COVID & XAPPS Blog Series
e-Emphasys Mobile Applications
This blog post is the first in a series that will deep dive into each of the e-Emphasys mobile applications, drawing out the benefits they provide in a post-COVID world. In this first blog, we will evaluate the impact COVID-19 has had on service departments and demonstrate the proven ability of three xApps – eScheduler, eServiceTech and eVA to help alleviate the strain.
From the onset of the pandemic, dealerships and service departments were deemed essential. At this time, information on the virus was sparse and many dealerships were at a loss for how to protect their employees while still meeting the needs of their customers. Whether employees were calling out of work or there was apprehension about continuing business processes that lacked social distancing, business was not operating as usual.
Service departments were already in the midst of a crisis prior to COVID-19. While not deadly, this crisis came in the form of a disappearing technician workforce. With the majority of the workforce nearing retirement and fewer young people choosing this career path, we have seen level of available, well-qualified technicians seriously depleting. Service departments are either operating with green technicians or are overworking their senior technicians. But, as of early 2020 these departments were fighting a two-front battle.
At e-Emphasys, we pride ourselves on being an invested and active part of the equipment distribution industry. As such, we recognize and innovate to solve these industry-specific challenges. Let’s take an in-depth look at how our service solutions are equipped to help your service department adapt to the changes and challenges of today.
“e-Emphasys has cut our service administration expense by at least 50 percent. I would say the reduction in time with e-Emphasys in generating financials is 70 percent or greater. Things that used to take two departments several days going back and forth now take, in some cases, 10 to 20 seconds.”
– John Kimball, President, Kimball Equipment Company
e-Emphasys Superior Service Solutions
e-Emphasys boasts a suite of service solutions that enable you to deliver optimal customer service and increase the efficiency of your service department in a post-COVID world. Three of those are the xApps eScheduler, eServiceTech, and eVA.
eScheduler
The e-Emphasys eScheduler Application is a workforce optimization tool built to help you maximize your technicians’ time. With a workforce limited by a pandemic and a lack of experience, the eScheduler application offers you the ability to skill-match technicians to the best job for their abilities. eScheduler allows you to schedule and dispatch technicians based on availability, proximity to the job site, and their skill level. This ensures that you are meeting customer expectations by sending out the best technician for the job while at the same time avoiding putting your green technicians in situations too advanced for their abilities.
eServiceTech
e-Emphasys’ service capabilities go beyond just skill-matching technicians to jobs. The eServiceTech mobile application integrates seamlessly with eScheduler to leverage advanced and flexible labor pricing, increases time-keeping accuracy, reduces unscheduled overtime, and monitors idle time. The application boasts real-time reporting that records how much time mechanics are spending on jobs, speeds up job closings, and eliminates labor-time data entry errors. eServiceTech benefits you by making management of your mechanics and service department personnel easy and by simplifying their administrative responsibilities.
eVA
One of the most innovative products in our service solutions lineup is our proprietary eService Virtual Assistant (eVA). Fueled by artificial intelligence and machine learning technology, eVA works to bridge the gap between skills and experience. Just like eScheduler, eVA can be integrated with the other service applications or can be deployed as a stand-alone solution.
With the current pandemic, your workforce may not be at its full capacity. But business does not stop for anything. With the eVA mobile application you can send your technicians out to jobs that may require more experience than they currently have as eVA provides guided troubleshooting, suggests parts, and assigns probability based on stored knowledge gained from historical work orders.
Increased efficiency and a maximization of technician productivity are two prominent benefits of the eVA mobile app. eVA is able to identify and recommend the most cost-effective solution, saving your technicians time diagnosing and improving service profitability.
