The industrial distribution industry has undergone some big changes in the last decade thanks to rapidly growing technological and mobile advancements, as well as new and more demanding customer service expectations.
With the advancement of enterprise and mobile technologies available to manage service departments, distributor and manufacturer dealers are realizing the huge opportunity in running a service operation to provide equipment maintenance.
While, in the past, distributors haven’t always had the time or resources to invest in a successful service department, today’s service management software allows businesses to manage field operations better and with fewer expenses.
To get started, set your service operation up for success by focusing on the most profitable revenue source for service departments: preventive maintenance (PM) service contracts.
Preventive Maintenance, Where a Focus on Automation Pays Off
By focusing on preventive maintenance you put your company in a position to remain stable through turbulent times. Instead of relying on sporadic break/fix orders to keep the service department alive, you can count on a steady stream of recurring revenue.
Service management software simplifies PM organization and allows you to build and automate a consistent customer base. Follow these steps to simplify preventive maintenance with automated service contracts.
Step 1: Use Mobile to Empower Technicians
Mobile apps for maintenance technicians are especially useful for managing and simplifying PM contracts because they keep technicians up-to-date and provide access to customer and asset information. Techs can use customer warranty, contract, and service history records to see exactly what they have to do to make each service visit a successful one.
Step 2: Connect the Company through Service Contract Automation
Managing contracts can be a clerical nightmare if not maintained properly. Without the right tools to help you organize and automate contracts, you risk loss of revenue and poor customer service. An events manager with alerts, escalation, and workflow features can help you avoid this nightmare while automating service contract information.
The events manager performs the following tasks with “set it and forget it” technology, so you can rely on everyone in your organization to stay up to date:
- Automates alerts for expiring contracts
- Tracks inventory for service contracts
- Sets up automated email campaigns and workflows to sell contracts
- Keeps technicians informed
- Sends alerts when contracts aren’t profitable
Step 3: Calculate Service Contract Cost
It can be tricky to determine how much to charge customers for service contract visits. You have to figure out how much each step will cost, including labor and parts, then balance those costs against the length of the contract, the number of visits, and how much profit you expect to make.
In order to simplify the process, field service management software equips you with a service contract cost calculator, providing you with the tools you need to make sure you’re charging a fair, but profitable price depending on how much maintaining the contract will actually cost your company.
Take Your Service Contract Program to the Next Level
Research has shown that companies that maintain preventive maintenance out-earn companies that don’t. It’s clear that using software to simplify preventive maintenance will drastically increase your earning potential; and automating service contracts is the perfect place to start.
Give your technicians and office employees the tools they need to sell, renew, and manage contracts and give yourself the best chance for running a success service department within your manufacturing business.
Stabilize and simplify your service business by placing the focus on strong preventive maintenance programs and automated service contracts within your organization.
