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If you’ve ever spent a day waiting for the washing machine repair person or the utilities worker to show up, you know how trying it can be. But, when that employee shows up on time, armed with the right parts and is able to fix your problem on their first visit, you’re amazed. Even delighted. It feels like the company has your back.

Here at Salesforce, we’re laser-focused on providing a connected customer experience. That’s the main reason why we launched Field Service Lightning two years ago. We wanted to extend the world’s #1 service platform, Service Cloud, to field service - to equip mobile employees and dispatchers with all the information they need to provide customers with a connected  experience that simply “wows”.

And today we’re excited to announce the next generation of Field Service Lightning that empowers companies to provide world-class service experiences in the field.

  • Appointment Management: Ever spent 20 minutes on hold just trying to schedule an appointment with a company? Our new Snap-ins Appointment Management makes it easy for businesses to embed a scheduling interface on their website (with just one line of code!) and empowers customers to easily create and manage appointments on their own time and from any device.

 

  • Return Orders simplify the return process for customers and technicians. Customers can initiate a return from a company’s website, or field technicians can create return orders onsite. This means a quick, headache-free return not only for the customer, but also for the mobile worker who is assigned to retrieve the product.

 

  • Crew Scheduling allows dispatchers to assign a crew of multiple people to a job, which is especially critical for complex projects like oil rigs repairs and elevator installations. Now dispatchers can assign different crew members based on their skill levels and expertise, so every job gets done right, the first time.

 

And of course … we never forget our Trailblazers! They need simple tools to customize their Field Service Lightning experience.

  • Guided Setup offers an easy, visual wizard that walks admins through a simplified set-up process, reducing clicks to get started with Field Service Lightning by approximately 66%, on average. The wizard walks admins through the process to configure territories, job types, and appointment booking windows to make the initial set-up a breeze. Based on our expertise in field service, admins can establish the minimum viable requirements to get their field service team up and running in a matter of minutes.

 

What’s been most rewarding for us since launching Field Service Lightning is the momentum from our ecosystem and customer Trailblazers. Because it is built on the Service Cloud platform, Field Service Lightning is highly customizable.

GearsCRM, a Salesforce Gold Consulting Partner, has deployed 15 diverse implementations of Field Service Lightning. “We’ve seen the immediate benefits that a truly mobile and connected workforce can bring to customers. With Field Service Lightning, our clients are able to provide a first class support experience to their customers and make their mobile workers’ jobs easier. It’s a win-win,” says Harry Radenberg, President and CEO of GearsCRM.

We’re just getting started with Field Service Lightning and have big plans for 2018. Check out these new features and please let me know what you think at @pbergamo.

Pricing & Availability

  • Return Orders and Guided Setup are available today for no additional cost with any Field Service Lightning license.
  • Crew Scheduling is available with Field Service Lightning Dispatcher and Field Service Lightning Plus at no additional cost.
  • Snap-Ins Appointment Management will be available in pilot at no additional cost starting in June 2018 to customers with a Field Service Lightning and Community Cloud license.

Additional information