New Berlin, WI November 15, 2002 Field service solutions specialist WennSoft this week rolled out the latest version of its eponymous flagship application, adding features to its mobile computing, job costing and service management software.
MobileTEC Handheld is WennSoft's latest mobile computing product. The solution allows companies to use wireless communications and handheld computers to automate such processes as field communication, work order management for planned and unplanned work, appointment status update and work order closure activity, such as labor and expense entry, parts usage, task completion and making information ready for invoice and payroll.
New features in the Job Cost solution include a master subcontract function that is intended for general contractors or companies that use the same subcontractors on many jobs. This feature will define the subcontract relationship, for example, in terms of retention percentage or insurance, at a supplier level rather than a job level. Users will also be able to track multiple insurance dates for a single sub.
Scheduling enhancements include the ability to schedule technicians for jobs by each labor cost code. The schedules can be entered from the service management series or the cost code in Job Cost, and then viewed on the dispatch board and/or graphical dispatch board.
In addition, WennSoft said the Web-based Project Manager's Advisor gives users the ability for Internet- or intranet-based project management. The solution follows the Project Manager's Advisor security model, which prevents project managers from seeing each other's jobs.
New features in the service management series include an option to create a message at the bottom of the customer search screen that notifies users of recent service (the number of days is defined by the user) at selected locations. Users also have the ability to open service calls from the graphical dispatch board, as well as "drag-and-drop job assignments."
The release includes integration with Microsoft's MapPoint, which allows users to see calls from the dispatch board through MapPoint while creating routes and driving directions that can be saved in several file formats.
For more information on solutions for the service and support chain, see "In the Field and All Grown Up," the Net Best Thing column in the June/July 2002 of iSource Business.
