by Brianna Crandall — March 6, 2015—ServiceChannel, the service automation platform for facilities managers and contractors, introduced on Wednesday a number of major technology advancements to its popular cloud-based software platform. The enhanced ServiceChannel portfolio is designed to deliver more valuable properties via innovative, automated, and operationally efficient ways to find, manage, analyze, and pay for services through a global network of external contractors.
This sample Contractor Score Card shows the various components of the platform.(Click on image to enlarge)
Following the company’s belief that the ability to transform business and make data-driven decisions is today’s top competitive advantage in facilities management, the expanded product line offering enables customers to further optimize FM and service procurement processes and tailor them to their individual requirements. Specifically, the company added four new products: Custom Analytics, Supply Manager, Site Audit Manager, and Payment Manager.
“ServiceChannel has harnessed cloud, big data, and mobile technologies into a single platform that has helped modernize how we manage our facilities across our global enterprise,” said Katie Smith, Facilities Manager at Raising Cane’s, a fast-growing restaurant chain headquartered in Baton Rouge, LA. “The enhancements that ServiceChannel is delivering through its updated portfolio will drive even more value from each site through streamlined operations, better data, and reduced costs.”
The ServiceChannel Service Automation portfolio now includes:
ServiceChannel Service Automation: The core platform in the ServiceChannel suite automates key business and service processes such as sourcing of contractors, connecting locations with external service providers, managing invoices and payments, and providing visibility and data for improved performance, compliance, and risk management.
The platform is built on a fully redundant, highly secure, and multi-tenant cloud architecture based on Amazon Web Services. It integrates, via open APIs, with leading enterprise productivity and resource planning applications such as SAP, Oracle, Lawson, and Microsoft. The platform also integrates with many other supplier and service provider applications, including Accruent, Ecolab, Grainger, SimplexGrinnell, Trane, York, and many others.
ServiceChannel Custom Analytics: Enabled through a strategic partnership with GoodData, provider of business intelligence solutions, ServiceChannel Custom Analytics enables clients to modify the standard ServiceChannel analytics or build their own business intelligence platform tailored to their specific operational processes. As part of the new analytics launch, ServiceChannel has published “Financial Reports Every Facilities Manager Needs (and Every CFO Loves)” for facilities, procurement, and financial managers.
ServiceChannel Supply Manager: A self-service tool enabling facilities and procurement managers to customize an online catalog built with company-approved contracted materials, equipment, parts, supplies, and support services. Supply Manager streamlines and standardizes purchasing across every facility in an enterprise. This helps maintain brand consistency across all sites, and optimize cost and inventory control, while maintaining compliance and adherence to corporate purchasing policies.
ServiceChannel Site Audit Manager: A new mobile application that enables fully configurable and comprehensive on-site audits of facilities using smart phones or tablets, providing a consistent and efficient way to help manage brand and customer experience. Site Audit Manager allows users to create work orders during a survey, and is fully integrated with the Service Automation platform and analytics offerings to help users make more informed, data-driven repair or replace decisions.
ServiceChannel Payment Manager: Consolidates, processes, and pays invoices, and enables companies to automatically pay hundreds or thousands of contractors via a single wire to and through ServiceChannel’s secure cloud platform. Payment Manager is designed to ensure consistent and timely payment for services delivered, reduce the operational burden and costs for FMs and accounts payable teams, and improve consistency and satisfaction among suppliers and contractors.
The ServiceChannel Service Automation platform and the four optional products are all available now to license on a per-location basis. For more information, including a live demo of these products, visit the ServiceChannel Web site.
