Rewind the clocks a little to back before AI overtook the ERP and EAM conversations, and you may remember mobile-friendly Field Service Management (FSM) being a trending topic with vendors touching on service management: logistics, delivery and supply chain. For field or off-site workers in physical operations, using connected devices such as smartphones or tablets is as relatively a new concept as ERP platforms having smartphone style-interfaces. The general conversation is: if everyone is used to dealing with a mobile phone, then shouldn’t field service engineers, technicians and specialists expect the same software experience as they get from their Apple and Android phones?
Vendors like ServiceNow have talked about the importance of app-style UX/UI for their platforms. And as a result mobile-based FSM became a theme in ERP offerings – until AI overtook the stage. While improving Field Service Management has come up in my conversations with execs such as IFS’ CEO, it’s usually been in regards to the power of AI in helping drivers find the optimal route between two points – more embedded functionality rather than dedicated design.
What announcements have occurred in the last year have been minimal: NetSuite integrated its Field Service Management tool in its platform for both mobile and desktop, renaming it from the original name of the NextService solution that came with its 2023 acquisition of Next Technik. According to a version of the solution seen by Techzine, no route automation was included and the tool can only be used by employees or Oracle NetSuite users. That said, in April of this year ERP Today heard PSV Glass and Glazing crediting NetSuite Field Service Management for increasing efficiency by 40 percent for the firm, enabled by ensuring staff can have the correct inventory and be on location at the right place and time.
Moving away from Oracle and looking at the other big vendors, we find no new major updates outside of Microsoft. In September Redmond updated the UX of its Field Service Mobile application within Dynamics 365 by embedding AI from Copilot. A disclaimer in the update notes though notes a preview-promised “streamlined booking experience” hasn’t made it to general availability, instead defaulting to a classic UCI experience in-app.
And without naming names, ERP Today this year found another vendor was unavailable to connect through it to a global service leader-style executive when fielding enquiries on its Field Service Management smartphone solutions. The previous leader was gone with – at that point in time – no replacement announced, and indeed no updates by the vendor in its FSM space (despite major announcements in the past).
It seems then that on-the-road Field Service Management was benched in 2024 for AI adventures in the ERP playing field. But with supply chain remaining the hot topic that it is, it may be wise for the ERP giants to remember how integral advanced and user-friendly FSM is to the logistics conundrum – digital-realm AI can only go so far when wheels on the ground and fingers on a screen actually make the world go round.
