Salesforce has updated its Field Service platform. Field Service is the product that helps companies manage their service technicians i.e. on-field workforce. Although Field Service already was one of the large sellers for Salesforce, the recent changes in workforce operations brought about by COVID-19 pandemic have further accelerated its demand.
Other than the surge in demand, the pandemic has also brought further room for improvement for Field Force and the recent updates it received are targeted at the same. The growing backlog of service tasks faced by different enterprises created a demand of enhanced capabilities for the platform, and Salesforce has tried to address the same. Let’s take a look at the changes that Field Force gets after the latest update.
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The update brings 4 new features to Field Force, listed as:
Dynamic Priority
As per its nomenclature, the new feature is aimed at addressing the changing priority of jobs that come across dispatchers. The new feature automatically changes the priority level of work orders, based on the importance of SLA or the criticality of the work order. The change in priority level is made while taking account of technician availability and commute timings. The new feature is aimed at freeing up the time of technicians when it comes to assigning priority levels to certain tasks, so that they can focus solely on delivering quality service.
Einstein Recommendation Builder
This feature taps Salesforce’s Einstein Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform to create right recommendations for workers. Enterprises can tap into Machine Learning (ML) models to enhance service quality as Einstein scans past work orders from similar jobs and creates recommendations for the parts required. The Recommendation Builder will enter Beta stage in October 2020.
Asset 360
This feature helps enterprises manage their assets, i.e. stay informed about the equipment installed at customer sites, warranty details, and service obligations and entitlements. Salesforce has developed Asset 360 in collaboration with ServiceMax, a company that Salesforce has already invested in. The feature will be available in November 2020. You can see the detailed coverage about the feature here.
Appointment Assistant
This new feature creates automated alerts to inform customers about the ETA of their technician. The Appointment Assistant uses live status updates and GPS information to inform customers about the status of their service. The final feature is also aimed at safety as the live status updates provide customers with enough forewarning to install social distancing measures in place before a technician arrives.
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Talking about the recent changes made to Field Force, Eric Jacobson, the VP of Field Service Product Management at Salesforce, stated, “the reality is, even with all of us working from home, work in the physical world still has to happen. There’s a backlog of work that has to be done. Hospitals still have equipment that needs to be up and running, apartment buildings have elevators that need to be maintained. At home, if your washing machine breaks, you need someone to replace the washing machine. But you want to do so safely… So it creates new opportunities for us.”