Why limit your business from growing just because of time constraints when you can easily plan ahead by scheduling appointments, getting confirmation, and keeping everything organized?
Many businesses that depend on fresh ingredients for their products struggle with keeping things consistent. They have trouble managing when they receive their raw materials, which then affects how they make their products.
To explain this better and show how tools like Dynamics 365, such as MappyField, can assist, we will further use an example in this blog.
What is Appointment Automation in MappyField 365?
MappyField is a tool that helps you streamline your customer visits by allowing you to book appointments directly. It comes with features like automatic check-ins based on proximity, note-taking for meetings, and planning activities.
Let's see how it works with an example:
Imagine there's a person named Joe who runs an ice cream business. He specializes in making small batches of ice cream with fresh fruit flavors, and the quality of his raw materials is crucial to maintaining the taste and quality of his ice cream.
Mark has a team of collectors who have knowledge about farming or are involved in the agriculture sector. They visit various farmers to gather fresh fruits and milk for the ice cream production. These team members travel around the city to collect these essential raw materials from different locations.
Joe's team is skilled at checking the quality of raw materials, but they struggle with managing their time effectively. They often have trouble organizing their schedule and making collections on time. They tend to travel to locations randomly, miss collection points, and arrive late to gather milk. This haphazard approach leads to delays in reaching the collection locations.
Joe faced two significant challenges due to this situation. First, he couldn't start preparing ice cream on time because he wasn't receiving the raw materials promptly. Secondly, his relationships with the farmers were being negatively affected. When his team arrived late or missed appointments with the farmers, it left a bad impression on them.
His business was doing well, and he couldn't afford to lose deals with farmers or run short on ice cream when he had party orders to fulfill. He needed a permanent and dependable solution to this problem.
That's when MappyField came to the rescue. Dynamics 365 map is a smart tool that uses location information to help his team reach their destinations more quickly, schedule appointments efficiently, and allows him to keep an eye on what's happening in the field.
Joe integrated MappyField with his Dynamics 365 CRM system. Now he can see all the collection points neatly displayed on a map. This improved his ability to visualize things, and he cleverly divided the areas among his collection team. This means that the team isn't just going to random places anymore; each member has a specific area to cover.
The next step he took was to use MappyField 365 to create optimized routes for each team member. These routes ensure that they visit all the collection centers in the shortest possible time. He shared these optimized routes with his team, and they can access them on their phones for easy navigation.
Another important step Joe took to streamline collection timings was appointment scheduling. He educated his team about MappyField's auto-scheduling feature, which allows them to set up appointments with the farmers to determine the collection time. They can even automatically schedule appointments for places they visit regularly. This way, farmers now have a clear idea of when the collectors will arrive, enabling them to plan their day accordingly.
Furthermore, he can now keep tabs on all the collections, ensuring they happen on time. If any of his team members encounter difficulties and can't make it to a location, he can quickly find out. He can then assign the task to another team member who is nearby.
All of this is made possible by MappyField's Live Tracking feature. From his office, he can see where his team members are in real time. He can also check if everyone is following the assigned routes or if they've taken alternative paths. This level of visibility and control helps Joe keep his operations running smoothly.
Timeliness are crucial for Joe and the team when it comes to reaching collection points, and MappyField has made a significant difference in this regard. In the past, he had no way of knowing when his team was heading out for collections. However, thanks to MappyField, he can now keep track of all their timings. MappyField displays completed appointment times and a list of upcoming activities. This is made possible by a feature called auto check-in, which records the time when a collector arrives at the client's location.
With this information, he can confidently start the preparation process, knowing where his team is and when they will deliver the milk and fruits. In case he receives an urgent order that requires more raw materials, he can simply assign a new task to the nearest sales representative near the collection center. The collector will see the assigned appointment and use the updated, optimized route from MappyField to reach there efficiently.
MappyField has been a game-changer for Mark, helping him overcome the challenges he faced, particularly related to timing. The automatic appointment scheduling has been particularly helpful in clarifying and improving timing management, ensuring that nobody is kept waiting.
If you're looking to make your workflow more efficient, especially if you have a team working in the field, get in touch with us at sales@appjetty.com. There are many additional features and benefits that Dynamics 365 CRM users can enjoy with MappyField. For further details, please visit our website at www.appjetty.com/dynamics365-mappyfield-365.htm.
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