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+1-480-382-1320Salesforce Field Service Customisation Case Study
Case Studies
Background
The client is an insurance restoration company that provides restoration, as well as consulting services to stakeholders and insurance carriers. The Salesforce partner with whom the client had partnered earlier failed to cater to the evolving needs of their business and their future expansion plans. The client was seeking a partner who could help them manage their field service operations more effectively. Girikon was chosen by the client based on their proven track record in implementing Salesforce for building services companies.
About the client
The client is a company specialising in large and complex losses. Founded in 1996, the client business provides services in key areas including asset restoration and repair in fire or flood damage events, inventory removal and storage during reinstatement projects, emergency make-safe, and major loss consulting services. Headquartered in Sydney, they have offices scattered across NSW and QLD. They provide their clients with local support teams that can understand projects thoroughly and bridge communications between clients and their technicians.
The Problem
At the time that the client contacted Girikon, they had their Salesforce Service Cloud and Salesforce Field Service in place. However, the previous implementation with the other partner resulted in several problems.
To begin with, even though Salesforce had been integrated with external systems such as Xero and AWS, they still got errors trying to sync invoices from Xero to Salesforce. For example, invoices marked as ‘paid’ in Xero were not automatically marked as ‘paid’ in Salesforce. Besides, an integral part of their pack-out services was to manage many photos as evidence for items’ conditions, but after the initial Salesforce integration with AWS, staff could only upload a limited number of photos from Salesforce to AWS.
Next, though the client’s business grew, their current Case Management system could not support the increasing number of Cases and field technicians or align with their unique business requirements.
Third, many processes in the organisation, including Case status updates and Work Plan creation relied mainly on staff data manual entry costing the organisation time, introducing human errors, and causing major delays. Work Plans, for instance, were generated one by one, and required manual intervention after the Work Order was created. Users had to click on a “Generate Work Plan” button to initiate the Work Plan creation process. Regarding Cases, the quality of Case reporting was compromised, as by the time enough information was collected to generate a report or dashboard, many Cases would have progressed.
The solution
After several discussions and discovery sessions on how to best manage their Salesforce, Girikon came up with several solutions for the client.
- Girikon helped the client troubleshoot their current integrations with AWS and Xero with a range of integration tools, such as Salesforce Connect and Salesforce APIs so as to connect the Case Management system with external systems smoothly. This would later facilitate seamless data exchange, such as integrating with ERP systems for inventory management or GPS systems for real-time tracking.
- Their existing Case Management system required configuring and customising. Girikon’s Salesforce developers defined the criteria for status changes and configured the system to trigger updates accordingly so that Case statuses could be updated automatically based on predefined information.
- Girikon introduced the client to a Work Plan Template Setup feature. This allowed them to create a library of predefined Work Plan templates that encompassed standardised steps and instructions for different types of Field Services. Instead of manually generating Work Plans for each Work Order, users can now select a relevant Work Plan Template when creating the Work Order.
- The Salesforce partner also assisted their client to enhance their Salesforce Mobile App to allow field technicians to access the Case Management system on their mobile devices. The App provides a user-friendly interface for viewing and updating Cases, capturing customer information, and communicating with the back-office team.
The Outcome
1. Efficient Invoice Process
- Simplified Invoice Creation: The implementation of the Case Management system has made invoice creation a simple and streamlined process. Users can now generate invoices by simply clicking on a “Create Invoice” button associated with completed Work orders and service appointments. This automation saves time, reduces manual effort, and improves accuracy.
- Auto-Creation of Invoice Line Items: Once an invoice is generated, the system automatically creates invoice line items based on the completed Work orders. This automation eliminates the need for manual entry, reduces errors, and ensures that all relevant charges and costs associated with the Work performed are accurately captured.
- Efficient Invoice Approval Process: The system incorporates an invoice approval process. Invoices generated from completed Work Orders undergo a standardised workflow for approval. A staff member will click the “Submit for approval” button to let their supervisors know that the invoice is ready to be approved.
- Auto-Update of Invoice Status: The implementation of the Case Management system includes an auto-update feature for invoice statuses. As invoices progress through the approval process, their statuses are automatically updated, providing real-time visibility into the payment cycle, and facilitating better financial control and reporting.
2. Streamlined Case Management: The implementation of the Case Management system has resulted in a streamlined process. Case statuses are now automatically updated based on predefined information, ensuring accurate and real-time visibility into Case progress and enabling efficient tracking and resolution.
3. Enhanced Work Step, Work Plan and Work Order
- Enhanced visibility with separate Work Step functionality: The Case management system includes separate Work Steps functionality, allowing for tracking and visibility into each step of the work process. This feature enables supervisors and managers to monitor progress and identify and ensure the timely completion of each Work Step.
- Work Plan Automation: The system enables the automation of Work Plan creation by allowing users to select predefined Work Plan templates for the Work Order based on the Work Type and Account. This functionality ensures consistency in service delivery, optimises resource allocation, and enhances efficiency by providing predefined steps and instructions for technicians to follow.
- Automated Work Order Creation: With the new system in place, Work Orders are automatically generated based on the Case status. Once the Case status meets the predefined criteria, the system creates Work Orders, eliminating the need for manual data entry and expediting the assignment of tasks to field technicians.
In short, the implementation of the Case Management system with these features has brought about substantial improvements for their Salesforce Field Service, especially in the following areas:
- Improved data accuracy and integrity: The automation and integration of various processes, such as Case status updates, Work Order creation, invoice generation, and invoice line-item creation, have significantly improved data accuracy and integrity. Manual errors and inconsistencies are minimised, resulting in reliable and trustworthy information.
- Enhanced operational efficiency: Processes are streamlined, manual efforts are reduced, visibility into Cases and external systems are improved, and resources are better optimised, leading to increased productivity and improved customer satisfaction.
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