At On Device Solutions, we are committed to helping our SAP enterprise clients maximise their SAP Field Service Management (SAP FSM) investments.
As an SAP partner and a niche IT consultancy, we want to ensure that our clients benefit from SAP’s latest enhancements and functionalities.
The August 2024 release of SAP Field Service Management (FSM) brings several exciting updates to streamline operations, enhance user experience, and drive efficiency across the board. This blog post highlights the key updates in the latest release of SAP FSM based on SAP’s recent webinar, “What’s new in 2408 release? SAP Field Service Management.”
We understand that time is valuable; not every ODS SAP client can attend every webinar or watch a complete recording. This article offers a convenient, concise summary of the key points from the SAP webinar, bringing its content, questions, and relevant answers into one easily accessible location.
Here’s a detailed look at what’s new:
Crew Management Enhancements
One of the most exciting updates in the 2408 release is the series of enhancements to Crew Management within SAP FSM. These improvements are designed to provide better visibility and control over crew activities on desktop and mobile platforms. Users can now view detailed crew information directly from the Master Data Management (MDM) interface, assign activities to crews more efficiently, and even visualise crew assignment timeframes. For mobile users, new functionalities include booking efforts, materials, mileage, and expenses for crew members, all of which contribute to a more streamlined and efficient crew management process. These enhancements promise to boost operational efficiency and user satisfaction significantly.
Master Data Service Contracts
Managing service contracts within the Master Data module has never been easier. The latest release introduces a more user-friendly and intuitive interface, making it simpler for users to organise and access contract information. The redesign aims to improve readability and overall usability, ensuring that users can manage service contracts with greater efficiency and less effort. This enhancement is expected to deliver tangible benefits for both users and organisations, leading to improved operational efficiency.
Intelligent Planning and Dispatching
The planning and dispatching functionalities within SAP FSM have also received significant upgrades. Planners will now benefit from automatic travel time calculations when planning or replanning activities, ensuring more accurate scheduling. Additionally, a new zoom feature on the planning board allows planners to focus on specific timeframes without losing sight of the broader schedule context. These updates, combined with the ability to unassign multiple activities simultaneously and enhanced filtering options, make the planning process more flexible and less time-consuming.
Service Map and Crowd Service Improvements
This release refines location-based planning and crowd-service execution. Dispatchers can now save selected filter sets as views on the service map, improving usability and performance by showing only relevant objects. Moreover, compliance has been enhanced by the ability to display geopolitical boundaries based on administrative location, ensuring that businesses can more effortlessly align with local regulations.
Mobile Field Service Enhancements
Field service engineers will find their mobile experience greatly improved with the August 2024 updates. The introduction of generated feedback codes simplifies the maintenance process, while smartform name translations improve usability across different languages. Additionally, the ability to use barcodes for equipment and material creation and search further streamlines data capture, reducing the possibility of errors in the field.
AI and Auto-Scheduling Enhancements
SAP FSM continues to leverage artificial intelligence to optimise field service operations. The latest release introduces the ability to copy custom auto-scheduling policies, making it easier to create new policies based on existing ones. This update saves time and reduces the likelihood of errors during policy creation. Enhanced rules and objectives for job assignments now consider additional factors like resource utilisation and UDF linear scoring, offering more flexibility to meet real-life scheduling needs.
Platform and Integration Updates
On the platform side, the introduction of an undo/redo function in Smartforms Designer will save users time when making changes to template elements. Aligning the Smartforms UI with the SAP Fiori design also enhances the user experience by ensuring consistency across the platform. Furthermore, integration with SAP S/4HANA has been improved, particularly in the areas of service order management and data replication across multiple companies, making SAP FSM an even more powerful tool for businesses operating in complex environments.
Questions & Answers
| Question | Answer |
| When is the zoom-in option expected to be released? | The zoom feature is already available in production under preview. More information can be found here. |
| How does the system handle travel time to a technician’s end-of-workday location, considering the calculation based on the previous activity location? | In such cases, activities would overlap, requiring the dispatcher to make manual schedule adjustments. The planning board also offers the option to retrigger travel time calculations for assignments. |
| Can views be made public or private, with superusers controlling public views and sharing them with all FSM web app users? | Currently, views are local to the service map and apply only to the map application. Users are encouraged to submit an influence request to propose this functionality. |
| Can US states or counties in FSM define boundaries? | Yes, this is possible through the region’s functionality. Regions can be set up within FSM, and spatial services can be used to insert the coordinates. The region boundaries can then be toggled on or off from the UI. |
| Can a specific policy group define general filters? | Setting up views for a specific ‘policy group’ by an admin is not currently possible. Users are encouraged to raise an influence request for this feature. |
| What is the exact release time for the 2408 update? | The RTC for the 2408 release is set for 20th August. |
| Have the AI features in FSM already been released? | Yes, the AI features are available for use, provided AI Units have been purchased, and the FSM account is configured for AI feature usage. |
| Are there any plans to retire FSM Mobile with the rise of SSAM? | There are no plans to retire FSM Mobile. The choice between SSAM and FSM depends on customer scenarios, particularly whether the focus is more asset-centric or service-centric. |
| Do customers with both service and asset scenarios need to activate SSAM and FSM Mobile? | The choice between SSAM and FSM Mobile depends on specific scenarios. Generally, SSAM is recommended for mixed scenarios, but a detailed analysis is required to provide a proper recommendation. |
The August 2024 release of SAP Field Service Management includes features designed to improve efficiency, enhance user experience, and provide greater flexibility for managing field service operations. As your trusted SAP partner, we are here to help you navigate these updates and ensure your business thrives in the ever-evolving digital landscape.
Please contact the On Device Solutions team of certified SAP FSM experts if you have questions or need assistance with the recent SAP Field Service Management updates.
Alternatively, read our recent SAP FSM article to learn how SAP is Enhancing SAP Field Service Management with AI.
