5 Fresh Features in Salesforce Field Service Summer ’23

Application Architect – SSC, Bruce Lee Stewart explores five fresh Salesforce Field Service features available with the Summer ’23 Release

It’s hard to believe Summer 2023 is here already. Of course, there are lots of “5” upcoming things to look forward to from my perspective: Girls5Eva Season 3 premiere, Indiana Jones 5, Marvel Cinematic Universe “Phase 5” – but today we’ll focus on delivering value on the Salesforce platform within the context of Salesforce Field Service. So, let’s buckle down and explore 5 fresh features in Salesforce Field Service we can now all take advantage of with the Summer ’23 Release.  

5 Fresh Features in Salesforce Field Service Summer ’23 

1. Assets – Factor in Lead Time on Usage-Based Work Orders 

Maintenance Plans have recently been enhanced to allow scheduling work orders not just “every x week or month” but every “y or z uses or movements in certain asset aspects.” Pure calendar-based maintenance allows for things like lead time – contacting the customer site, requesting access or potential planned downtime, ordering parts, arranging worker travel, etc. However, pre-planning can become difficult when work orders are based on usage factors instead of the calendar alone. Well, less complicated now that data-driven asset, Maintenance Work Rule criteria, usage (duration), or use (counter(s)) can be incorporated to reverse-engineer when to begin plans for such usage-based onsite work. 

2. Work Orders Available in Omni-Channel 

The addition of this Salesforce Field Service feature has brought up some internal debate and some lightbulb moments here at R1. Before anyone is matched to a work order via Service Appointment / Assigned Resource through a scheduling activity such as Book Appointment / Candidates or Optimization, a work order may need to be addressed by any number of internal departments or partner suppliers. The details of a Work Order were added via experience cloud or an externally facing form. The WO may need to pass through several hands to gauge severity, priority, and your company’s readiness to handle it. Is the WO part of an Incident? Are required products running low, or are alternate parts acceptable? Is it the first time an issue like this has been reported for a specific asset or product type? Allowing Work Orders to be routed via Omni-Channel may help enrich pre-scheduling workflows and ensure knowledgeable, available folks have painted the proper picture before a truck is rolled. 

3. Redesigned Related Lists in Mobile 

A note about any Salesforce Field Service Mobile enhancements – they are not available immediately when your dev org or sandbox is updated to the new version; you need to download the new mobile app as well. That extra step ensures that any app store version of the app is consistent with the existing wider release (Spring ‘23 as of this blog). But once downloaded, the summer FS Mobile app packs some punches, including the revised appearance of related lists. Card-like, organized, and more readable. This is a great benefit, especially for workers on the go who urgently need clearly expressed data.  

4. Field Service Widget 

Here’s another mobile feature, and this one is available only for iOS users. This provides details about an upcoming appointment outside the confines of the app itself. Is the worker busy viewing the day’s news or checking e-mail? The widget brings record data (Service Appointment coming up! And actions – update your status or navigate to the appointment) front of mind and outside the app. As time is critical, and no one can govern or enforce who has the app open at a given time, the widget brings time-sensitive data out to the iOS screen, regardless of if users have opened the app or not yet today. 

5. Usage-Based Contractor Licenses 

In the field service space, RafterOne works with many clients who work with many contractors or subcontractors. Onboarding, maintaining relationships with, and administering the participation of these contractors can be an enormous burden and cost. In addition, with some workers being seasonal or doing only occasional work for your company, full, full-time licenses for such workers can add up. By adding an SKU for usage-based logins, Salesforce is allowing customers who use contractors and subcontractors to enable access to field service records to several workers, and if the number of times such population logs in remains small or infrequent, all the benefits of full licenses are provided, but at a fraction of the cost. Again, check with your Account Executive for specifics. 

Wrapping Up! 

Salesforce continues to demonstrate their dedication to improving their platform and empowering users with innovative technology. The Summer ’23 Release offers a variety of truly thoughtful and useful new features for Salesforce Field Service that support convenience, enhanced functionality, and cost efficiency.  If you are seeking support with Salesforce Field Service, we’d be happy to discuss how a partnership with RafterOne can help leverage its power and maintain its ongoing feature updates. 

– Bruce Lee Stewart, Application Architect, SSC