{"id":16533,"date":"2022-10-11T20:29:34","date_gmt":"2022-10-11T20:29:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fieldnation.com\/?p=16533"},"modified":"2023-02-09T10:36:10","modified_gmt":"2023-02-09T10:36:10","slug":"manage-rising-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fieldnation.com\/resources\/manage-rising-costs","title":{"rendered":"3 ways to manage the rising costs in field service"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although inflation is down modestly from its peak earlier this year, rising costs continue to affect field service delivery. Everything costs more \u2014 from fuel to wages to equipment \u2014 and higher costs can eat into profit margins. Further, <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/kiplinger.com\/economic-forecasts\/inflation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">economic forecasters predict inflationary pressures will persist <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">into 2023 and beyond.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While you can\u2019t control the macro factors driving inflation higher, you can lessen the pain by understanding the current economic landscape and taking specific actions to combat rising costs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s take a closer look at the most impactful cost pressures affecting the field service industry and what you can do to stem the tide.<\/span><\/p>\n<a name=\"1-rethink-travel-by-using-workers-closer-to-job-sites\" class=\"fldn-table-of-contents-anchor\"><\/a><h2 id=\"1-rethink-travel-by-using-workers-closer-to-job-sites\"><strong>1. Rethink travel by using workers closer to job sites<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By its nature, field service involves traveling to client sites, so rising travel costs can dramatically affect your overall cost structure.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> According to recent <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nerdwallet.com\/article\/travel\/car-rental-price-increase\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consumer Price Index data<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">h<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">otel prices are up 7%, airfares are up 16%, and rental cars are up 48%. And while gas prices have declined, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2022\/08\/11\/gas-prices-are-falling-heres-why-its-happening-and-whether-it-can-continue.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">prices are still 81 cents per gallon more than last year<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What\u2019s more, \u201cwindshield time,\u201d or the time it takes to get to and from a work site, isn\u2019t usually billed to the client when using full-time employees. For example, if a full-time employee spends 30 minutes each way to a job site to perform a two-hour project, you\u2019ll pay for three hours of labor. However, with a contractor, you will pay for just two hours because their travel time is typically included in the hourly rate. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Route optimization can help reduce travel time, but sourcing labor closer to the job site can be even more impactful. By doing so, you can reduce or even eliminate travel expenses. With contract technicians across the country, an on-demand labor platform can be instrumental in reducing travel costs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<a name=\"2-reduce-labor-costs-with-on-demand-workers\" class=\"fldn-table-of-contents-anchor\"><\/a><h2 id=\"2-reduce-labor-costs-with-on-demand-workers\"><strong>2. Reduce labor costs with on-demand workers<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Average wages for U.S. workers are up 5.2% annually, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Due to a persistent shortage of field service technicians, technical resource costs in the field service space have risen even more sharply.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>However, on-demand workers in field service typically cost *24 percent less than full-time employees.<\/b> <a href=\"\/resources\/rethinking-utilization\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Plus, you pay employees the same amount whether they\u2019re working or not.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> When you use on-demand labor, you only pay for the time your resources are actually working.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On-demand labor can\u2019t replace your full-time workforce, but it can supplement it and help you <\/span><a href=\"\/resources\/jeff-shawn-conversation-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">allocate work in a streamlined, cost-efficient way<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Using employees for higher-value or complex tasks and on-demand workers for routine tasks, projects, and geographically dispersed work can help <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/fieldnation.com\/resources\/1099-vs-w2-labor-cost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">lessen the impact of rising labor costs<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<a name=\"3-take-advantage-of-planned-procurement\" class=\"fldn-table-of-contents-anchor\"><\/a><h2 id=\"3-take-advantage-of-planned-procurement\"><strong>3. Take advantage of planned procurement<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Equipment costs are up 18% annually, which impacts all types of work, including cabling, printer, CCTV\/alarms, pro A\/V, digital signage, and more. While you can\u2019t control direct equipment, parts and materials costs, here are some ways to keep costs in check.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consider using a planned procurement process through a distributor rather than having technicians source parts and materials themselves. Because distributors order in bulk, you\u2019ll benefit from lower pricing due to economies of scale. What\u2019s more, a distributor can assist with kitting and shipping parts directly to a work site, eliminating the cost of storing parts in a warehouse or managing parts inventory.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rising travel, labor, and equipment costs will continue to challenge the field service industry, but there are tangible ways to protect your margins despite these pressures. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/fieldnation.com\/contact\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contact our team<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for more tips on how to mitigate rising costs in your business.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Although inflation is down modestly from its peak earlier this year, rising costs continue to affect field service delivery. Everything costs more \u2014 from fuel to wages to equipment \u2014 and higher costs can eat into profit margins. Further, economic forecasters predict inflationary pressures will persist into 2023 and beyond.\u00a0 While you can\u2019t control the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":16637,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"xn-wppe-expiration":[],"xn-wppe-expiration-action":[],"xn-wppe-expiration-prefix":[],"footnotes":""},"content-group":[],"class_list":["post-16533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","fldn_content_category-cost","fldn_content_type-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to reduce field service costs while improving efficiency | Field Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Even in the face of an unpredictable inflation forecast, field service delivery providers can take action to manage rising operational costs. 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