Outsourcing Field Service

An Astea International White Paper

Outsourcing part (or all) of a company’s field service operations is not a new concept; service organizations have frequently turned to third-party providers or independent contractors to help meet seasonal demand or provide coverage in far-flung geographic areas.

But the conversation around outsourcing is changing. Instead of simply handing off work that a company can’t perform (or doesn’t want to perform), organizations are approaching the process from a partnership perspective, and searching for partners that can help meet or exceed customer experience expectations.

This evolving view of outsourcing has also made it critical for service organizations to maintain more control over the customer experience and increase their visibility into outsourced service processes.

Extending the service chain to outside providers doesn’t have to result in a loss of visibility into technician and customer activities. Providing technicians and partners with the right technology to capture customer, product, equipment, and work order information—along with the ability to transfer that data to the primary service organization—can result in a better connected service network.

Field service organizations (FSOs) also have more options available when it comes to structuring their outsourcing relationships, from traditional agreements where third parties agree to complete a set number of work orders, to more integrated scenarios where the third-party provider becomes a true extension of the service organization and its brand.