These days, the pace of technological change requires that companies be agile. They must be able to respond efficiently to new business and productivity models, increased global complexity, supply chain disruptions, and near-constant innovation. In short, to stay competitive organizations must move at speed while keeping at least one step ahead.
This can be especially challenging for complex organizations with multiple sites and assets, where strategic opportunity can be missed in the fog of siloing, legacy technology systems, execution lag, or other issues.
Not surprisingly, then, you may not think of your work order management system as a tool for anything beyond making sure the floors get cleaned and the HVAC systems maintained. But there’s a lot more to it than that.
With the potential to impact multiple touchpoints across organizations, a work order management system—when part of a comprehensive facilities management (FM) solution—can contribute significantly to an organization's agility. In fact, work order management systems can drive operational efficiencies across key business areas that in turn, provide the insights you need to stay on top of your game. To learn how, have a look at the examples below.
Better Store Operations
A work order management system with automated workflows, an asset database, and mobile access enables users to create, assign, track, and review work orders in real time, from nearly anywhere. This allows for optimal management of time, labor, and equipment across all facilities. For store operations, this means lower repair and maintenance expenses, reduced downtime, and more foot traffic.
Easier Sourcing
From electricians to groundskeepers, janitorial staff, and others, today’s FM requires management and coordination across a variety of independent service providers (ISPs). A work order management system with a robust ISP database enables you to identify the right provider, at the right time, for every job. With a good drill-down function you can filter ISPs by a variety of details including expertise, performance, completion rate, service area, compliance and insurance status. This enables you to identify top performers and avoid excessive downtime and overtime expenses.
Information Systems Integration
A work order management system that integrates seamlessly with your existing information systems—across finance, sales, marketing, operations, logistics, and others—will ensure that actionable data, such as service verification, program costs, and FM spend, is accessible when needed. This also frees up internal resources from having to juggle data between systems, and mitigates incidences of error and delay.
Marketing Alignment
Your brand is one of your most valuable assets, and FM plays a role in reinforcing brand values and execution. Your work order management system can assist in maintaining clean, functioning, and on-brand facilities to enhance the all-around customer and employee experiences. This means happier consumers and increased opportunity for repeat visits to your business.
Boosted Financial Visibility
Did you know that your work order management system can impact financial planning at the highest levels? A platform that includes comprehensive budgeting, tracking, and expense control capabilities can provide a more thorough understanding of program cost, real-time accruals, and FM spend (often a large expense category for companies). These insights can help identify opportunities for future cost mitigation and better inform your ERP process as a whole.
Enhanced Legal/Risk Management
Managing a network of ISPs can be a job in itself. The right work order management system can help ensure that vendors are properly vetted before they are hired. With a searchable, fully vetted ISP database, you can evaluate and assign vendors based on capabilities and performance. Combine this with the ability to track insurance and compliance docs, and you’re on track to reducing service provider liabilities and minimizing expensive accident litigation.
Optimized Facilities Management
A great work order management system can do a lot more than just day-to-day work order distribution. For example, access to a comprehensive asset database and deep vendor universe facilitate a more strategic approach to asset maintenance and care—not acting tactically and putting a bandage on it until the next breakdown. This means less downtime overall, reduced maintenance costs, and longer lifespans for your assets.
And there’s more: With a best-in-class technology platform work order management system, users can optimize workflows across resources and people throughout the fleet. And by having the ability to modify, tailor and add functionality as your business operations evolve you can avoid obsolescence and costly change outs. This ensures that FM processes are streamlined for maximum efficiency. When the system is fully integrated across the organization, data is easily available to empower users to make better decisions both tactical and strategic.
Improved Overall Company Performance
Importantly, a work order management system that’s properly integrated with your other business systems can provide operational efficiencies across the organization. Cost reductions and savings can translate into real dollars and cents, which add to the bottom line and better position your company for growth.
How NEST Work Order Management Software Can Help You Achieve Operational Efficiencies
At NEST, we believe that a work order management system should be part of an overall IFM solution designed to support operational efficiencies such as these. NEST’s Facilitate work order management system is a powerful tool that leverages a proprietary technology platform, predictive analytics, and 26+ years of industry experience to provide both day-to-day support, as well as macro insights, to inform your C-suite’s strategy sessions.
With end-to-end automated work order workflows, a customizable and easy-to-use dashboard, deep ISP database, mobile access integration, operational support, and more, NEST’s Facilitate and Integrated FM (IFM) solution elevate facilities management to help your business thrive in today’s—and tomorrow’s—competitive business ecosystem.
Contact NEST today to learn more about how the right work order management system can drive operational efficiencies for your business.
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