Transforming Field Service Operations w ith Microsoft Dynamics NAV

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Transforming Field Service

Operations with

Microsoft Dynamics

®

NAV

Open Door Technology Inc. Date: May 2010

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Introduction

There are two very different types of field service organizations typically found in North America. The first are those businesses where service is a complement to their primary business; normally manufacturing or

distribution. Personnel may be dispatched to stock customer shelves, repair refrigerators or install cable modems. Service calls often include the use or sale of inventory items. The second type of business is one where the provision of sophisticated services at a field level is the primary business model and often involves the use of very expensive equipment and skilled field personnel. The creation, pricing, and invoicing of field tickets in this situation is much more complex and is often made more difficult by the remote locations in which the work may be performed. Oilfield service companies providing testing, drilling or completion services would be examples of this requirement and are the focus of this document, although many of the same principles can be applied across any field level organization. Companies may not manage inventory items or quantities but often have to track consumables.

Depending on the size and type of organization, service operations may involve a small team of employees in a local area or thousands of personnel deployed internationally. Whether field service represents the primary business or a service offering needed to remain competitive in their industry, organizations with a field service component need to make the process work better. Field tickets documenting the work effort as a prelude to invoicing are often completed manually and forwarded to head office. The methods vary but include fax, mail, hand delivery, bus, and almost any other way imaginable. The result is a logistical nightmare in trying to track down missing tickets, which can be worth several thousand dollars each. Invoicing delays are common as paperwork is tracked down. Field tickets often have to be entered into multiple systems, which can create errors resulting in either lost revenue or customer dissatisfaction. Invoicing delays and the difficulties experienced by clients in trying to reconcile the work actually done with their records often results in significant delays in processing payments. Payment cycles can take as much as three to four months. Forward-‐thinking companies facing increasing competitive pressures and requirements to improve cash flow are turning to mobile technologies to bolster operational efficiencies and improve customer satisfaction — in turn driving top-‐line profitability. By combining well-‐defined business processes and field service automation solutions that bridge the gap between the back office and the field, what is often a continual administrative headache can be turned into a well-‐functioning machine.

This white paper discusses the challenges faced by organizations with a field service component and the benefits of adding mobile technologies to existing field service solutions. Along with an overview of best practices for implementing a mobile technology solution, this paper describes how various remote field ticket solutions have been implemented in the oilfield sector to electronically capture field data, which significantly reduces potential errors, and shorten invoicing cycles from weeks to a few days.

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Mobile Technology Needs for Field Services Operations

For many businesses, managing field operations accurately and effectively is a daunting challenge. Manual processes, remote location out of even cellular range, staff turnover, inconsistent work practices, and inadequate or untimely visibility into field activities are just some of the factors that hinder efficiency and impede both customer service and profits. Paper tickets or disconnected systems often require redundant data entry and increases the likelihood of errors and delays in planning, scheduling, and billing. Even with the most experienced dispatchers, work-‐assignment decisions rarely take full advantage of timely data on

resource availability, qualifications, service history, work priority, and other mission-‐critical information. Successful field service delivery depends on the careful coordination of several stakeholders across the organization. Customer service representatives – whose duties include call logging and issue diagnostics – need a direct link to dispatchers who monitor job requirements, technician planning/scheduling, and customer preferences. Dispatchers must have a seamless connection with field service personnel – who complete the job requirements, handle issue resolution, deal with customer representatives, and ideally look for

opportunities for up or cross-‐selling.

Despite these challenges, technology investments in field service operations are often secondary to other business management expenditures. Although many businesses enjoy the efficiencies of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and field service automation, those systems rarely extend into the hands of field personnel, whose productivity can be significantly enhanced with integration and electronic information. In an increasingly competitive marketplace, companies that provide field-‐based services can no longer afford to treat service automation as an afterthought. Unfortunately, outdated, inefficient processes are often the norm for managing call logging and tracking, work scheduling, capturing work completed, creating field invoices, recording client approvals, and updating payroll.

Efficient, profitable field service operations depend on the ability to automate and integrate the flow of critical information across the back office and the field. By equipping field personnel with robust mobile functionality and connectivity – supported by well-‐defined business processes – organizations can dramatically reduce delays in field service delivery and impact overall profitability. As an option to personal computers, companies can outfit their personnel with devices such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) or multi-‐function smart phones to bridge the gap between the field and the back office, helping reduce costly service inefficiencies and ensure that people across the organization work with real-‐time, accurate information. By incorporating mobile solutions into their business systems, businesses can realize marked gains in revenues, profit margins, cash flow, and overall customer satisfaction.

Tangible ROI for Mobile Solutions in Field Service

Optimized field service delivery in the oilfield involves the coordination and synchronization of five key components – people, equipment, parts, process, and data – which is an impossible feat without some

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measure of technology support. To achieve the greatest efficiencies and to capture all the potential value within a field service operation, businesses need to establish links across all five components. Personal computers or handheld devices enable field personnel to receive data on upcoming field tickets, new price lists, new customer lists, maps or any file update or electronic document that might be useful. The ability to electronically receive information and documents in the field has the potential to dramatically build and strengthen the critical linkages among the five field service components.

To tackle critical field service objectives, leading organizations are taking advantage of emerging mobile solutions and, as a result, are reaching new heights in overall corporate performance. According to a recent research report by the Aberdeen group, organizations with at least two years of mobile experience reported the following average performance improvements as a result of their mobile technology deployments: 1

• 31 percent increase in work orders completed per day • 34 percent increase in service revenues

• 33 percent improvement in Days Sales Outstanding (DSO)

Businesses exhibiting best-‐in-‐class post-‐sales service characteristics and a successful track record with mobile solutions have seen performance gains that include 139 percent improvement in daily work orders completed, 263 percent improvement in service revenues, and 50 percent reduction in emergency service orders.

The Aberdeen Group’s report indicates also that nearly 50 percent of firms that use mobile devices to enable on-‐demand work status, tracking, transaction, and communication are retaining 85 percent or more of their customers. By contrast, only 25 percent of firms that rely on spreadsheets for these processes are seeing this level of customer retention.

It is not surprising that mobile software solutions are making their way to the top of the investment priority list for field service organizations. The Aberdeen Group reports that nearly 25 percent of service-‐oriented firms are planning investments in mobile devices within the next 12 to 24 months. Utilities and consumer-‐ driven firms are particularly bullish on mobile devices, according to the benchmark report.2

Field Service Case Studies in the Alberta Oilfield

There are a number of field service options in use within the oilfield service sector that have been integrated to Microsoft Dynamics NAV. This document discusses possible configurations based on real-‐world experience but for reasons of privacy is not intended to profile specific customer installations. For more information, please contact Open Door Technology Inc.

1_{Aberdeeon Group. Best Practices in Strategic Service Management. June 2005} 2_{Aberdeen Group. Field Service Benchmark: A Mid-‐Market Perspective. March 2005}

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Tour Sheets

The Pason Tour Sheet system relies on collecting operations information on the drilling rig and then updating a centralized Pason data server on a nightly basis. The Tour Sheets contain a great deal of information, only some of which is relevant to the accounting and payroll system. When they are imported, an import routine can sort the data and carry out the following tasks:

• Identify new employees to be followed up by HR • Track safety issues

• Track fixed asset usage for maintenance planning • Record rig usage for billing purposes

• Record employee time

Pricing information would be kept in the Dynamics NAV system and used to create invoices.

Depending on the complexity of the process and customer requirements, an invoice could be turned around in as little as twenty-‐four hours.

Benefits:

• Data is not handled manually; it is automatically imported into the system

• The flexibility of the Dynamics NAV toolkit allows business logic to be quickly applied during the

import routine allowing for error-‐trapping

• Data is only processed once, significantly reducing opportunities for error

• Work performed is automatically priced and invoiced, shortening billing cycles to as little as one day • The rig satellite systems usually download the Tour Sheets on a nightly basis and there is minimal

delay in processing invoices.

The Chimo tour sheet application operates in a similar fashion to Pason.

Field Tickets

Spira and Fire are field ticket systems that would typically be used by a service company as the jobs are smaller and the cost of a Pason or Chimo system would be quite significant. A decision has to be made on how much information to synchronize between the two systems and where to create the invoices. Users may choose to coordinate only the master tables such as customers, either manually or by synchronizing them, or may synchronize pricing and invoice tables. Field tickets are created and managed in a separate field ticket server, which then synchronizes with the field level devices, whether a portable computer or some type of PDA or smart phone.

Pricing information can be kept only on the field ticket server or in the Dynamics NAV database as well. This decision depends on where the invoices are be created and issued. Some companies require the invoices to be priced and issued right at the field level so the customer can have a copy. The invoices can then be checked on the field ticket server and re-‐priced as necessary or the billing information can then be passed to Dynamics NAV for processing. Prices can be kept in Dynamics NAV with as much business logic as is required

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to create and issue the invoice or the invoice can be passed by the field ticket system right into the accounts receivable system for posting.

The choice is quite flexible and depends entirely on the company’s processes. Field personnel can transfer the information using communication methods that include direct network, wireless fidelity (Wi-‐Fi), cellular, satellite phone or phone network connections. Information can be managed from any

location, even while on the road, using remote capability. The next day’s field tickets can easily be uploaded back to the field devices.

Benefits include reduced paperwork, minimal errors, integration to payroll, increased crew productivity and a shorter invoicing cycle.

Benefits:

• Data is not handled manually; it is automatically imported into the system

• The flexibility of the Dynamics NAV toolkit allows business logic to be quickly applied into the import

routine allowing for error-‐trapping

• Data is only processed once, significantly reducing opportunities for error

• Work performed is automatically priced and invoiced, shortening billing cycles to as little as one day • Network connections can be through Wi-‐Fi, air cards, cellular phones or any other internet connection

such as a hotel room. A nightly connection means all completed field tickets are downloaded back to the field ticket server and new tickets or master files are uploaded back to the field.

• Simplicity and low cost. These systems are significantly cheaper than a Tour sheet system and much

easier to operate.

Some companies choose to develop their own in-‐house systems. In our experience, this has a high risk of failure. The upside is that the field ticket system will potentially operate exactly in accordance with company processes, something a third party system cannot normally do. The inherent limitation of a third party field ticket system is that it is designed to appeal to a wide variety of customers and will not be specific to your requirements. The better solutions utilize templates to at least modify the field data entry to match different types of work. From there, the solution can be modified to capture unique processes and information. A point to remember is that your organization is probably not in the software development business and that the third parties have done this before. If the system’s chief architect or developer leaves the company or there are significant changes in technology, the company may find itself without an upgrade path. Dynamics NAV can be integrated to either third party or custom systems. As long as the system runs on a compatible architecture such as a Microsoft SQL Server database and functions correctly, it can be integrated at any desired level to the Dynamics NAV database and application.

Return on Investment

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• Improved service efficiencies that increase customer satisfaction • Increased efficiency and fewer errors with one-‐time data entry

• Virtual elimination of lost field tickets and errors in pricing, which can often pay for a new field ticket

system in a matter of a few months

• Improved cash flow from significantly reduced Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) • Improved utilization from access to better information and scheduling capability

Wireless e-‐mail and Web use may require data services from a mobile service provider at an additional cost. ISP and/or VPN may also be required. Connectivity and synchronization may require separately

purchased equipment and/or wireless products (for example, Wi-‐Fi card, network software, server hardware, and/or ActiveSynch software). Service plans are required for Internet, Wi-‐Fi, and phone access. Features and performance may vary by service provider and are subject to network limitations. For details, contact the device manufacturer, service provider, and/or corporate IT department.

Best Practices: Service Management Strategies for Deploying Mobile Field Service

Solutions

Best-‐in-‐class companies are capitalizing on mobile technologies for field service operations to drive margin, top line revenue, and customer retention for their organizations. The process of implementing a mobile solution does require careful evaluation to help companies optimize integration with existing ERP solutions and realize maximum return on investment.

Leverage existing and new technology to synchronize five service pillars

Businesses that are building ties between service and logistics are working towards consolidated "command centers" that overlay parts and technician planning and tracking systems and serve as a unified front end for visibility and exception handling.

In addition, where applicable, businesses are exposing inventory management capabilities to field personnel through mobile devices. In this model, field personnel can report parts usage data from the field. The system then automates the process for restocking vehicles by monitoring parts or consumables usage and adjusting stock levels.

Businesses that have already deployed Enterprise Resource Planning, order management, or CRM systems are well-‐positioned to add mobile service management functionality. These internal systems house critical customer and product data that is best leveraged by field personnel. When evaluating service technology providers, businesses, in particular mid-‐market companies, should ensure that full integration with existing systems is possible.

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Address process deficiencies before deploying technology.

Without exception, businesses following their partner’s best-‐practices recommendations understand that implementing a field ticket or tour sheet system has as much to do with creative and efficient business

processes as it does with technology selection. The implementation and rollout of a mobile solution should be designed around proven best business practices.

Clearly define requirements and success criteria before evaluating technology solution

The adage about an ounce of prevention also holds true for planning a service transformation. To select the appropriate technology solution and continue to derive maximum benefit from it over time, businesses must take the time to document and prioritize their requirements and criteria for success.

For a business seeking a high-‐speed, remote service platform that provides a rapid time to benefit, the essential components include:

• Rapid deployment with manageable costs and a reasonable installation period • Ease of use that minimizes training and support requirements for service personnel • Few or no additional administrative requirements

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Conclusion

To help realize strategic profit objectives, businesses with a field service component are turning to mobile technology solutions to streamline communication with field staff and help reduce or eliminate the need for costly and time-‐consuming trips to the office for meetings and paperwork. The same mobile technology can help field personnel to access technical and procedural information, which in turn helps them complete their assignments correctly the first time and adhere to standardized procedures or best practices. Mobile

communications can also empower staff to quickly enter staff and equipment usage, instead of reporting such information by phone for another employee to input or manually submitting paperwork at the end of the day or other period. This electronic information capture can help not only to increase reporting accuracy and managerial insight, but also provide accurate, current information for planning, billing, purchasing, and performance management.

Microsoft Dynamics NAV

For businesses looking to extend Microsoft Dynamics NAV into the field, the flexibility of the toolkit allows the system to upgrade to any third party or in-‐house field ticket system. The result is a mobile solution offering seamless integration, ease of use, and functionality that bridges the gap between field operations and back-‐ office planning and processes.

Microsoft Dynamics NAV is designed to be configured to match business processes, not force an organization into a box. The rapid application development capability of the toolkit also allows a company to rapidly and cost-‐effectively adapt to changes in business or customer requirements.

The information contained in this document represents the current view of Open Door Technology Inc. on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because Open Door Technology must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Open Door Technology, and Open Door Technology cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication. This White Paper is for informational purposes only. OPEN DOOR TECHNOLOGY MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT.

Complying with all applicable copyright laws is the responsibility of the user. Without limiting the rights under copyright, no part of this document may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), or for any purpose, without the express written permission of Open Door Technology Inc.. © 2010 Open Door Technology Inc. All rights reserved.

Transforming Field Service Operations w ith Microsoft Dynamics NAV