The 2021 Release Wave 1 Features for Dynamics 365 Field Service became available for Microsoft partners and customers on April 1st! Dynamics 365 Field Service is an end-to-end solution that allows customers to transform their service operations with intelligent scheduling, native mobile support and remote asset monitoring to help you get the job done right the first time.
Small and large organizations alike are turning to Dynamics 365 Field Service due to break-fix business models, an inability to scale, inefficiencies in scheduling and poor technician enablement. Organizations that lack Dynamics 365 Field Service capabilities often experience unexpected breakdowns, siloed field service and customer service data, inefficient routes and low utilization. The 2021 Release Wave 1 Features for Dynamics 365 Field Service directly address and support many of these customer pain points so you can focus on what matters most for your business.
Dynamics 365 Field Service 2021 Release Wave 1 Features:
1. Proactive Service Delivery – The newest updates to Dynamics 365 Field Service are meant to move organizations from being reactive to providing proactive and predictive field service. Dynamics 365 Field Service now supports all the following capabilities to encourage proactive service delivery:
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- Users can add knowledge articles to work orders to enhance technician productivity
- Resolutions can be associated to incident types to more accurately correlate specific issues with specific solutions
- Upgrades to field service inspections including multi-language support, filter entity views, compact layout options, import/export templates, barcode scanning and image comments, enabling users to publish and create a service task with just one click
- Guided experience to setup master data in Dynamics 365 Field Service like accounts, work order types, products and more
2. Resource Scheduling – Easily schedule technicians and other resources to complete your field service operations with ease with the following updated capabilities:
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- New map view on the schedule board so dispatches can see unscheduled work orders, scheduled bookings, technical locations and organizational units
- New weekly and monthly views on the schedule board which enables dispatches to easily edit allocated hours for multi-day bookings
- Enhancements to the embedded optimizer within the schedule board to improve dispatcher productivity and reduce the time it takes to perform daily activities
- Outlook appointments will now be included in resource scheduling so dispatches do not have to switch between two separate tools to get a complete view of capability
- Predictive travel times so you and the customer know exactly when the technician will be arriving
- Resource scheduling optimization is now available for every Field Service organization which enables the scheduling of multiple work orders with one click
3. Technician Success – The newest updates as part of the 2021 Release Wave 1 embeds knowledge management into field service processes so technicians can reliably resolve work orders and install assets right the first time:
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- Quickly tap to complete service tasks and use products and services
- Address recommendations from Bing Maps will be provided so the admin and technician can quickly populate the account address, reducing the capacity for data entry errors
- Quickly capture Field Service notes to share and reference with relevant photos, videos and audio notes included
- Generate service reports while your mobile app is online or offline
- Get a better understanding of your schedule by viewing your bookings on a map
- Microsoft Teams messaging will be integrated into a work order to enable technicians to stay connected throughout the entire process
- Preconfigured virtual agent bot to update a booking status or find an expert
4. End Customer Engagement – The 2021 Release Wave 1 Features are designed to empower end customers to be in closer contact with the field service company. Customers can easily schedule, track and provide feedback to the field service company with the following features:
- Customer receives SMS and/or email notification with booking information and technician location tracking to enhance communication, decrease service duration and eliminate wasted trips
- Customers can self-schedule technicians from any device with a responsive interface to give them flexibility and a more personalized field service experience
To empower your business with proactive and predictive insights from Dynamics 365 Field Service, contact our BCS Team today at (562) 988-3451 or sales@BondConsultingServices.com!
