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Dynamics 365 Field Service – Utilizing Assets and Functional Locations

Dynamics 365 Field Service – Utilizing Assets and Functional Locations

What is Dynamics 365 Field Service?

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service provides organizations with a holistic approach to service management, allowing field resources, dispatchers, and managers together to effectively handle all aspects of their operations.  Field Service includes traditional out-of-the-box functionality that one would expect to find in a Dynamics implementation, including Accounts, Contacts, and more.  But Field Service also includes two important and powerful features that allow users to fully utilize its management potential: Assets and Functional Locations.

Assets in Dynamics 365 Field Service

Assets provide a way of tracking equipment or other objects that field resources are responsible for maintaining.  Acting as a "catchall" in terms of capturing data related to an Asset, Assets can include an activities Timeline and physical location.  Field Service also allows for IoT connectivity to an Asset, which allows for a more proactive and responsive approach to maintenance and repair.  With IoT connectivity, Work Orders can be scheduled automatically when a sensor on an Asset reports a problem, and field resources will have immediate diagnostic information available to them upon arrival.

Assets can be viewed within a Functional Location hierarchy, providing for an integrated view of a customer's site.  Furthermore, Assets can be nested within other Assets depending upon the complexity of the customer's equipment.

Functional Locations in Dynamics 365 Field Service

Many times, customer accounts that are serviced are not limited to one particular location.  Field resources may need to locate a particular Asset that is within a specific room which is itself somewhere within a multistory building.  In cases like this, it's critically important that a field resource be able to locate exactly where they need to go in a timely manner.

In Field Service, Functional Locations can provide granularity for explaining where a particular location is within a building or site.  An example of this would be:

Building A > Floor 2 > Room 242 > Closet A242

This type of location relationship can be presented in a hierarchical view within Field Service, allowing users to quickly expand and collapse Functional Locations to suit what they are looking for.

Putting it all together

Overall, Assets and Functional Locations, when considered alongside other traditional Dynamics 365 entities, gives everyone who uses Field Service deep insight into the status of a customer's operations.  From automatic Work Order creation based upon an Asset's sensor detecting a malfunction to full site mapping with Functional Locations and so much more, Field Service is an incredibly powerful tool to leverage with customers who require any type of on-site service.

Contact Beringer Today!

We love to implement Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service here at Beringer.  We’ve been working with Microsoft Dynamics since its inception, and we’re always finding innovative ways to implement the latest tools and help automate business processes.

Beringer Technology Group, a leading Microsoft Gold Certified Partner specializing in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and CRM for Distribution also provides expert Managed IT Services, Backup and Disaster Recovery, Cloud Based Computing, Email Security Implementation and Training, Unified Communication Solutions, and Cybersecurity Risk Assessment.