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About Field Service Process

The field service process begins with service requests and orders. A service request is a customer request for information about or assistance with products or services. For more information about service requests, see Service Requests and Solutions.

An order is a commitment from the customer to purchase products and services at a specific price. For more information about orders, see Siebel Order Management Guide.

NOTE:  The Siebel Bookshelf is available on Oracle Technology Network (http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/indexes/documentation/index.html) and Oracle Software Delivery Cloud. It might also be installed locally on your intranet or on a network location.

NOTE:  The procedures in this guide assume that you do not use left-hand navigation. However, you can set up left-hand navigation. For more information about left-hand navigation and about implementing it, see Siebel Fundamentals for Siebel Open UI.

The field service process typically includes one of the following situations:

• A customer reports a problem to a service center, and the service center dispatches field service engineers to repair the product.
• A customer places an order through a service center, and the service center dispatches field service engineers to install the product.

Separate functional groups such as the service center employees, dispatch employees, field service engineers, and employees who manage service products must share information. Siebel Field Service integrates service center and dispatch information, field activities, and service product information into a single application. Service center agents, warehouse staff, and field service engineers can use Siebel Field Service to respond to service requests and orders. Siebel Field Service allows users to perform the following tasks:

• Receive service calls.
• Verify service agreements and entitlements.
• Create service requests.
• Search for solutions.
• Create activities for service requests.
• Assign and dispatch field service engineers.
• Track part inventories for inventory depots and trunk stock.
• Manage detailed information about customers.
• Track service product consumption and logistics.
• Manage inventory replenishment.
• Integrate return materials authorizations and service orders.
• Provide field service engineers with complete service details, including the required skills, tools, and parts for service activities.
• Manage repair of defective products.
• Set up and manage preventive maintenance plans.
• Track and analyze service costs.
• Prepare invoices for service and track payments.
• Define characteristics of assets and record readings from equipment (assets) in the field for preventive maintenance, billing, and service.

NOTE:  A customer implementation might not include all the features described in this guide. The CRM modules that a customer purchases determine the features that are available to the customer.

Siebel Field Service contains the following base modules for functions that most service businesses require:

Siebel Field Service contains the following optional modules for functions that services businesses can add to accommodate additional requirements: