Month: August 2023

The production routing process is an integral part of manufacturing, and it helps to establish the most efficient method of production.

Routing in production is about formulating a plan in detailed steps, to convert raw materials into finished products.

The Importance of Production Routing in Manufacturing

Production routing establishes the steps needed to produce something, defines operational sequence, and the materials and equipment required to convert raw materials into finished products.

It also mentions the time needed for each task.

Effective product routing helps manufacturers to cut costs, optimize operations, and boost efficiency.

Production is streamlined and quick and wastage is minimal; it also facilitates quality control and ensures consistency, essential for customer satisfaction.

Production routing is also required for maintaining compliance as manufacturers are mandated to adhere to several regulations with regard to safety, sustainability, and quality.

You can also become more flexible by adjusting your production routing strategy to adapt to fluctuating demand, sudden equipment breakdown, or supply chain disruptions.

This will help the business to stay competitive.

ALSO READ: Importance of Capacity Requirement Planning

The Shop Production Order

This shows all the materials, tasks, and equipment to be used in manufacturing; when the material is comprised of several items, a bill of materials is used to determine what items will be required in manufacturing.

It will also show the steps required to produce a finished good.

The routing shows the flow of work, even if they involve outsourcing to external parties for specific tasks.

Routing established the work to be done, how, and where it will be done.

Routing in production planning establishes the optimal sequence of operations to be executed from one machine to another so that manufacturing can be speedy and economical.

It must be continuously refined to achieve optimal supply chains.

ALSO READ: Challenges and Opportunities of AI in Procurement

Product Routing Procedures

Operations

You must have a list of operations to be performed at specific times, along with the resource to be used to execute it – like a technician, a drill, blade, or level plane.

You have to allocate a specific amount of time to perform the task, after which it should be moved to the next operations.

The routing must have these operations in the right order to complete the manufacturing process correctly.

Make or Buy Decision

You have to decide what parts of the product you will manufacture in-house, and what you will buy from external vendors.

These decisions depend on lead time, quality, expertise, cost, etc.

Each component must be assessed to determine the best option.

ALSO READ: Importance of Distribution Management

Bill of Materials

This is the product recipe, which lists all materials, accessories, sub-assemblies, etc. that are need for manufacturing a product, along with precise quantities of each item needed.

Work Center

This simply means the specific equipment or manual resource to be used in that operation or task.

For equipment, details like item capacity, and for employees, their skills; the system needs to be provided with such information.

Configuration and breakdown times have to be determined for every work center, so that the appropriate time is assigned.

ALSO READ: ERP vs CRM

Route Sheet

This document defines the operational sequence of manufacturing, along with machines and tools to be used, time needed for each, and the employee in charge of every step.

Determining Lot Size

This is the quantity produced in one production run, and is determined on the basis of consumer demand, equipment capacity, and inventory levels.

Cost, lot size, and production efficiency must all be carefully balanced.

Scrap

Scrap is the material lost in manufacturing, and must be factored in to calculate overall production cost, and determining the lot size.

Material is lost in processes like shaping, cutting, melting, etc.

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Outside Processing

This refers to the processes that are outsourced to external vendors; you must ensure that they meet your quality standards and stick to the schedule.

Sometimes they may come to your facility to execute the work.

Give Necessary Information and Forms

Manufacturers should give all requisite information and forms to the production team to ensure product consistency and standardization.

Manufacturing orders, job and inspection tickets, equipment and tools, orders for moving materials, etc. are required to be communicated.

Factors Affecting Routing Procedure

Several factors can impact the efficacy of the routing procedure, and manufacturers need to keep them in mind, and take action to address them so that costs are low and efficiency is high:

• Complex designs require more steps, special skills, or equipment
• High-volume production necessitates special equipment or more production lines; low-volume production is less efficient, but more flexible
• Availability and quality of raw materials is an important factor
• Unavailability of specialized equipment required for specific operations
• Labor availability and skill level
• Poor quality control which causes defects or problems
• Regulatory compliance requirements must be met
• Disruptions in supply chain like delayed receipt of raw materials
• Market demand; production process must be adjusted to meet changes in this demand.

ALSO READ: Common Challenges in Asset Management

Personnel In Charge of Production Routing

• Production planner creates the production schedule and defines the operational sequence required. The production planner tracks the progress of the production and adjusts the schedule.
• Manufacturing engineer designs and optimizes the manufacturing processes needed to manufacture every product. He also checks for snags or inefficiencies in the process.
• Production supervisor oversees the production and ascertains that every step of the routing is performed efficiently. It’s his job to ensure that they stick to the schedule and optimize the process, manage the employees involved in production, and handle their training.

ALSO READ: ERP software in Warehouse & Fixed Asset Management

• Materials Manager is in charge of handling materials flow through the process, and has to make sure that materials are available as required, without stocking excess inventory. They must ensure material quality and meet the requisite specification for every product.
• Quality control manager is responsible for products fulfilling requisite quality standards. He tests and inspects products comprehensively prior to their launch in the market.

All these personnel collaborate with one another to ensure optimal and economic production processes, and ensure efficiency and productivity, and product quality.

When Is Production Routing Typically Used

• When a new product is developed, the sequence of operations is established via production routing and the raw materials, human resources, and equipment required to execute every step are identified.
• The changes required in the production process in the event of upgrading existing products is defined in a production routing along with all the resources required.

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• To optimize production processes and identify wastage and inefficiencies, the production process in use is assessed to detect hurdles and redundancies.
• At the time of planning expansion of production capacity, routing establishes additional resources that will be required for it after evaluating current processes and identifying areas where extra capacity is required.
• When product quality has to be improved, production routing can identify where quality control measures can be implemented, by assessing the current process and detecting quality issues to be fixed.

KPIs Used to Measure the Effectiveness of a Production Routing System

• On-time Delivery – refers to the percentage of orders that were delivered on the promised date or earlier; high OTD rate indicates efficiency.
• Cycle Time – time taken to finish a production cycle, from the start of an operation to the start of the following one. This rate helps in identifying process bottlenecks.
• Capacity utilization – percentage of production capacity that is actually used; a high rate indicates efficiency
• Overall Equipment Effectiveness – indicates how well equipment is used in production, factoring in equipment quality, performance, and availability.

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• Scrap rate – percentage of materials or products discarded or wasted in production; lower the rate, lower the wastage
• First pass yield – percentage of products manufactured correctly on the first try – high rate is desirable
• Work-in-progress – value of products in production currently but not yet completed. This metric helps detect production process bottlenecks
• Cost per unit – the total cost of producing a single unit of that product; this helps in spotting areas where costs can be reduced.

Challenges of Implementing Production Routing

As in everything, implementing production routing has its own problems; especially so when it’s a large manufacturing company.

1. No Standardization

Lack of standardization is a huge challenge as production routing requires collaboration of multiple employees and departments.

In the absence of standardization, you will find no consistency, and several anomalies in production processes that could give rise to mistakes, more expenses, and delays.

2. Incorrect Data

Production routing needs accurate data on personnel, equipment, and raw material for every step, and without it, the routing may be incomplete, leading to chaotic production processes.

ALSO READ: Common Project Management Challenges and Solutions

3. Resistance to Change

Implementing any new system means your employee have to learn new procedures and methods, and they often resent and resist change.

They may fear change thinking their job security is reduced.

This resistance can cause delayed implementation, leading to poor productivity and higher expenses.

4. Lack of Collaboration

We have already seen that production routing includes multiple individuals and departments; if these departments don’t collaborate there can be several anomalies in production.

It is critical that you encourage all departments and personnel involved to communicate and collaborate so that everyone knows what is happening.

5. Training and Education

It is essential that you provide adequate training to your employees so that they get familiar with the new system and how it helps in attaining company objectives.

Without training, there can be a lot of confusion and mistakes, leading to expensive delays in production processes.

ALSO READ: Cost Effectiveness Vs Cost Efficiency

The Role of Technology Developing and Managing Production Routing in Manufacturing

Technology is an essential part of developing and managing production routing, as the manufacturing environment of today is complex and fast-paced.

1. Manufacturing Software

Manufacturing software helps manufacturers streamline and automate production processes like scheduling production, inventory control, and quality control.

It can also help manufacturing companies to develop and manage production routing by offering a centralized platform to plan and monitor the production process.

2. Automation

Automation helps manufacturers to boost efficiency and productivity, enhance quality of products, and decrease costs.

Robots and automated machines can execute labor-intensive, repetitive tasks more efficiently and quickly, freeing human employees to concentrate on complex tasks that add value.

Automation also helps production to be more accurate and consistent, making for high-quality products.

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3. Machine Learning

Machine learning leverages algorithms and statistical models to help machines to ‘learn’ from historical data to make more accurate forecasts and identify problems in production that could possibly occur, while optimizing production schedules.

Machine learning algorithms study production data and detect patterns and trends that human beings may overlook.

4. Internet of Things (IoT)

IoT means a network of interconnected devices and machines; the technology can be used in production routing for keeping a watch on equipment, improve processes, and facilitate real-time decision taking.

Equipment is embedded with IoT sensors that gather data on different aspects of the production process, like inventory levels, machinery performance, and environmental circumstances.

ALSO READ: Benefits of Public Cloud Computing

5. Digital Twin

This is a virtual prototype of an actual system or product, and is used to simulate and enhance processes before real-world deployment.

If they have a digital twin of a specific process, manufacturers can detect latent production issues and test varying scenarios without disturbing production.

Tranquil offers real-time visibility into inventory, assets, and more, delivering valuable insights that helps you take informed decisions for business growth. Schedule a FREE demo at your convenience to know more.

It is absolutely essential for any individual or company to be organized if they want to be successful.

Any business that deals in products is likely to have one or more warehouses, depending on the size of the business.

The warehouse is a critical part of your business, and it is imperative that it is organized to optimize space, and ensure speedy operations.

Remember that keeping your warehouse organized is not a one-and-done thing – it’s an ongoing process.

There are literally dozens of things you can do, and keep doing, to ensure that your warehouse is not chaotic.

We have some warehouse organization tips for you, and they belong to three main categories:

• Clean Workspaces
• Inventory Organization/Management
• Warehouse Layout

By no means is this the final word – there are likely to be other ways to keep your warehouse organized. But you can use this to start off.

ALSO READ: Warehousing Trends in 2023

Clean Workspaces

It’s said that cleanliness is next to godliness.

A neat and clean workplace helps prevent inventory damage, injury to workers, and increases productivity and efficiency.

Clean Regularly

It is essential that you keep your warehouse free of dust and dirt, and make sure to clean up spills safely and immediately.

It will not only keep your workers safe; it will protect your equipment and inventory from damage too.

You can either a cleaning service to do the job, or assign cleaning duties in rotation to your employees via a checklist to be carried out when their shift ends.

ALSO READ: Common Inventory Management Problems and Solutions

Train Employees

Your employees should be properly trained in maintaining the warehouse in an organized manner.

Define expectations, and carry out checks to see that it is being followed.

Conduct Regular Maintenance

Adhering to manufacturers’ recommended maintenance schedules is in everyone’s best interests; you must prioritize the maintenance of your equipment, as it keeps your facility in working order and eliminates unexpected downtime.

Operational equipment ensures employee productivity.

ALSO READ: Benefits of Having an Employee Self Service System

Keep Aisles clear

Every warehouse has moving parts – even organized ones.

It is important that your aisles are free of any clutter, and clear enough to let forklifts and other vehicles move without hassles, and keep your workers safe.

Remember however, that you should not waste precious floor space; allow forklifts to travel by optimizing aisle space, and reducing clutter.

This will also let you access stored products easily.

Warehouse Layout

Your warehouse layout is probably the most important factor to consider when we talk about warehouse organization ideas.

Overhauling it completely can be very daunting – but even optimizing a few things in your current system and processes can help boost efficiency and speed.

ALSO READ: Key Advantages of Field Service Software

Organize Floor Plan for Optimal Process Flow

If you thought about having a well-organized warehouse in the early stages – during design, then it’s great, as you can get the right start!

If not, you can slowly change things one at a time, and set this is a long-term goal that needs continuous work; assuming of course, that the process flow in your warehouse is far from ideal.

The warehouse layout should be such that it offers a safe environment for your employees, and allows them to be efficient and productive.

The flow should be logical, and set up in the same order as that of the operations.

Like, inventory is first received, and then stored as per the method followed in the warehouse; when orders are received, the products are picked, then packed, and sent to shipping, and finally sent out.

The layout must be such that it makes this flow smooth.

You can take feedback from your employees, and ask them if any specific areas of the warehouse can be altered in any way to make things easier for them.

Encourage your employees to be part of process improvement.

ALSO READ: ERP vs CRM 

Use Appropriate Labels and Signage

This is not optional; it is absolutely essential.

Label your inventory and working zones across the warehouse, and you will be able to ensure smooth flow for the long term, in addition to keeping the warehouse organized.

After the layout is established, the labels and signage will help workers to find things easily, and know where everything belongs.

New and temporary hires will find this especially useful.

Be sure to also label any restrictions and hazards prominently to boost employee safety.

Whenever necessary, make sure to replace labels and signs to avoid misplacing inventory and other errors.

Provide Maps

If your warehouses are huge, provide maps to your employees, which will make it easy for them to navigate quickly and easily.

The quicker workers can reach where they need to, the faster they can complete the job.

ALSO READ: What is Asset Tagging?

Evaluate Storage Capacity

Now you have a place for everything and have labeled everything, you need to assess your storage capacity – meaning, the maximum quantity of inventory that can be held in your warehouse.

There’s a simple formula for this: height x depth x breadth = storage capacity.

Remember that even vertical space can be used, so don’t waste that space.

Inventory Management

By inventory management, we are talking about everything that is physically present in your warehouse.

You need a robust system to track your inventory, so that your workers can do their jobs efficiently.

You can classify inventory and store it properly, maximizing your existing capacity, and even free up space that was being used wastefully, to enhance storage and boost efficiency.

ALSO READ: Benefits of ERP- IoT Integration

Inventory Classification

This should be your first step; when you classify inventory properly, you will be able to organize and store products according to the rate at which they sell.

You can use data to profile your SKUs appropriately.

Take stock of your current inventory – size, and shape in addition to quantity, and check the frequency of its picking.

Categorize your inventory into fast, medium, slow, and very slow-moving items.

Then, do a cross-check of your documented SKU velocity against the picking time for the same, and you have your inventory picking cost.

By applying the 80/20 rule, you know that 20% of your inventory gets picked 80% of the time.

However, if you only focus on that 20%, you end up ignoring opportunities to improve the rest of your inventory.

Ergo, you need to look at your SKU profiling and inventory classification very seriously.

Compartmentalize Inventory

Storage devices like racks, bins, totes, etc. help you to organize even the tiniest item – whether it is screws, needles, or socks.

These can be easily stored in bins and labeled for clarity.

Dividers can be used within bins to separate the same item based on size, color, or more.

ALSO READ: What is Demand Forecasting? 

Implement a Slotting Strategy

After classifying, compartmentalizing, and labeling inventory, you can slot it, and see how much faster your employees pick products.

Carry out slotting by velocity first; during inventory classification, you identified your fast and medium-moving gods are along with your slow and very slow-moving items.

It makes sense to slot your A and B or fast and medium moving items into areas that are easiest to access.

You can place the C and D items in the not-so accessible areas, and it won’t hamper your speed or productivity.

By reducing the distances between the A and B products to the shipping zone, you automatically reduce employee fatigue, and increase speed of shipping.

Based on size, shape and weight of inventory, you can slot your SKUs by technology or zone – heavier items closer to the shipping area, for example.

Of course, there might be a little conflict of interests here, and you will need to put a lot of thought into your slotting process.

Set up an Efficient Receiving Process

You simply cannot have boxes piled up near your receiving area!

Inventory coming in is as important as what you are sending out.

Assign a worker to manage the receipt of inventory properly; they need to check that the inventory received was in good condition and that the quantity was correct, and accordingly process the shipment.

They must direct other workers to store the inventory items according to the storage system you follow.

ALSO READ: ERP Configuration vs. ERP Customization

Improved Returns Handling Procedures

This is another thing to think about.

Clearly define every step of the returns handling so that employees take proper care of returned products.

After all, if goods returned are misplaced, it’s a loss for you.

With a well-documented returns process you can enhance overall warehouse efficiency.

Automate Storage

Automation is a sure-fire way to maximize your storage space.

Of course, there are numerous methods of storage you can choose from; you can consult an expert to check if your current system can be improved.

As we mentioned before, most warehouse managers forget about the huge vertical space available for storage, and it often goes unused.

By using tall racks, you can efficiently utilize this space and maximize your warehouse storage.

ALSO READ: Why is Cloud Storage Better than Local Storage?

Lean Inventory

You can follow the just-in-time inventory approach, and maintain lean inventory – less inventory, less effort to organize it!

Store only what is essential to prevent stockouts and avoid over-stocking too.

Having less inventory on hand will allow your warehouse to be highly efficient, and deliver outstanding customer service.

Organize Safety Stock

We just mentioned lean inventory, but it’s also essential to have a buffer to accommodate sudden spikes in demand, or delays in getting replenishments from vendors.

Mark an area to store this safety stock so that it doesn’t get used in the normal course, or get displaced.

ALSO READ: Importance and Calculation of Safety Stock

Implement Cycle Counting

There’s nothing more tedious and time-consuming than the annual process of counting inventory at financial year-end.

However, if you perform cycle counts – monthly, quarterly, or even weekly, and keep track of inventory across the whole year, you need not undertake this annual count.

Cycle counting is efficient, and helps in maintaining accurate levels of inventory, saving you time and money.

Adopt a Warehouse Management System

A warehouse management system is software that can streamline and automate most of the warehouse activities, and also support most of the ideas we have mentioned above.

It will make profiling, classification, slotting, inventory tracking, and many other tasks easy and quick.

Final Thoughts

Implementing a robust and reliable solution like Tranquil will support you substantially to ensure that your warehouse is organized and efficient; it will provide you with vast amounts of data which will be invaluable in the future, when you can use it to further improve warehouse functionality.

Tranquil offers real-time visibility into inventory, assets, and more, delivering valuable insights that helps you take informed decisions for business growth. Schedule a FREE demo at your convenience to know more.

 

Every business needs fixed or physical assets to operate – land, machinery, computers, equipment, furniture, vehicles, and the like.

Fixed asset management involves monitoring and maintaining the physical assets of an organizations with the help of RFID tags GPS, barcodes, QR codes, IoT sensors, and more.

These codes and tags are easily scanned and read by handheld devices and smartphones.

Fixed asset management delivers several benefits to companies like:

• Greater profits – as costs can be minimized, and incomes from those assets can be maximized.
• Higher customer satisfaction – when equipment used for client projects perform without glitches, customers are more likely to stay
• Help maintain compliance – proper maintenance of machinery and equipment enhances safety and reliability, ensuring compliance and avoiding legal action or fines.

ALSO READ: Latest Trends in Asset Management 

• Reduced maintenance and repair costs – with regular tracking and proper servicing of equipment you can eliminate unforeseen downtime and costly repairs
• Better relationships with investors – as efficient asset management boosts profitability, it can inspire investor confidence, and help you obtain capital easily
• Employee engagement – proper asset management has ripple effects of customer retention, greater profitability, happier investors, etc. which builds the company’s reputation, and attracts qualified and expert employees.

However, there are several challenges in asset management.

The larger the organization, say, one with hundreds of assets in multiple locations – the more daunting the task becomes.

Improper management of your fixed assets can cost you dearly in the form of inefficiencies that lead to delays, dissatisfied customers, long closing of quarterly or annual books, audit risks, non-compliance, and more.

However, if performed properly, you can enjoy significant tax savings, overall improvement in efficiency and enhance your bottom line.

ALSO READ: What is Asset Tagging? Why It is Important?

Common Asset Management Challenges

Let us look at the most common asset management challenges:

1. Manual Errors and Inefficiencies

Manual management and tracking of assets through their lifecycles including procurement, transfer, disposal, maintenance, additions, and more, is time-consuming and fraught with the possibilities of errors.

This can cause you to miss deadlines for closings, and overworked, overburdened staff.

Data manipulation, planning taxes, performing reconciliations, etc. can strain your resources substantially.

2. Spreadsheet Errors

Spreadsheets are not only cumbersome and time-consuming, but may also cause you to neglect updates in taxation regulations, causing expensive miscalculations.

With no visibility into or automation of critical tasks, spreadsheets also hamper continuity; when the knowledge base and owner of the spreadsheet leave the company, you suddenly have no access to that information.

3. Managing Financial Closing Pressures

When it’s time for the financial year-end or quarterly closing, companies often have to collate and make sense of information flowing from various departments, reconciling data from disparate systems and manual processes, and so on.

This keeps your employees tied up in mundane administrative tasks with little to no time for analyzing the data or to strategize.

ALSO READ: ERP software in Warehouse & Fixed Asset Management

4. Lack of Visibility

This is one of the biggest asset management problems.

When there is no visibility, you cannot be sure about how many assets you have at specific locations, you cannot track important information like the serial number or model number of assets for use in the future for tech support or servicing, if you don’t have earlier records of assets and their details.

When you have to transfer tools and small appliances among your different locations for use, it becomes even more challenging.

You cannot make intelligent decisions with regard to your assets if you don’t have a clue about what you already have, and where it is located.

5. Sharing Data Across the Organization

With manual and paper-based systems, or outdated software, it is very difficult to share important tax information across the whole organization.

In today’s competitive business environment, it is critical that there is crystal clear visibility among departments in real-time.

6. Maintaining Robust Controls

Today, fixed asset management is a lot more than just ensuring compliance – they have to be a vital element of your strategy to maintain effective operations, and be efficient and reliable in your financial reports.

ALSO READ: Why Use a Barcode For Tracking Inventory And Assets?

7. Minimizing Downtime

Merely having the right equipment, machinery, and vehicles is not enough – you need to make sure they are at peak operating condition, and minimize downtime.

While you may not be able to exactly calculate the cost of machinery downtime, you can understand that it causes delays in production and/or deliveries, creating frustration among employees and dissatisfaction among customers.

Without an asset management solution in place, you will not be able to prevent unexpected breakdowns and failure of machinery and vehicles.

But by implementing a robust asset management solution, you can ensure that you schedule all machines and vehicles for regular maintenance checks and servicing, and carry out minor repairs or replacements before they become big problems.

This can reduce unexpected downtime and save costs as well.

8. Obsolete Software

Are you still holding on to your business software that you installed a couple of decades ago?

It may be quite inadequate for the requirements of today.

Your legacy system may not help you maintain compliance with new regulations, and it can become very cumbersome to extract data or enter it again.

Tranquil can help you in this regard; it is a robust and sophisticated ERP solution that can be customized to include functionality you need and help you avoid delays or waste resources.

ALSO READ: Ways to Improve the Procurement Process

9. Developing Effective and Customizable Reporting

Generating reports regularly can be daunting and can take up a lot of time; furthermore, creating flexible reports where you can categorize assets on type and depreciation of assets is even more complex.

You will have to look for ways to reconcile the differences in data and explain them.

10. Warranty Leakage

When you don’t track your assets accurately, it is highly probable that you are not tracking their availability or the status of their warranties.

Now this could lead to actual loss of money, as you may end up paying for repairs unnecessarily.

That is, you may pay to repair a machine even though it is still in the warranty period, simply because you haven’t kept track of its warranty.

11. Managing Data That Fluctuates and Increases

It can be very overwhelming when you have to keep on updating and gathering huge volumes of data from multiple systems and sources.

Often, companies outsource the collection, standardization, re-entry, and performing of calculations in the proper systems to third parties, just so they can keep up with the mountains of data.

You have to consider your data collection requirements not only for the present, but also for the future.

ALSO READ: Inventory Management Problems and Solutions

12. Understanding Your Costs

It is crucial that you perform an analysis of the total cost of assets in your operation, starting with the initial procurement cost, through its operation, maintenance, repairs, resale or disposal.

It is only then that you will get the right financial picture that empowers you to make decisions that are the most cost-effective.

When you delve deep into the costs of equipment and vehicles, labor, maintenance costs, lubricants, fuels, and other consumables, only then will you get a true picture of the costs from acquisition to disposal.

When you are able to efficiently manage the total cost of ownership of your fleet, you can ensure that your operations are more productive and economical, and meets the objectives of efficiency as well.

13. Mergers and Acquisitions Activities

If a company merges with another, acquires, or is acquired by another company, the organizations involved have to combine the data relating to their new fixed assets with that of the existing ones.

They will have to implement robust controls and processes in order to ensure that their acquisition strategies are feasible.

ALSO READ: What is Stock Adjustment and Stock Transfer?

14. Repair Vs Replace Decisions

Deciding if an asset must be replaced or repaired is a common dilemma that asset managers face.

If you take the incorrect decision, the business can be badly affected; either because you had to pay too much, or because you have to face the expenses caused by machine breakdown and downtime.

When you don’t have the correct data to evaluate and guide the managers, the decision to repair or replace is pure guesswork – you might as well draw lots!

15. Asset Servicing Errors

In the absence of a proper method to identify an asset firmly and accurately, you have no way to know whether your employees on-site are using the right equipment or machinery to create a work order.

When there is an emergency service, time is precious, and the wrong decisions can cause costs to spiral, if your field tech is not sure which asset has to be serviced or repaired.

Mind you, there is a danger of the wrong asset being serviced, even if it is a routine service – if you don’t identify and tack assets properly.

ALSO READ: Emerging HR Trends for 2023 and Beyond

16. Time Sink

One huge problem which most organizations and asset managers fail to realize is the huge amount of time that is spent in maintaining assets.

Managers who are striving to manage important business assets without the right software and tools, especially face this issue.

This is more so for finance managers who have several other responsibilities to discharge; their time, which they spend in managing the organization’s fixed assets, is in itself the greatest cost.

17. Difficult Strategic Decision Making

In any company’s budget, a significant portion is assigned to spends on capital assets and equipment; this does have a substantial effect on your profitability.

To be able to make huge decisions, like investing in new equipment – fixed assets – requires access to accurate, detailed, clean, and current data across the location portfolio; only then will the decisions be strategic and intelligent.

It is imperative that a business has proper knowledge of asset inventory, the cost per asset through its life cycle, its service and maintenance history, and more.

And this can only be possible with a proper asset management solution that records, maintains, and tracks equipment across the company.

ALSO READ: What is Negative Inventory?

While its true that these are the challenges you could face, you don’t necessarily HAVE to. That is because you can implement Tranquil ERP which has a feature-packed asset management module that will help you manage all your assets across multiple locations smoothly and easily. Combined with tagging your assets, you can ensure that you repair and service the machinery or vehicles on a regular basis and avoid unpleasant surprises. You can make sure that all your fixed assets are in optimal running condition and even extend their working life. If you’re not sure how our software can help, simply ask for a FREE demo, and we can take you through it.

 

Managing field service can be pretty challenging – more so when you rely on manual and paper-based methods.

It is extremely essential in today’s competitive world to have a robust field service management software that enables the efficient management of your workforce, machines, equipment, vehicles, and more.

Unlike managing business property, field management requires managers to handle company resources that are either on the way to customer sites, or already employed there.

You need to schedule work orders, dispatch technicians, track the hours they worked, the progress of the jobs, and issue invoices to customers.

Typically, repair, maintenance, inspecting, consultations, and customer support fall under the ambit of field service.

Field service management software can help you do all these tasks seamlessly.

ALSO READ: Features of Accounting Software 

What is Field Service Management (FSM) Software?

Field service management solutions enable you to achieve your business goals and boost productivity, eventually enhancing revenues.

Business owners and managers aim at using resources optimally and boosting customer satisfaction to improve profitability; these are the important goals, regardless of industry or size of the business.

With a spike in customer expectations, it is becoming more and more imperative to provide superior customer service.

FSM software can deliver numerous benefits as it can give you practical and much-needed solutions, like better communication with not just employees, but customers and managers too.

FSM solutions can give you a competitive edge by enabling you to deliver superlative customer experiences.

ALSO READ: Must-Have HRMS Modules and Features

Industries that Require FSM

1. Telecom

To access work order management, use the software to execute jobs, report issues, and specify the time and method used for completion.

2. Shipping

Accurate delivery times can be maintained, and cost of fuel can be saved with the correct routing and scheduling, along with greater visibility of packages.

3. Utilities

Engineers can view job progress, customer availability and local delays, allowing them to adapt to changing situations

ALSO READ: ERP vs CRM 

4. Property Maintenance

Tenants can have an online portal to report issues of leaks, air conditioning problems, and maintenance requests, and they can be taken care of easily and safely.

5. Mining

Reporting issues in safety, reducing workplace injuries etc. can be achieved

6. Healthcare

Patients can be treated at home without expensive and time-consuming hospital visits.

Pharmacists, therapists and healthcare providers can collaborate to provide enhanced patient care.

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Advantages of Field Service Software

Now that we have understand what field service management software is, let us take a look at the benefits it offers:

1. Integrates Disparate Systems

FSM software transforms manual processes, paper files, whiteboards, calendars, spreadsheets and so on into user-friendly digital formats.

This allows you and your teams to access data on jobs and service tickets from any location whenever you want to easily and without hassles.

Anyone in your company will be able to access information about technicians on the field.

You don’t need disparate systems once you have a field service management solution, as everything can be managed from a single unified platform.

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2. Schedules Events Properly

Some of the biggest challenges faced by field service providers are issues with dispatching, improper workflows, and confusion in scheduling – failing to send a technician to a particular job, or duplicate scheduling for some other.

However, GPS can help in allocating tasks to technicians located nearer your customers.

This not only saves time, but also makes things more orderly within the company.

A real-time system for scheduling allows field personnel to quickly adjust and adapt without causing delays in service to customers.

Remote work has become a quintessential part of many industries – especially so in the construction industry.

It enables builders, managers, and teams to collaborate on projects, share ideas, and assign jobs regardless of where they are at the time.

3. Enhances Productivity

When all tasks related to field services are automated, you no longer need manual effort for form filling, data entry, and log updates in the office.

Your team can spend their time more productively – on their actual tasks, allowing them to be more efficient and deliver better customer service.

When time is utilized more fruitfully, your team can complete more jobs daily – straight away boosting productivity along with an increase in the accuracy of dispatches.

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4. Field Employees Function Efficiently

All the field technicians will have the app on their mobile devices, allowing them to access information from the FSM software whenever they require it, regardless of where they are.

They can query the data, connect to tech support, and access specific tools they need to execute a specific task.

The backend team can communicate in real-time with the field technicians, enabling them to do a better job and deliver excellent service, achieving a high rate of customer satisfaction.

Field techs can give updates about job status, ask for parts replacements, and access inventory on the fly, without having to go to the office.

It gives them the freedom, leeway and wherewithal to perform their tasks on the field efficiently and quickly.

With GPS tracking, it becomes easier to get to jobs that require accurate geographic locations.

GPS can also record their arrival time, and notify the office if the field techs travel beyond the prescribed area, with the geo-fencing feature.

5. Work Automation

FSM software enables automation of monotonous tasks, and helps the flow of tasks to be smooth and hassle-free – similar to a sequence of several events occurring outside the office premises.

When there is smooth task flow, there is less resource wastage, and fewer ineffective activities.

It also enables you to focus on more value-adding tasks.

ALSO READ: Guide on Integrating ERP and IoT

6. Optimizes Resources

Companies are able to manage fundamental aspects of their work like assignment and routing of field tech based on expertise and experience more efficiently and hence are able to improve profitability.

Manual dispatch systems are automated, and excellent service levels can be maintained.

7. Cost Reduction

Field service management software helps reduce expenses and earn more revenue.

With digitization of paperwork and aligning of forms in a single network, your team can execute more jobs.

Tranquil FSM software is user-friendly and allows you to create your own forms to gather information, reducing your dependency on IT professionals, and making the process more efficient.

This helps in executing more jobs, accept more assignments, and earn higher profits.

8. Securing Cloud Data

Cloud storage offers better security than on-site storage, thanks to sophisticated encryption methods.

According to industry experts, businesses report heightened security after moving to the cloud.

It also makes it easy to maintain compliance with government and industry regulations.

FSM software which is cloud-based and has a security strategy specific to your business can mitigate risk and prevent security breaches.

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9. Dealing with Emergencies

Field service management software will be able to immediately identify a field tech who is nearby and available.

The maps’ location can be easily seen by dispatchers as the map has complete functionality in the software.

The field tech can be quickly rerouted to where he is needed urgently.

In the absence of such software, whenever there are urgent or emergency service calls, it can cause tension and panic among office staff and field tech alike.

10. Knowledge Base and Customer History

For any business, having a database that contains every bit of data about your customers, history of interactions with them and services performed for them, requisite technical instructions etc., is an extremely treasured asset.

Even if specific employees are unavailable due to illness or other reasons, or they quit, the company will be able to continue the work process smoothly thanks to the database and detailed customer history.

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11. Quick Invoicing

Invoices are generated by a field service providing company to customers once the service call is successfully completed.

The field service management software allows the field techs to send job-related info like the hours spent, the status of the work, what materials, tools and equipment were used, and so on.

They can also upload photos of the job performed, and the digital signature of the customer.

Tranquil FSM can generate invoices, calculate charges, identify warranty products and pending commitments automatically, and assign discounts based on the data provided.

12. Minimizes Waste

One of the most important responsibilities of field service management software is managing and reducing waste.

By implementing the software in your company, you can minimize wastage by encouraging the essential functions of the system.

Consequently, field techs can perform in a more efficient and systematic manner, boosting the business sense and reputation of the company.

ALSO READ: Guide to Understanding Different ERP Systems

13. Supports Expansion

Field service management solutions are capable of handling complicated data and increasing customer requirements every single day, smartly and efficiently, because it’s designed to scale.

Thanks to this feature of the software, business owners need not worry about scaling or growing their business; in fact, they can plan it more effectively now.

FSM software is also capable of adapting to the increasing needs of the growing company, and alerting you to what must be added so that you can make sure your jobs are properly executed.

14. Efficient Processing of Work Orders

Several companies still rely on manual methods and paper documentation, or outdated software to record details of work orders every day.

More often than not, this leads to delays and overlaps in scheduling, problems with dispatch, erroneous data entry, and high costs.

One of the best advantages of field service management software is that it sends the task straight to the field tech’s mobile device, including the customer history, the optimal route to the customer site, tools required, inventory information, and service reports which may also include photos along with descriptions, so that they can deliver superior service to the customer.

By eliminating manual and paper-based processes, companies can effectively streamline field service processes.

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15. Team Coordination

By implementing FSM software in your field service business, you can significantly improve team communication and coordination.

This is because field techs and office staff can all access the same info, and office staff can provide any additional info the field tech wants.

Field service software can enhance user experience for clients by executing more tasks and field operations to boost productivity, efficiency, and save costs.

16. Promotes Innovation Continuously

Field service management software evaluates statistical data and gathers feedback from clients and workers to drive continuous improvement in service levels.

When a system gathers additional information, identifying where the service is lacking and needs improvement becomes very easy.

You can also identify the time taken to execute a task and helps to plan your workforce efficiently.

With feedback loops in place, it becomes simpler to improve efficiency across processes.

Thanks to field service management software, engineers and field techs can view customer availability, local delays on the route, status of the job, and more.

This helps them to respond to sudden changes in the situations without much delay or having to wait for approvals from the office.

ALSO READ: Benefits of Warehouse Management System

Conclusion

Field service management software has drastically changed the way in which field service companies function, how their business processes run, how customer expectations are managed, and customer experiences are delivered.

Tranquil provides no-code software, offering you a speedy and reliable option that boosts productivity and reduces wastage and expenditure, eventually enhancing your bottom line. Schedule a FREE demo to see how exactly our software can benefit your business.