Installation, maintenance and repair of the machines you build, tracked against each serial number from commissioning to end of life.
Field Service helps manufacturers turn the equipment they ship into a service business they can run and measure. Every machine becomes an asset record with its serial number, location, configuration and warranty. Installations, preventive maintenance visits and breakdown repairs are scheduled against those assets, dispatched to technicians with the right skills, and completed on a mobile app that records parts used, readings taken and hours worked. Service revenue, warranty cost and equipment reliability then become visible in the same place as the customer relationship.
Manufacturing service differs from trade services because the work is tied to a specific machine the company designed, often at a customer site far from the nearest technician. Technicians need the equipment's build history, drawings and service bulletins, not just an address. Field Service handles this through asset hierarchies, maintenance plans and knowledge attached to work orders. Manufacturers also serve through several channels at once: their own field engineers, authorized dealers and third-party contractors. The product lets partners work the same work orders through a portal or their own app access, so the manufacturer keeps one service history per machine regardless of who turned the wrench.
When equipment ships, an installation work order is created with the sales order, site details and configuration attached. Commissioning checklists on the mobile app capture startup readings, safety checks and customer sign-off, and the asset's warranty clock starts from the recorded date. Sales, service and finance all see the same install date, which removes a common source of warranty disputes.
Maintenance plans generate recurring work orders based on calendar intervals or, with connected equipment, run hours and meter readings. Service planners see upcoming visits by region and can bundle nearby jobs into one trip. The customer gets predictable uptime, and the manufacturer builds recurring service revenue while collecting consistent condition data across the installed base. Planners can also adjust intervals when field data shows a component wearing faster than expected.
A breakdown case checks the asset's entitlement before dispatch, so the technician knows whether the visit is covered, billable or under a service contract. Parts consumed and labor hours are recorded against the work order, feeding warranty claims back to engineering and quality. Repeated failures on one component show up as a pattern across serial numbers, not scattered complaints. Quality teams can act on that evidence early.
Where authorized dealers or contractors perform service, they receive work orders through a partner portal or limited mobile access. They update status, attach photos and submit parts and labor for reimbursement against agreed rates. The manufacturer keeps a complete history for every machine and can compare partner response and first-visit resolution with its own field team. Reimbursement disputes shrink because every claim references a documented job.
The asset model is the foundation. Decide whether assets represent whole machines, major assemblies or both, and how parent and child assets relate, because maintenance plans, warranties and reporting all hang from that hierarchy. Next, decide which system owns the bill of materials and parts pricing; usually the ERP stays in charge, with product items and price books synced to Salesforce. Finally, classify work types carefully, separating install, preventive, warranty and billable repair, since those categories drive scheduling durations, required skills and invoicing.
Sales orders create installation work, while parts inventory, pricing and billable service lines move between the ERP and Field Service so invoicing stays accurate.
Connected machines can send alarms and meter readings that open cases or trigger maintenance work before the customer notices a problem.
Engineering documents, service bulletins and revision history reach technicians through the work order, so they repair the configuration actually installed.
Many manufacturers do not know exactly where every shipped machine sits today, or who owns it. Plan an installed base cleanup using shipping records, service history and customer confirmation before launch, because scheduling and entitlements depend on accurate asset locations.
Plants, mines and remote sites often have poor connectivity. Configure the mobile app's offline priming for the records technicians need, test it on the devices they carry, and set clear expectations for when data syncs back to the office. Train technicians on what happens when a sync fails.
Dealers and contractors can work through a portal, the mobile app or both, and each option has licensing and security implications. Map which partner roles need scheduling, which need mobile work execution and which only need visibility before you commit to a license mix.
Client names are anonymized.
Yes, once it is loaded as asset records. We typically build the installed base from shipment history in the ERP, enrich it with service records and customer confirmations, and add missing machines as technicians find them. Asset data improves steadily after go-live, so the launch does not need to wait for a perfect list. Technicians can flag incorrect locations from the app.
Service contracts and entitlements define what each customer or asset is covered for and at what response level. When a case or work order is created, the system checks coverage, so dispatchers and technicians know whether the work is included. Billable work outside coverage flows to the ERP for invoicing. Coverage rules are tested with real contract examples before launch.
Yes. Return orders and repair work orders can track equipment sent back to a service center, with parts, labor and status visible to the customer service team. Field and depot work then share one asset history, so a unit repaired in the shop and later serviced on site keeps its complete record. Loaner or exchange units can be tracked the same way.
An AI agent can help customers log a service request with the right serial number, suggest likely causes to technicians from past work orders and knowledge, and summarize long asset histories. Its answers depend on clean asset data and documented fixes, so we build those foundations first and keep engineers reviewing recommendations. Pilots usually start with one product family.
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