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Whether completing preventative maintenance, installing new equipment, or making repairs, field service technicians are essential to keeping businesses running smoothly. However, as the world continues to pivot towards digital management systems we need to be sure that these systems are helping technicians, not hindering them. A good field service app can make all the difference to not just your technicians’ daily life, but to your business’s bottom line. So what makes a good one?

1. Usability

When technicians are in the field, they don’t have time to deal with a complicated app. A great service technician app needs to be straightforward, user-friendly, and intuitive, ensuring that technicians can navigate the app easily. If the app is too complex, technicians just won’t use it. Simple as that.

Mendrhub’s user interface was designed with technicians in mind. It’s simple and functional, and technicians can easily access all the features they need – job details, status updating, logging time spent on a job, and more. The way we’ve laid out the app is intentionally clean and intuitive, so even people who aren’t tech-savvy will have no problem navigating its features.

2. Seamless Communication

Technicians, service managers, and customers all need to be on the same page regarding job status, location, and any potential issues. A good technician app should provide real-time updates and transparent communication, ensuring that everyone involved has clear visibility into the progress of each job.

Mendrhub addresses this with real-time updates, offering complete transparency across all levels of the operation. Technicians can provide live updates on job status, upload photos and notes, and communicate with management and customers directly through the app. With this level of transparency, all parties can get a clear picture of what’s happening in the field, and technicians have instant access to all the information they need to complete their work successfully.

3. Clear Task Prioritisation and Organisation

As technicians spend their days going from job to job, a good field service app should be able to highlight their upcoming tasks and provide quick and easy access to action them. Prioritisation features help them tackle the most critical jobs first, ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks.

Mendrhub’s tech app provides a clear, prioritised list of tasks for each technician, along with necessary information such as location, equipment details, and a full account of the machine’s maintenance history. By staying organised and prioritising urgent tasks, nothing will stop technicians from staying focused on the job at hand.

4. Capture the Details

Technicians often need to capture information on the spot, whether it’s a customer signature, a photo of completed work, payment on the spot or notes about the job. A good field service app makes it simple to add all these details quickly, allowing technicians to document their work accurately and in real time – ultimately saving time in the office.

This is why we designed mendrhub for fast and comprehensive data entry. Technicians can quickly add notes, create and send quotes, take photos, and even capture signatures directly in the app, all with just a few taps. Paired with mendrhub’s intuitive layout, the app makes it easier for technicians to document work accurately and move on to the next task.

Essentially, a good field service app should be easy to use, offer clear visibility and communication, help technicians prioritise their tasks, and enable quick and comprehensive data entry. The mendrhub tech app ensures that technicians have everything they need to succeed – right at their fingertips. 

Curious about mendrhub for your in-house service technicians or subcontractors? Get in touch to talk with a member of our expert team.

Regardless of which asset-critical industry you work in, downtime can be extremely costly. According to a recent study, the average cost of equipment downtime for large industrial companies can be up to $25,000 per hour. And that’s just the financial loss. When customers are expecting a timely, reliable service and don’t receive it, they may go elsewhere or leave with a negative impression of your brand. On top of all this, emergency repair costs can be through the roof. While downtime can’t truly be stopped from ever occurring, there are steps you can take to lower the chances and save your bottom line in the long run. This is where real-time data comes in.

Real-time data enhances decision-making

Real-time data analytics give you immediate visibility into equipment performance. This means technicians and managers can make faster, more informed decisions without waiting for issues to escalate. Live data tracks performance metrics, spots any deviations or irregularities, and with this data in hand, you can act quickly to address a problem before it leads to downtime. 

With a system like mendrhub, all of this data is available from the user portal. It offers instant insights from your data so that decisions about resource allocation, service provider dispatch, and prioritisation become clear and simple. It’s these kinds of quick, data-driven decisions that will ultimately help you avoid unnecessary downtime and keep equipment operating as your customers expect.

Real-time data supports proactive maintenance

Proactive maintenance is the single best way to reduce downtime. By constantly monitoring your equipment, any potential performance issues can be caught and addressed long before they cause a breakdown. Real-time data is the brains behind this, allowing you to schedule regular, proactive repairs – reducing the risk of costly disruptions and your equipment failing.

Proactive maintenance will also help your equipment last longer, as when potential faults are caught early, technicians can address them before they turn into major problems. In the long run, this means fewer emergency repair callouts, less downtime, and a longer lifespan for your equipment.

Real-time data improves efficiency and cost savings

The benefits of real-time data don’t stop at a smoothly running machine. When utilised correctly, you can optimise your entire service operation. By monitoring equipment performance, you can organise your technicians better, ensuring the right person is sent to the right job, at the right time. With mendrhub, you can even optimise technicians’ routes with our clever automations, which calculate the most efficient route to each job – saving your technicians time and saving you excess labour costs. 

In addition to this, real-time data will save you from costly equipment breakdowns. Without the data to show you what’s happening on the inside, you likely won’t know your machine is going to break down until it’s too late. By then, you’ll be footing the bill for emergency repairs, lost revenue from the time spent having it repaired, and potentially overtime costs, penalties, or fines. With software like mendrhub easily able to prevent this, an investment in real-time data can quickly pay for itself. 

In this day and age, the flow of data is a crucial component of equipment servicing. No business or company that relies on operational equipment should be without it. From enhanced decision-making, to proactive maintenance, to efficiency and cost savings, the ability to monitor your equipment in real-time is going to keep your assets running smoothly and ultimately keep you ahead of the competition. Talk to a member of the mendrhub team about how real-time data can transform your business today.

Tracking the movement of your assets between locations is a cornerstone of successful supply chain management and cost-effective field service. For logistics professionals, staying on top of your inventory and having real-time analytics at your fingertips is essential to ensure nothing slips through the cracks and to plan effectively for the future. Based on our industry experience and insights from working alongside our clients, these are four logistics tracking best practices you shouldn’t overlook.

1. Leverage the latest tracking technologies

Integrating cutting-edge tracking technologies such as GPS, RFID, and barcode scanning can provide businesses with unparalleled real-time visibility into their supply chain. These technologies offer precise location information, fostering transparency and empowering proactive decision-making around resource allocation.

Software like mendrhub takes tracking to the next level by enabling businesses to monitor and manage spare parts across locations, refresh inventory shortages, and ensure technicians’ van stock is fully equipped. With mendrhub, you can also gain valuable insights through real-time analytics, delivering an accurate, up-to-the-minute understanding of your fleet and inventory.

2. Establish clear milestones and checkpoints

Establishing well-defined milestones and checkpoints throughout the logistics process is essential for smooth operations. Key events to track include order confirmation, departure, arrival at transit hubs, and final delivery. Monitoring these events closely helps identify bottlenecks and take proactive measures to ensure on-time delivery.

Automated data capture enabled by digital and mobile technologies further streamlines this process by reducing the risk of manual errors, enhancing data accuracy, and speeding up information flow. For example, incorporating mendrhub’s mobile app for logistics and automated workflows allows for quicker, data-driven decision-making, ensuring your logistics stay on track.

3. Harness the power of data

Data analytics offer businesses key insights into logistics operations that enhance operational efficiency and reduce costs. Automated tools for gathering and visualising data can be used to optimise logistics routes, improve forecasting accuracy, and streamline inventory management. Your platform of choice should present trends in a clear and actionable format and should be supported by proactive internal processes in order to translate them into continuous business improvement.

Just as important as being able to utilise your data, is ensuring that your data is secure. Businesses can protect sensitive tracking information from unauthorised access, tampering, or loss by implementing robust data integrity and security measures. This includes encryption, access controls, and regular data backups. Secure data practices not only maintain customer trust but also ensure compliance with industry-specific data regulations. For these reasons, it is essential to utilise software with both powerful and secure data analytics capabilities.

4. Foster collaboration and transparency

Establishing effective communication channels and using collaboration platforms helps facilitate the seamless sharing of information among stakeholders. Close collaboration with logistics providers, carriers, suppliers, and customers, will enhance a business’s visibility, coordination, and overall efficiency within the supply chain. Platforms such as mendrhub have collaborative features including automated notifications built-in, making sure everyone in the supply chain is fully aware of what’s happening at any given time.

Ultimately, transparency with your stakeholders – especially your customers – will help build brand trust, enhance customer satisfaction, and enable proactive communication in the event of any delays or disruptions. Even when things don’t go as planned, maintaining clear and honest communication ensures a better customer experience.

By adopting these best practices, businesses can fully enhance their logistics tracking process and even turn it into a channel for building stakeholder trust. If you’re looking for a solution that can provide all of these logistics tracking capabilities, mendrhub was designed for just that. 

As an FMCG business owner, you’d definitely be aware of the direct costs associated with repairing and maintaining your expensive equipment and machinery. Those are costs you can plan for. Cost you can factor into your budget. But if you’ve been in the game for any length of time, you’ll know that there are a host of hidden costs associated with multi-site maintenance that can make a significant dent in your bottom line. Here are the four we see the most.

• Different equipment and systems

One of the main challenges of managing multiple restaurant sites is the diverse range of equipment and systems in each location. From kitchen appliances to HVAC systems, each site may have different brands and models, and each needs unique expertise for maintenance. This complicates training for maintenance staff and increases the need for specialised technicians, driving up labour costs. Implementing standardised equipment across your sites is a good way to avoid this and streamline the maintenance process.

• Reactive vs. proactive maintenance

In the constant hustle and bustle of a busy restaurant, equipment failure can disrupt operations and leave you with very unhappy customers. What we see a lot of is multi-site operators who find themselves stuck in a cycle of reactive maintenance, addressing issues only when they arise. This approach can result in higher repair costs, increased downtime, and a negative impact on the customer experience. Scheduling proactive maintenance and regular inspections can help identify potential issues before they escalate, reducing overall repair costs and minimising downtime.

• Communication challenges

Coordinating maintenance activities across different locations, especially when they are geographically dispersed, can be a logistical nightmare. Miscommunication can lead to delays in repairs, duplication of efforts, and increased costs. Implementing an asset management system like mendrhub gives you total visibility over your assets, and with the ability to do reporting directly within the app, it makes for fewer inconsistencies and minimal miscommunication.

• Compliance and regulation

Different locations may be subject to varying local regulations and compliance standards, adding another layer of complexity to multi-site restaurant maintenance. Ensuring that each site adheres to relevant codes and regulations can cost time and money. Investing in a management system that centralises all this information for each location takes a lot of the work out of monitoring and implementing the necessary measures to ensure compliance.

Understanding and managing these hidden costs is going to contribute to the long-term success of your multi-site restaurant operation, and ultimately save you money along the way. If you’re looking for a better way to manage your multi-site operation, we’d love to chat with you about how mendrhub can simplify your processes and make asset management that much easier. Give us a call at 1300 141 606 or email us at [email protected].

With so much competition out there, service providers need a simple, effective solution to properly manage their customers’ assets and provide a new stream of value for their customers.

You need a way of getting to know the big picture while maintaining control over the small details and niche requirements of your business. This is what an asset-centric management platform does well, and the benefits to your own business, and the businesses of your clients, make investing in one a no-brainer.

1. Optimal equipment performance

   Better asset management helps to ensure that every piece of equipment is performing at its peak. With a quality asset-centric service platform, you can track the condition, maintenance history, and usage patterns of your equipment with ease.

   This data means you can identify potential issues before they cause more serious problems, such as breakdowns, which can be solved by scheduling recurring preventive maintenance.

2. Less downtime for customers

   If your customers make use of IoT-connected equipment, you can easily sync live data directly into your asset management system, alerting both you and your customer to any issues proactively. This means you can send a team out to the site before your customer’s operations are disrupted by equipment downtime.

   Our own platform has an inventory management feature, which can simplify providers’ means of managing van stock, helping to keep equipment running in peak condition and making for happier customers.

3. Better team management

   Asset management platforms, like mendrhub, provide in-depth job details, equipment service and warranty history, a complete inventory of spare parts, and simple check-in/out processes. All this visibility means you can better allocate your resources, making sure the right tools and technicians are always being sent out to complete a service. This approach means less idle resources, full utilisation of your assets, and ultimately, happier customers.

   Some of these platforms will also come with a built-in scheduling and route optimisation feature that can give you a clear view of upcoming work and team member assignments, assisting you with running your operations efficiently.
   One of the unique things about mendrhub is that it allows user guides, technical specification, and exploded diagrams to be auto-attached to jobs to aid your team in the field, which improves their efficiency while on-site.

4. Cost control and financial efficiency

   Servicing equipment can get expensive, but with an asset management platform, you get to be in control of your cost margins. You can set up specific service costs by equipment category and automatically apply mark-ups on client invoices that are based on rules set on client contracts. Invoicing can be further streamlined with direct integration to your accounting platform and options to capture credit card payments pre-attendance.

   By monitoring how equipment is performing, you can also identify cost-saving opportunities, like setting up maintenance schedules or predictive maintenance strategies, and identifying underutilised assets that can be sold or repurposed.

5. Compliance and regulatory requirements

   Equipment service providers often work in industries with strict compliance and regulatory requirements. Asset management systems help you meet these standards, including safety, environmental and industry-specific mandates.
   By keeping records of equipment maintenance, inspections, and certifications with a system like mendrhub, you’ll avoid penalties and legal issues and improve your reputation as a reliable service provider. Alongside maintaining relevant accreditations and insurances, digital checklists can be created and used as a permanent record for procedural compliance on jobs.

6. Data-driven decision making

   Managing assets effectively requires a deep understanding of the data being generated. Real-time analytics provided by an asset management platform can help you analyse equipment performance, maintenance history, and other relevant data, while also identifying trends so you can make data-backed decisions.

   Larger clients in particular will get a huge amount of value out of the detailed data you will be able to report to them, giving you an edge over competing service providers. Just make sure your platform of choice can support flexible contracts so your team can cater to the different service level agreements your larger customers may require.

7. Improved customer experience

   The streamlined processes facilitated by an asset-centric approach lead to faster response times, quicker issue resolution, and an overall smoother service delivery. Not only will your customers be a lot happier, but they’ll also likely stick around for longer and spread the word about your business’s reliability.

   And, with all the details already in your system, auto-generated job reports will bring a level of transparency to your customers that will not only bring them peace of mind as to the necessity and quality of work undertaken, but will also help invoices pass through review quicker—ensuring your team get paid sooner rather than later!

There really is no downside to investing in an asset management platform for your service provider business. Cost savings, better equipment performance, and happy customers are just the beginning of what a platform like mendrhub can do for your business.

Talk to mendrhub’s experts to learn more.

Speed and efficiency are the driving force of every successful quick-service restaurant (QSR). For anyone operating a QSR, and particularly multi-site operations, this fast-paced industry requires specific and highly efficient workflows. Hence, an impeccably organised operation is a must for providing excellent service and ensuring recurring profits.

Moreover, maintaining food quality, adhering to food, safety and compliance regulations, and making sure everything is on schedule is by no means an easy task. It is made even more complicated when the kitchen, store and delivery teams use predominantly manual processes that don’t collect data in real-time.

Utilising asset management software that is also capable of full facility management can play a huge role in helping quick-service restaurants proactively manage their facilities and uncover data that enables them to lower service costs, improve operational efficiency and ultimately provide the best possible experience to their customers with minimal disruption.

Asset Management Software in QSR Businesses

To successfully run a QSR business, you need to actively monitor and manage assets such as equipment and vehicles along with your general facilities. This is where a dedicated software solution comes in handy.

Asset management software enables you to maintain complete control over your QSR assets. You can capture all your assets digitally, with the optional aid of QR codes, to gain total traceability over any repair work that is done and associated costs for maintaining your facilities. It also allows you to schedule planned maintenance activities that keep your business running smoothly and minimises your operational down-time.

Regardless of the number of assets your facilities own, capturing and analysing detailed asset data gives you the power to transform your business. Collecting comprehensive data about your assets empowers you to make better decisions for your your restaurant whether purchasing new equipment, running day-to-day operations more profitably, reducing costs, or making long-term strategic calls that give you a key market advantage.

The Benefits of QSR Asset Management Software

The best QSR asset management software provides owners with a wide range of benefits that help to improve multiple aspects of their business. Here are just some of the key benefits that QSR businesses can expect to gain by utilising asset management software:

• Improved Mobility: By coming packaged with a dedicated restaurant app, the right asset management software can allow you to seamlessly log service requests and manage your restaurant’s assets while on the go.
• Integrated Analytics: Utilise analytics and dashboards to monitor your restaurant assets which helps you improve uptime, increase servicing efficiency and verify the quality of work done.
• Scheduled Maintenance: Proactive restaurant servicing is made effortless by asset management software as you can schedule auto-dispatch recurring maintenance activities that include custom checklists for a worry-free experience.
• Full Servicing: Asset management software that accommodates full facility maintenance will provide you with a complete overview of your vital cooking and refrigeration assets, while also addressing all of your facilities servicing needs, from hygiene and plumbing to battery, electrics, and lightbulb replacements.
• Contractor Management: Keep your contractors updated with compliance requirements and provide them with all the information they need to service your assets effectively with the right asset management software at hand.
• Self-Triage: Bake your operational knowledge into the platform and minimise unnecessary call-out fees with a custom-built triage process that supports your restaurant staff by recommending actions to take and rectifying issues without the attendance of a contractor.

Wrapping Up

Without minimising your business expenses, maintaining full transparency over your facilities and making the day-to-day operations as efficient as possible, you end up throwing good money after bad and run the risk of potential OH&S issues.

In today’s competitive QSR environment, differentiation has become a major challenge, and adopting innovative solutions can give you a powerful advantage.

Ready to take the next step?

Schedule a live demo with one of our product experts to get a preview of how mendrhub’s asset management software can take your quick-service restaurant to the next level.