The Dynamics 365 Field Service is a part of the spectrum of customer service solutions provided by the Dynamics 365 Customer Service CRM. It helps coordinate on-site customer service operations like maintenance and repair works and provides optimized and faster issue resolutions.
Technicians are equipped with AI-supported scheduling, IoT support, and efficient work order tracking. Field Service also integrates well with other applications like inventory management, helping you track your workflows efficiently and making sure nothing is missed out in your bills.
Here is a brief overview of how you can create and use the Dynamics 365 Field Service Work Order feature for any service activity type.
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What Is A Work Order In Dynamics 365 Field Service?
First things first, what is a work order? A work order in Dynamics 365 Field Service refers to any job or task that needs to be completed in relevance to a customer query or regular maintenance. It helps record and track the work process related to any on-site work: installations, repairs, or routine maintenance.
A work order can be created once the customer initiates a request or a technician when there is an opportunity for after-sales maintenance or routine service. Once created, it will be assigned to the right resources and scheduled for competition as per the priority level. A work order will go through different levels or stages until it can be closed.
The various players who will create and update it during its life cycle consist of the associated technicians, approving managers, and the customer involved.
What Is The Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service Work Order Architecture?
A work order entity can be created only when certain prerequisites are met. Some of the critical components that need to be set up to be able to create a work order include:
Before Creating Work Order
- A Billing Account or a Service Account entity containing the details such as location, address, price list, and more. This helps determine actual pricing, service agreements, and customer assets for the work order process
- Revenue and cost items can be added to the work order to help define the type of work done in the form of work order incidents.
- Time and resource preferences can be configured to ensure your work order specifications meet the SLA agreements between you and your customer.
After Creating Work Order
After work order creation, it needs to be scheduled to be completed. This process involves identifying the right resources, checking for availability and assigning them to the work order, and making a booking.
An entity called Resource Requirement will be automatically generated and assigned to the work order that helps identify the most suitable technician who can cater to the service task.
Another entity called Bookable Resources must also be created to initiate the scheduling. This entity contains details such as employee, contractor, equipment, facility, or any other requirement that needs to be scheduled so that the work order can be executed flawlessly.
Once a work order is scheduled, a Booking is said to have been made. This entity gives details about the time, date, resource assigned and blocks a time and resource slot for the particular service operation. Scheduling can be done manually, with a scheduling assistant, or using AI-based resource scheduling optimization.
The service operation is then carried out as per the schedule, and the resulting inventory adjustments are completed.
What Is The Work Order Lifecycle Dynamics 365 Field Service?
Once initiated, a work order is taken through different stages until the task completion and the relevant database updates. Here are the steps involved:
Work Order Creation
A work order is initiated as a result of a customer query or an opportunity. It could be originating from a case, sales order, or ad-hoc work orders created by a field agent. Details such as incident, product, service, skills, and territory should be filled in, and the corresponding work order agreement is generated automatically.
- Schedule
The work order task is scheduled for a particular timeline and assigned adequate resources. It is carried out by a field agent, dispatcher, or routing engine.
- Dispatch
The related purchase orders and resource assignments are dispatched to be used on site. An automatic notification will be sent to the field agent, manager as well as the customer involved.
- Service
The technician performs the service operation, and the results are updated. Any need for new resources that arise during the service are also accounted for and will be dispatched once approved by the manager
- Review/Approval
The service operations, once completed, will be submitted for review and approval by a supervisor or manager.
- Invoice And Inventory Adjustment
Once approved, the work order will be closed with proper updates made to the inventory, and a corresponding invoice will be generated to be used for accurate billing.
Terms and Their Meanings
When working with work orders, you may come across several terms that are used as fields or entities. Here is a simplified explanation of the most commonly used terms.
- Work order status: Denotes the current status of the work order entity and helps track the work order’s progress as per the schedule.
- Work order sub-statuses : More detailed status information with respect to the work order lifecycle.
- Price list: Gives information about the price lists and product catalog to help in appropriate work order invoice generation and pricing.
- Products: Denotes the physical items the field agent will be using as part of the service operation
- Services: The work done by the technician on site which is measured in terms of hours spent.
- Inspections: Refers to the digital forms used by field agents to survey and collect information related to the work order.
Work Order Status And Schedule Status
The work order system statuses are part of the work order entity, which should be marked as completed as and when the work order reaches the state during execution.
The available work order statuses are:
- Open – Unscheduled
- Open – Scheduled
- Open – In Progress
- Open – Completed
- Closed – Posted
- Closed – Canceled
While the above system statuses cannot be altered or removed, the Field Service App allows you to create custom sub-statuses that you can use for more detailed tracking of the work progress.
Like system statuses, Booking statuses are marked on the bookable resource entity to track the progress of a booking made. Some of the default statuses include:
- Scheduled
- Traveling
- In Progress
- On Break
- Completed
- Canceled
More custom statuses can be added as per your particular needs. These statuses can be viewed in a visual format under the Schedule Board. To view, you will have to use the Field Service Mobile App and navigate to the Schedule Board feature.
How To Create A Work Order In Dynamics 365 Field Service?
- To create a new work order, go to Field Service > Work orders. And select +New.
- Fill in the details on each tab.
The summary tab will have the fields:
- General – basic information such as work order number, related service account, a summary of the service operation, and more
- Primary incident – the type of service operation described
- Total – total pricing of the work order
- The settings tab contains configurable options for general settings, sales tax, preferences, follow up instructions source, related to, and more.
- Address of the customer site
- Location of the customer site.
What Can You Add In A Dynamics 365 Field Service Work Order?
Save your work order and add the relevant service tasks, products or services by accessing the corresponding section. To do so,
Go to the Service Tasks section and click +Add Work Order Service Task record.
For adding Products, Go to the Products section and add using the + button. Do the same for the Services under the Services section.
Conclusion
Work orders are an efficient mechanism to keep your service operations well-organized and trackable. But like all good things, having expert help can let you make the most out of this excellent feature. GestiOnTheGo is here to help you create a work order and the necessary guidance to implement the Dynamics 365 Field service solution to perfection. Contact us to learn more.
