while maintaining service levels and improving efficiency.”
5 Reasons to Upgrade Your Business System
Here are more reasons why contract furniture dealers should upgrade their business systems this year, to a unified one, with a special emphasis on their field employees:
1. Eliminate disparate, disconnected systems
When their business systems aren’t connected, contract furniture dealers have to move data manually between those systems—a process that leads to confusion, errors and the inability to meet planned targets (due to inefficient coordination between the planning department, installation teams and other stakeholders). CFI Suite solves these and other problems by bringing all of a dealer’s operations—field service management included—under one roof via a partnership with NextService.
2. Obtain real-time order visibility
From pricing confirmations to real-time parts visibility, the contract furniture industry requires a high degree of order visibility. CFI Suite allows dealers to process orders in real-time with the Haworth Lynx Connector. This tool helps to boost the efficiency, productivity and effectiveness of dealers with complete automated order processing. Haworth NetSuite connector enables these and other processes (e.g., Detail Mappings allow seamless sync of entities, transactions and pricing information).
3. Improve customer service levels
Customers don’t appreciate delays, poor communication or inconsistent service. Coordinating across systems and employees is crucial for providing the best customer service. “A company can respond faster to customer needs and internal changes with field service management software,” Holliday writes.
4. Standardize workflow processes
When field service employees use a standardized workflow process, it has an immediate impact on efficiency and service. For example, they can use an electronic document management system to reduce paperwork and manual work, thus eliminating the need for outdated filing systems, overhead and supplies. Also, transparent and dynamic worker scheduling processes help minimize conflicts, establish better customer service and reduce wasted time. “Customers will see shorter wait times and have an overall better experience,” Holliday adds.
5. Use accurate resource task matching
The business systems can also facilitate more precise workforce planning. For example, the system can identify a worker’s strengths and pair them with appropriate tasks, similar to human capital management, while also considering locations, deadlines and costs. “The quality of your customer service will increase with the added benefit of improving employee morale,” Holliday writes. Plus, being able to successfully complete tasks will help increase your team’s efficiency.
CFI Suite is currently being used by numerous contract furniture dealers and is rapidly becoming the business system of choice for forward-thinking dealerships that want to diversify their business channels and consolidate their data and operations into one modern system. Isn’t it time to put the best business system on the market into the hands of your invaluable field service team?
