Case Study
Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen Digitalizes Global Technical Service with Solvares Field Service
Digitalization of Order Processing
Global Service Assignments from Germany
Since January 2017, MR’s service technicians operating from Germany have been using MOBILE X for their global assignments, which typically last one or more days. Via the mobile solution, they receive all relevant information about upcoming trips—including travel documents, order data, equipment data, and equipment history—directly from SAP CS on their fully rugged convertible notebook.
During maintenance, the service technicians capture the data for feedback directly at the deployment site, so that it is subsequently reported back immediately and automatically to SAP CS. They also report back material consumption from advance deliveries or from the technician’s warehouse via the solution, thereby simultaneously maintaining the installed base in SAP.
The feedback and service reports can be captured in multiple languages and take into account the different time zones. Before posting in SAP CS, the back office reviews the data for accuracy via the Solvares Field Service release monitor, thus avoiding incorrect postings and calculations.
After the implementation in Germany, the solution was successively rolled out in other countries. Since January 2018, the service experts in the USA have also been working with the solution.
Digital Travel Expense Reporting and Checklists
With the Travel Expense Manager module from Solvares Field Service, technicians can capture their expenses including photos of paper receipts, allowances, and mileage driven with a private vehicle quickly and easily in digital form. The trips are created in the module and populated with the data from the technician’s feedback.
Via the Solvares Field Service Add-On for SAP, the data is transferred to the SAP travel expense transaction PR05 for internal settlement and posting. This facilitates and accelerates the invoicing of orders. The trip number generated during posting is written back to the technician’s client, providing them with a better overview of their expense reports.
A particular challenge in the project was the digitalization of the extensive measurement and reporting system for service objects, which had previously been captured in macro-based checklists. For each machine type, there are different subforms that the technician must complete depending on the assignment. With the Dynamic Forms add-on module from MOBILE X, MR was able to digitally map the numerous lists and forms for the objects and integrate them into the new service process.
Instead of in Excel, the technicians now complete the forms in the mobile application, which are transmitted to the back office together with the feedback and archived. The relevant forms are automatically preselected based on installed base data and partially populated with product information.
Since MR technicians perform the majority of their assignments abroad, the forms are available in nine languages. This means the technician can complete them in their native language and send them in the customer’s language. MR’s specialist department maintains existing forms and develops new forms independently.
Conclusion: Improvement in Data Quality and Reduction of Invoicing Cycles
What You Can Take away from this for your Service
All trademarks mentioned or displayed on this website are the property of their respective trademark owners.
Industry
Products in Use
Website
Results
- Global Standardization of Order Processing
- Implementation of mobile app with features from checklists to travel expense reporting
- Improved quality of service processes
- Sustainable improvement in data quality
- Accelerated invoicing from up to 30 days to a maximum of 5 days
Start Your Project
Would you like to achieve such results? Let’s talk.
We’ll show you how to optimize your service.