Constantly increasing customer expectations and market competition highlight the importance of excellent customer service. This is the first article in a series of four examining how the case and work order management system can help service organisations cope with changing market conditions. This article focuses on how the case and work order management system can empower service organisations with information and planning support that solve cases and work orders more efficiently and improve customer relationships.

Today, customers have more choices than ever, and they have much easier to take their business elsewhere if they are not satisfied with the supplier's performance. In addition, customer expectations are constantly increasing.

The utility industry is one market that had to adapt to changing market conditions and customer expectations during the last decade.

As before, customers want good treatment and service but with the development of new technology they also want faster service, status updates and the possibility to influence how, when and where the service is provided.

The new market conditions make customer service increasingly important for satisfied and loyal customers.

Case and work order management systems can contribute to better customer experience in service organisations.

The technology itself does not change the experience, but together with a good strategy for automation it enables self-service, more efficient work, and a continuous dialogue with the customer.

“Based on our long experience of effective case management activities, we´ve driven the development in a direction where the digital flow and collaboration between all actors involved are at the centre with great support for effective planning of recourses and schedules.”

— Mikael Bäckman, CEO at isMobile AB

Four primary areas where the system support enhances the customer experience

Continuous dialogue and customer interaction
The system can make your service available all the time, anywhere and seamlessly across devices and speaking partners. The customer can easily follow their cases through ongoing notifications and get access to information about what work will be done, what is required of the customer and when the work is planned to be carried out, and of course – the status of the case.
There is also the opportunity for self-service and to let the customer rebook the time for implementation and send a message to the planned technician to maximize access for service work or to get answers to questions.
The system can also support customer feedback by asking the customer about the satisfaction immediately after delivering a service or resolving their case.
Also, should the dialogue with the customer in the field reveal the need for additional services at site for the customer, the system supports the technician to immediately make suggestions and even execute the service directly which brings value both to the service provider and the end customer.
Reduce delays
We know that customers generally don’t want to deal with any more delays than needed. In cases involving several parties such as project managers, entrepreneurs, sub-contractors and service technicians, chances are each party has an own tool to keep track of their work. Digital collaboration through a single user-friendly hub at the centre perfectly integrated with involved IT systems creates a transparent updated digital flow between all involved actors.
Time will not be wasted due to duplicated documentation and the information will be available for the actor who needs it at any given time. Moreover, the planning support optimises resource allocation and scheduling and minimizes travelling time. By connecting the various data sources and endpoints that are involved in the case and work order management to a common schema, the foundation for automation of synchronised communication of every state of every case is laid.
This enables a constantly updated overview to all stakeholders and enables the back office to ensure that the case reaches resolution and an overall good customer experience with efficiency throughout the entire case. With case and work order management, the work is done faster and more efficient.
Keep your promises
Some cases and work orders can easily be resolved while others may take more time. No matter which, when the customer registers a case they want to know when their case will be resolved and the current status.
Imagine that a customer registers a case. It could be a new house that needs electricity, a company that wants to install charging posts for electrical cars or a maintenance related task. To solve the case several actors are involved and there´s likely to be legislation, SLAs and work safety regulations to consider.
The system helps you keep your promises to the customer with support for planning, scheduling and resource allocation. In addition, the system can help you find a new efficient solution if unexpected events occur. The system also reduces personal dependences allowing for example another field technician than planned to take over in case of sickness or to load balance the case within a team.
Quality and customer personalisation
The system ensures that service deliveries will correspond to the agreed-upon level since field workers have access to case information that accurately reflects the current customer's contract and information of the assets, i.e., service objects to be handled.
Standardised processes contribute to ensuring the quality of work and SLA fulfilment. When needed, the system allows for personalisation through case-specific requests.
If a customer registers a maintenance work order for a heater the field technician will have information to prepare for the specific task and process support in the mobile device.
If the technician works with massive deployments of e.g. smart electrical meters the availability of such devices to install is crucial.
To have access to logistic information of where the equipment is and the warehouse status is of high importance.
The case information can also include specific information from the customer such as notes and questions to the technician. It can also contain specific instructions about keys, key codes and other entrance information.

Improved efficiency and quality together with increased availability, giving customer choices and a platform for dialogue can improve relationships and increase customer loyalty. We are happy to assist if you would like to know how a case and work order management system can improve your customers’ experience.