App Mavericks is a new video series from the AppExchange, intended to introduce Salesforce customers to cool new apps through the eyes of Salesforce super-users and MVPs. Subscribe to the AppExchange YouTube Channel to see new App Mavericks videos as they’re released, and check out some of our recent blog posts here, here, and here.

Our recent App Mavericks call was with Stephen Timms of ClickSoftware, and we talked about how their brilliant app “ClickWorkforce” helps companies increase customer satisfaction and squeeze extra time out of the day without crushing their service technicians.

Some highlights from what I learned:

• Every service team leader will want a Salesforce butler to squeeze efficiencies out of his or her day!
• Service chain optimization evolved when ClickSoftware’s founder, an esteemed math professor, was studying the optimization of missile defense systems and saw a way to apply these algorithms to solve everyday logistical problems.
• One customer saved $400k in annual travel costs by implementing ClickWorkforce to better route nurses during their house calls.
• It can’t be too hard to set up, because an enterprise-level customer decided upon and implemented ClickWorkforce within a couple of weeks and saw immediate results.
• Chatter, Salesforce1, and dashboards are baked into the solution, so if I’m a Salesforce Admin, I don’t have to waste time setting these up yet again.

What’s the real experience:

• As a CSR in Salesforce, I can call up the real-time availability of my field service agents in one click.
• As a field service technician, I know I’m being sent to a customer who matches my skillset and product knowledge, and I’m not dispatched based only on my availability or the fact that I'm merely a warm body.
• All users can see the work order details for each job on one screen without digging about for information or a ton of clicks.
• Customers can feel confident that the technician will show up when the CSR said they would, and they’ll know how to solve my problem without multiple visits.

Behind the Scenes:

The smart optimization engine behind the “get appointments” button allows you to offer customers with narrow, accurate appointment options, based on real-time availability of the field service technicians.

Learn more:

Check out the ClickWorkforce: Advanced Scheduling & Mobility for Field Service listing on the AppExchange. 

Geraldine Gray runs Endiem, a salesforce.com practice based in Houston. She started the Girly Geeks at Dreamforce five years ago and is very engaged with the Salesforce Community. She's been called a "Salesforce Power Broker," which is is scary, nerdy, and hilarious, but kind of true as her connections to Salesforce customers and partners run far and deep and wide. She really likes ironing, cooking and cleaning but is usually too busy golfing, running and drinking wine for her favorite hobbies.