Locus, a tech platform that uses machine learning and algorithms to automate the supply chain, announced on July 13 its integration with ServiceNow Field Service Management, a platform with a focus in digital workflows, to optimize the deployment of field service agents.
Through this integration, customers can pick their preferred appointment time for a service. Once chosen, Locus will allocate the appointment to the best field service technician based on skill set and tools. Each technician is also provided the most efficient street-level routing plan.
But these new capabilities doesn’t mean the leadership team is without power. Managers will have total visibility into tasks being executed on the field. The system also collects valuable data to facilitate continual improvement and corrective actions.
Krishna Khandelwal, Chief Business Officer of Locus said, “Ensuring high-quality service every single day is no simple task. From on-demand requests to dynamic rescheduling or cancellation of tasks, dispatch managers have to handle it all on any given day. This integration will make their lives easier by coming up with static journey plans, and it can also easily handle on-demand requests and other dynamic modifications on the go.”
There’s other benefits beyond scheduling and routing, too. “Customers can thus increase field workforce utilization, reduce costs, and improve efficiency. To top it all, companies can now use analytics to strategize better, overcome bottlenecks, and take corrective action,” Khandelwal said.
Read also: 3 Ways to Use Current Data to Improve Field Service Outcomes
Supply chain and field service working together
While field service and supply chain may seem like two disparate industries, their relationship and ability to work together comes organically, as explained by Locus CEO Nishith Rastogi.
“It was actually a very natural request from our customers,” he said. “… Instead of reinventing the wheel, we partnered with someone who is a leading player in that domain. Now we have a great product for managing the ticketing requests and a great product for optimizing the movement of those goods.”
The fusion of Locus and ServiceNow Field Service Management provides an end-to-end solution for customers and a way to stand out from the competition. And it couldn’t come at a better time. Digital workflows and automation are rapidly becoming the norm, as AI and IoT boom within the field service industry.
“Digital workflows continue to transform field service, helping ensure that the right technicians are sent to the right jobs to solve issues quickly, while improving the customer experience and helping companies manage increasingly complex field service teams,” said ServiceNow Director of Product Management Nikki Narang.
With digital transformation ramping up within countless industries, this is a smart move on ServiceNow’s part. Gartner’s latest forecast shows worldwide IT spending is projected to total $4.2 trillion in 2021, an increase of 8.6 percent from 2020. CEOs are much more willing to invest in technology that has a clear tie to business outcomes than in the past.
Locus and ServiceNow are doing their part to adapt and prepare for digital disruption, and it will likely pay dividends in not only revenue but customer satisfaction.
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