Panasonic Solutions Company recently announced the Toughbook H2, a fully rugged Windows tablet PC that is the next generation in their industry-leading line of rugged tablets.  The Toughbook H2 offers enhanced performance and starts at only 3.5 pounds, so your workers can truly remain mobile.  Designed for workforces on the move, the Toughbook H2 is ideal for field service workers who require a device as tough as the multiple environments they work in.  Key features of the Toughbook H2 include:

• 10.1” sunlight-viewable LED screen
• Fully rugged design: MIL-STD-810G tested 6 foot drop rating
• Fast charging twin hot-swappable batteries
• IP65 sealing
• Ergonomic design with strap and dome hand support

The Toughbook H2 also includes optional integrated features such as a bar code scanner, camera and GPS to enhance productivity by providing your mobile workforce with all the tools they need in one device.

Let’s Get Mobile!  Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. for additional information about the Panasonic Toughbook H2 and our end-to-end field mobility solutions.

We’re all familiar with the ways that GPS tracking solutions increase driver safety, reduce fuel costs and boost driver productivity, but GPS solutions also provide the added bonus of increased security.  Knowing where your vehicles are at all times protects these high-value assets.  When businesses set up geofences to track vehicles they are alerted to any suspicious movement.  GPS tracking alerts can be set up for businesses to monitor:

• If a vehicle has moved in or out of the facility
• If a vehicle has entered an unauthorized area
• If a company vehicle is being used off-hours

Let’s Get Mobile!  Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. for additional information about GPS tracking solutions.

Equipping your field technicians with the right parts for repairs is essential to keep customers happy and provide efficient service.  With a mobile inventory management system your mobile workforce can manage and account for off-site inventory, no matter where it might be located.  Technicians can access data on mobile computers to track the parts they have on their vehicle as well as locate parts at warehouses and in other vehicles.  Increase first-time fix rates and workforce productivity with a real-time mobile inventory management system that enables technicians to:

• Locate parts and equipment immediately
• Place emergency reorders in the field
• Track responsibility and history of transferred inventory between warehouses, vehicles and field workers

Let’s Get Mobile!  Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. for additional information about mobile inventory management solutions.

Creating invoices at the time of service speeds up the payment process and provides immediate customer acknowledgement while in the field.  With a mobile field service solution, mobile workforces can easily create invoices on a mobile computer, share with the back-office and send to customers via email or print on-the-spot.  Digital invoicing reduces paperwork, storage costs and also increases accuracy.

Inaccurate invoicing leads to lost revenue and many businesses that provide services generate invoices at a later point in time.  Completing paperwork at the end of the day can increase the likelihood of mistakes, but mobile invoicing virtually eliminates these errors and enables businesses to experience faster collection times and improved cash flow.  When combined with a mobile payment solution, field workers can accept payment, capture signatures, print or send receipts and mark invoices as paid—all at the time of service.

Let’s Get Mobile!  Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. for additional information about end-to-end field mobility solutions and mobile invoices.

In our June 1st post I provided information about the importance of assigning field technicians to service calls based on skill level to improve first call resolution rates.  With a mobile field service solution you can also provide technicians with access to technical reference documents, schematics and history on a mobile computer to further enhance productivity and first-time fix rates.  Providing technicians with real-time resources on a mobile device not only increases first-time fix rates and boosts productivity, it also:

• Reduces overtime costs
• Improves ticket close out times
• Reduces total service costs
• Increases service profitability

Mobile field service solutions provide technicians with all the tools they need to efficiently complete a service call.  A hierarchy of diagrams for full equipment range, exploded parts diagrams and part lists are available on-demand right at their fingertips.

Let’s Get Mobile!  Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. for additional information about our MobileArc™ Field Service solutions.

In past posts we’ve provided information about DecisionPoint’s Push-to-Talk solution Grapevine and the benefits it provides to field-based workforces.  Grapevine Push-to-Talk is an “always on” solution that enables instant voice communication over Windows Mobile phones or PCs and is ideal for communications between dispatch and field workers.  Check out the latest video from DecisionPoint that features Grapevine and showcases its high-quality voice and performance.

Let’s Get Mobile!  Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. for additional information about Grapevine Push-to-Talk.

Our post yesterday focused on the opportunity to increase revenue by selling additional products and services during service calls with the help of mobile solutions.  Adding mobile payment functionality to the mix further enhances up-sell opportunities.  Mobile computers and printers enable field workers to close an entire deal on the spot, which has a big impact on up-selling and cross-selling opportunities.  With an end-to-end field payment solution your workers can not only offer additional services and products, they can also:

• Accept payment at the time of order
• Capture signatures
• Print out a receipt
• Send digital receipts

More and more companies are adopting mobile payment to shorten the sales cycle and increase revenues by enabling field workers to up-sell, extend contracts and more—all at the point of customer engagement.

Let’s Get Mobile!  Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. for additional information about mobile payment solutions.

Your field service technicians are responsible for more than just repairs.  While they may not be traditional sales people, your customers consider them trusted advisors.  Mobile field service solutions provide big opportunities to increase revenue by empowering field technicians and providing them with access to customer and service history.  Alerting technicians to performance trends raises the potential for up-sell or cross-sell opportunities.  A simple screen listing of appropriate services and products for each customer can be viewed on a mobile device to immediately extend an expiring warranty or service contract, upgrade services and cross-sell related products.  There is no need to tell a customer that they need to contact customer service, it can all be taken care of during the service call.

Let’s Get Mobile!  Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. for additional information about mobile field service solutions that increase revenue.

In our June 1st post I provided information about the importance of assigning field technicians to service requests with the right skills and inventory.  It is also critical that your field technicians meet on-site service response times to keep customers satisfied.  Turn-by-turn directions and route optimization ensure that your field techs arrive at the correct location—at the correct time.  Optimizing routes and providing access to turn-by-turn directions enables service organizations to:

• Increase workforce productivity
• Reduce overtime costs
• Decrease total service costs
• Increase overall service profitability

You’ll also improve customer satisfaction and reduce fuel costs with a mobile field service solution that optimizes routes and ensures your technicians arrive at the customer site as efficiently as possible.

Let’s Get Mobile!  Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. for additional information about mobile solutions that feature turn-by-turn directions and route optimization.

Sending work orders to field technicians based on skill level, mobile inventory and customer history is an important function for the field service industry.  Mobile field service solutions ensure field technicians are assigned to service requests with the right skills to improve first call resolution rate.  Field technicians can also access an accurate history of services delivered to customers and warranty information which reduces inaccurate entitlement data that leads to free service.  With the right resource sent to the right job, field service organizations realize improvements in the following areas:

• Mean time to repair
• First-time fix
• Workforce productivity
• Overtime costs
• Total service costs
• Service profitability

Let’s Get Mobile!  Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. for additional information about end-to-end mobile solutions that send work orders to field technicians based on skill level and more.