A Dose Of Reality For Managing The Unpredictable

By Mark Cattini, CEO, ClickSoftware, www.clicksoftware.com

Leading field service organizations know how to handle less-than-optimal scenarios.

If you’ve worked in field service long enough, you learn that no matter how solid your plan is, it will eventually collide with reality. The adage “hope for the best, expect the worst” is not the mantra of a pessimist. It’s the pragmatism of a seasoned field service leader, encouraging preparation for less-than-best-case scenarios.

Running a successful field service team is largely about closing the gaps between what’s planned and what actually happens. The more customers you have and the more resources to serve them, the more costly these gaps can become. To plan for the unexpected, the best service organizations use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) and a generous helping of actual data and operational insights.