Exploring SAP Solution Portfolio for Service

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to analyze and evaluate the key capabilities and features of SAP Field Service Management to make informed recommendations for implementation

SAP Solution Portfolio for Service processes

Who This Lesson Is For

Welcome to our lesson on SAP's service solutions, specifically designed for beginner consultants. This lesson aims to provide you with a foundational understanding of Field Service Management (FSM), equipping you with the knowledge to enhance the level of service you provide to your clients. Whether you're new to the field or looking to deepen your expertise for personal growth and development, this course will guide you through the essentials of FSM, from managing master data to planning, dispatching, and mobile execution. Let's meet Kavitha, a Service Order Manager who, like you, seeks to strengthen her skills in Field Service Management.

Kavitha, a Service Order Manager

Role Description / Personal Bio

Kavitha, is a service order manager at a company that installs and maintains equipment in the construction sector. With a background in mechanics, she has progressively taken on more organizational tasks throughout her career. Ambitious and results-driven, Kavitha is dedicated to ensuring that both her team and the technicians they manage can work efficiently and effectively. Recently, she was tasked with improving processes for her team, a challenge she is eager to tackle.

Needs

Ensure transparency in order backlog and prerequisites for order execution, including skill requirements and planned spare materials
Maintain clear visibility of technicians' schedules, including their availability, skills, locations, and routes
Provide all necessary information to technicians to enable them to perform their work effectively

Challenges

Manage the dynamic and often chaotic day-to-day planning situations
Replace paperwork for technicians with digital solutions
Process and organize all data generated by technicians

Why This Lesson

Imagine a business struggling with inefficient field service operations, where technicians are frequently delayed, and customer satisfaction is dropping. As a new SAP FSM consultant, this course will equip you with the fundamental knowledge to tackle these issues. You'll learn to optimize scheduling, streamline workflows, and enhance service quality. Armed with these skills, you'll be able to provide your client with expert solutions, significantly improving their operational efficiency and customer satisfaction, while also advancing your professional growth in the digital service landscape.

Lesson Objective

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to understand and assess the main features of SAP Field Service Management. This will enable you to make knowledgeable recommendations on how to implement FSM effectively for your clients. You'll gain the skills to analyze its capabilities, optimize service operations, and provide expert advice tailored to their specific needs.

What To Expect

In this course, you'll engage with a variety of materials to enhance your learning experience. You'll read detailed content that covers the fundamentals of SAP Field Service Management. Informative graphics will help you visualize key concepts and processes. You'll also watch demonstration videos showcasing the FSM software in action, providing practical insights into its features and capabilities. Additionally, content-related videos will further explain and illustrate important points, helping you to better understand and retain the information. This mix of reading, visuals, and videos will ensure a comprehensive and engaging learning experience. So, if you are ready, let’s begin.

Key Topics

Before we dive into the details, let's get a high-level overview of some of the key topics.

SAP's service portfolio includes several key solutions like SAP Service Cloud, SAP S/4HANA, SAP Field Service Management (FSM), and SAP Service and Asset Manager. These systems work together to ensure seamless end-to-end service processes.

Our focus will be on FSM, covering its cloud and mobile applications, and how they handle planning, dispatching, crowd service, customer self-service, and smartforms. You'll also learn about the roles of dispatchers and field technicians in managing service activities efficiently.

As we explore FSM, pay attention to the visual interfaces for planning and dispatching, and the offline capabilities of the mobile apps. We'll discuss the importance of smartforms for dynamic checklists and how assisted scheduling helps to optimize technician schedules.

Understanding the FSM landscape, including account and company structures, and the various industry use cases like preventive maintenance and equipment installation, will help you grasp the full scope of SAP's service solutions.

This high-level introduction sets the stage for a deeper dive into each component and its functionalities. Enjoy the journey!

Exploring SAP Solution Portfolio for Service

SAP’s solution portfolio for service activities consists of various parts. Each part focuses on different aspects of the service process:

SAP Service Cloud: is focused on interaction with end customers, for example with the Agent Console and ticketing.

SAP S/4HANA: can build a backbone by providing support for master data management, logistics, financials, and order handling.

SAP Field Service Management: covers (among other things) planning and dispatching as well as mobile execution. The SAP Field Service Management mobile application is built to integrate natively with the SAP Field Service Management cloud.

SAP Service and Assert Manager: supports users with mobile execution through a mobile client built to integrate directly with SAP S/4HANA.

Through integration, the different systems can be leveraged to achieve optimal end-to-end processes.

This training will focus on the SAP Field Service Management (FSM) solution, covering both FSM Cloud as well as the FSM mobile application. Among other things, FSM Cloud covers the following:

Planning and dispatching
Crowd service
Customer self-service
Smartforms and feedback
Auto-scheduling

End-to-End Field Service Process

Engage, ERP, and FSM

An end-to-end service process is typically supported by a backend system (like SAP S/4HANA or SAP Service Cloud), in combination with SAP Field Service Management.

The backend system usually covers master data management and order creation - for example, through service contracts.

SAP Field Service Management supports the dispatching and execution of service work at the customer site. While SAP Field Service Management can also cover the preparation of the necessary master data and the creation of service calls, the focus is on scheduling and dispatching, as well as field service execution (including collecting data and confirmations), and the creation of customer reports.

Finally, any commercial and financial follow-up is done in the backend system. Most commonly this includes financial accounting, bookings of material movements, and customer billing.

Roles and Functionalities. Customer, Service Manager, and Field Technicians

Dispatchers typically work with both the backend system and SAP FSM Cloud, to prepare, schedule, and dispatch the orders to technicians. Field technicians use the SAP FSM mobile app, which enables them to see, capture, and interact with data relevant to their work.

SAP Field Service Management has been instrumental in many instances of digital transformations in the area of field service.

General use cases include:

Preventive maintenance
Corrective maintenance
On-site service as well as in-house service
Installation

Typical industries and usage scenarios for SAP Field Service Management include:

Manufacturing
- Equipment routine maintenance/diagnostics
- On-site equipment troubleshooting
Energy and utilities
- Outage staffing
- Equipment inspections
- Equipment installation
Medical devices
- Device calibrations
- Part swaps
- User instruction
- On-site device troubleshooting
Real estate services
- Cleaning
- Maintenance of air conditioning or electrical systems

Main Features of SAP Field Service Management

SAP Field Service Management consists of several modules and main features, the most important of which are highlighted in this section.

Planning and Dispatching Capabilities. FSM Main Features.

Planning and Dispatching

Planning and dispatching consists of a set of tools to assign service activities to technicians and to stay informed of technicians’ schedules and work status. This provides an improvement in productivity and optimizes the usage of resources.

Real-time planning and dispatching of technicians with a visual drag-and-drop interface
Manual and assisted workforce scheduling
Find the right technician with the right skills for each job
Optimize routes and always know where your technicians are with Map View

Crowd Service and Capabilities.

FSM Crowd Service enables companies to extend their workforce with service partners and subcontractors.

Crowd Owners can invite service partners and monitor their data
Service Partners can maintain their technicians’ data and manage the activities assigned to them with a kanban board

Mobile Interface FSM Customer Self Service.

FSM Customer Self Service consists of a portal for end customers in which they can do the following:

See the status of past and current service calls
See the equipment registered against their account and access the relevant product or service-related information
Create new service calls by scanning a QR code and maintain the necessary data with the help of an interactive dialogue

Mobile Field Service Management Application Interface.

Field Service Management offers state-of-the-art native mobile apps that support customer-facing field service technicians. offering full offline capabilities across all platforms (iOS, Android, and Windows). The mobile apps enable the smooth flow of information both from the back office to the technician as well as vice versa - for example, and among many other things, the FSM mobile apps enable the following:

They provide background information for service calls, equipment, stock levels, and so on
They allow technicians to capture data on smartforms, and to record efforts, material consumption or expenses
They can generate service reports and allow for immediate capture of customer signatures

Smartform Alert and Interface.

The use of FSM smartforms can give a boost to service quality and efficiency by avoiding paper forms, and replacing them by electronic forms which can dynamically respond to user inputs. A smartform designer and management tool is used to create dynamic checklists for service execution that enables the following:

They provide essential process guidance to the technician
They allow electronic data capture of technicians’ inputs

Autoscheduling mobile and Web UI.

Autoscheduling and Assisted Scheduling simplify dispatching while creating optimal schedules for technicians. Large quantities of orders can be assigned to large groups of technicians automatically, or dispatchers can use the system to find suitable technicians and schedule them in a targeted way. The optimization criteria can be customized to the business needs. This allows dispatchers to focus on exceptions rather than on simpler tasks.

FSM Landscape Overview and Login for End Users

Account, Company, and End User

Field Service Management (FSM) consists of main components, namely the account and the company or companies within it. The account is the highest structural level and functions as the platform where users and companies are defined. The company level is where master data and transactional data is maintained and utilized. Users can have different access or permissions per company in the account. In addition, through various FSM applications, a user interacts with one company at a time but has the ability to switch between them.

The account serves as the highest structural level in Field Service Management, similar to an S/4HANA system, but not necessarily equivalent to it. A company, on the other hand, is one of the key structural units within SAP Field Service Management and can be associated with an account. It can represent a legal entity, department, or another unit within an organization. Furthermore, a company can be linked to an organizational unit in S/4HANA.

Each company within an account has its own separate database, and no exchange of information occurs between company databases. An end user exists within the account and can have access to one or more companies within it.

Administration console/web UI, End user web UI ( shell) and Mobile Clients.

SAP Field Service Management consists of various clients and user interfaces for users to interact with the solution.

Administration console/web UI for managing the system, including users, companies, and permissions
End-user web UI (shell) for planning and dispatching, master data management, and so on, or for managing specific company-level settings. The web UI itself consists of several different clients, such as:
- Planning and Dispatching
- Master Data Management
- Smartforms and Feedback
Mobile clients for technicians to use in the field. These mobile applications are only intended for execution of activities, not for dispatching. Dedicated mobile apps exist for iOS, Android, and MS Windows.

Figure shows the end user web UI

To logon to the web UI for end users, use your the web browser on your desktop or laptop to navigate to https://{cluster}.fsm.cloud.sap/auth/login where {cluster} corresponds to the data center associated with the account (us, eu, de, cn, au). There, type in your account name. Depending on the authentication setup, the system then logs you in (in case of single sign-on) or you're asked to provide additional information, like username and password.

Note

Chromium-based browsers are recommended, for example, Google Chrome, MS Edge, or Mozilla Firefox.

Personal Reflection

Take a moment to reflect on how your past experiences connect with this new information. This pause for personal reflection can deepen your understanding and enhance your learning journey.

Question.

Think about a time when you or a client experienced operational challenges, such as delays or miscommunication. How could the features of SAP Field Service Management have helped address those challenges? Reflect on specific tools like scheduling, mobile execution, or customer self-service.

Expert Response

As an experienced SAP FSM consultant, I recall a client in the utilities sector facing frequent delays and miscommunications between dispatchers and field technicians. By implementing SAP FSM, we optimized scheduling through auto scheduling and assisted scheduling features, ensuring the right technician was assigned to the right job promptly.

The FSM mobile app enabled real-time data capture and communication, significantly reducing delays. Additionally, the customer self-service portal allowed clients to track their service requests and access relevant information, improving overall customer satisfaction. These FSM tools transformed their operations, leading to a more efficient and responsive service process.

Lesson Wrap-Up

In this lesson, we explored the essential elements of SAP Field Service Management (FSM) to help you make informed recommendations for implementation. Here's a recap of the key points linked to our objective:

1. Understanding FSM Modules and Features: We covered the core functionalities of FSM, including planning and dispatching, crowd service, customer self-service, and smartforms. These features are crucial for optimizing service operations, a vital aspect of your role as a consultant.

2. Integration with Backend Systems:: We highlighted how FSM integrates with SAP S/4HANA and SAP Service Cloud, ensuring seamless data flow and efficient end-to-end service processes. This integration is fundamental in providing holistic solutions to your clients.

3. Roles and Responsibilities: We discussed the roles of dispatchers and field technicians in using FSM tools. Knowing these roles helps you recommend the right tools and processes to improve operational efficiency.

By understanding and analyzing these elements, you are now equipped to evaluate FSM's key capabilities and features. This will enable you to make informed recommendations that enhance your clients' service operations, aligning with the lesson's objective.

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