Vixxo finds the modern fix with Dynamics 365

Vixxo needed a modern, flexible, and scalable solution to optimize customer service experiences with more efficient dispatching and easily accessible customer history information.

Dynamics 365 Field Service and Customer Service connect customer service agents and technicians with the type of robust data that speeds service delivery and enhances productivity.

Increased inventory visibility, smart resource scheduling, and seamless connectivity to critical applications improve Vixxo’s customer service and support the company’s growth.

Vixxo is a leading company in facilities operations and equipment management, offering comprehensive solutions that include equipment maintenance, operations optimization, trade services, and retail data analytics for some of the world’s most renowned brands. With a global network of over 150,000 service technicians, Vixxo specializes in equipment for grocery, restaurant, convenience store, and retail facilities. The company supports 80,000 locations, delivering exceptional customer experiences through its proprietary management platform, proactive analytics, and technical expertise.

Recently, Vixxo completed the acquisition of Cushman & Wakefield: Facilities Services expanding its reach to 200,000 locations. This strategic growth positions Vixxo as a more robust organization, ready to enhance its service offerings and set new standards in the industry.

Facing workforce challenges

Vixxo offers proactive, cost-effective solutions that enable superior customer experiences. To achieve this requires a workforce that's ready and equipped with modern technology solutions to work well. Employees need efficient tools for creating and communicating work orders, documenting, and reporting repairs, and tracking time and materials precisely. Vixxo aims to reduce operational burdens for its partners, and that means planning, scheduling, and dispatching technicians efficiently. And because its customers rely on equipment data to assess their facility health, Vixxo needs to process, and report completed maintenance and repair work quickly and accurately. Brandon Franz, Senior Director, Software Engineering at Vixxo explains, "Our biggest challenge was equipping our technicians with the right tools to be productive, which affects our response time and ultimately the quality of customer service.”

Vixxo wanted to modernize its systems, to equip customer service agents with quick access to the customer history necessary to make smart business decisions and provide dispatchers with real-time views of technician availability and flexible scheduling tools to respond swiftly to urgent service calls. Staying ahead of competitors and enabling future growth depended on updating its systems to connect customer service and field technicians and automate order and payment processes. Vixxo was ready for a modern, agile, and scalable system.

Meeting the challenges with Dynamics 365

Vixxo selected Dynamics 365 and teamed up with Ludia Consulting. Together, they identified several critical requirements to maximize service operations, such as:

A central, secure system with 24/7 access to real-time customer, equipment, financial, and scheduling data.
Enhanced technician efficiency, enabled by streamlined workorder, parts management, and maintenance recording processes.
Seamless connectivity to critical applications to streamline processes and increase efficiency at every step.
Smart resource scheduling, based on technician skills, location, and availability.
Mobile access to inventory locations, route times, and service appointments for field technicians.
Visibility to parts in stock with automated replenishment and ongoing valuation by volume.
Lower maintenance and software licensing costs.
Complete equipment documentation and standardized processes with adequate training resources.

Dynamics 365 was the choice of Vixxo for its wide range of features to transform field service operations, including these essential requirements, but also for its adaptability, simplicity of customization, and integration with other Microsoft products, affordability, and ability to scale up for future expansion. “Dynamics 365 beautifully addresses our three areas of concern—modernization of our systems to better serve our customers, providing our service technicians with more connected tools, and consolidating our data—and this has made us more profitable,”
said Jim McCarthy, Chief Operating Officer at Vixxo.

Improving customer service, efficiency, and growth

As part of its modernization objective, Vixxo designed a staged implementation of Dynamics 365, the highly anticipated Dynamics 365 Field Service mobile app had gradual launches for technicians in the field. As each market finished its rollout, Vixxo leadership observed an improvement as standardized processes enhanced productivity and manual tasks were eliminated.

Customer Service
With Dynamics 365 Customer Service customer and equipment data is easily accessible. Users no longer need to cross-reference data sets or rely on other teams to provide account information. They are empowered with equipment history and maintenance specifications at their fingertips. They process work orders, check customer data, and stay updated on customer interactions quickly and confidently.

Field Technicians
Using Dynamics 365 Field Service, Vixxo technicians can monitor equipment—from coffee machines and cold beverage dispensers for facilities. With 24/7 reports on equipment health and automatic maintenance scheduling they have a more organized and proactive way of serving customers. And daily tasks, like route planning and timekeeping have also improved. Dynamics 365 can track and report location-specific working hours and apply local labor laws—wherever technicians are working.

Dispatchers
With Dynamics 365 Field Service, Vixxo dispatchers have the tools to quickly and smartly assign work orders, using automated processes and real-time resource availability data for fast and accurate service. This is helping dispatchers to optimize technician schedules and travel routes, and even allows them to check inventory on trucks to make sure the right parts are available. When customers need urgent and time-sensitive services, such as equipment failures, Vixxo gives them priority service. When these priority calls reach the dispatch center, dispatchers can quickly rearrange the work schedules to send the best technician for the job, avoiding traffic and delaying less urgent work orders. Now, Vixxo is reliably dispatching the right technicians based on their expertise, for faster, better customer service and technician productivity is on the rise.

Dynamics 365 beautifully addresses our three areas of concern—modernization of our systems to better serve our customers, providing our service technicians with more connected tools, and consolidating our data—and this has made us more profitable.

Jim McCarthy, Chief Operating Officer, Vixxo

Empowering field technicians with the Field Service mobile app

Technicians enjoy their work more with the Dynamics 365 Field Service mobile app. The app lets them access current inventory levels and locations, order parts, and process time sheets, based on their location. Today, technicians can access vital maintenance documents and equipment diagrams, update work orders and do cycle counts—even when offline. They can even see the parts schedule and the most common parts list for the job based on the customer’s equipment. "We’ve got about 1.2 million different parts in our database. Since Dynamics 365 automatically displays the customer’s frequently used parts, it's quicker for technicians to find and select the right equipment,” explains Franz. And routing with traffic integration helps them plan the best travel route and get from one site to another faster. With Dynamics 365 technicians can serve customers better and more efficiently.

Dynamics 365 and the Microsoft ecosystem are simplifying maintenance and security monitoring, enabling the IT department to be more proactive. With Power BI integrated, they can provide better reporting and analytics on technician performance, inventory valuation, customer satisfaction, and other key metrics. And easy, more flexible configuration and customization allows them to focus on future enhancements, while saving costs by eliminating expensive third-party software licensing fees.

Optimizing scheduling and inventory management

Because Resource Scheduling Optimization Add-in for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service enables users to quickly check each technician’s equipment expertise, scheduled assignments, location, and regional work hour requirements, Vixxo’s service coordinators spend much less time on manual scheduling and dispatching tasks. With improved scheduling and route planning, the number of appointments kept has risen significantly, and travel time has decreased, leading to less vehicle wear and tear, and lower costs.

Vixxo has transformed its service operations and enhanced customer experience. Now, using Dynamics 365, everything is coordinated in a user-friendly interface that considers every factor necessary to complete the job right and on time.

Looking to a smarter, more automated future

Vixxo continues to set its sights on expansion, with its top priority being the implementation of automated Predictive Scheduling. This innovative feature will streamline maintenance operations by collecting data to forecast and schedule routine service visits, eliminating the inefficiencies of manual tracking. “By using specialized accelerators to customize certain functions of Dynamics 365 specifically for a company our size and with our unique inventory needs, we’re seeing cost savings while getting the most out of our investment,” says Kelly Fitzroy, Vice President of Operations at Vixxo.

A key milestone in Vixxo’s technological evolution is the introduction of VITA—the Vixxo Intelligent Virtual Assistant. By harnessing cutting-edge AI and drawing upon years of service ticket history and technical documentation, VITA empowers technicians with instant access to critical resources. Whether it’s technical specifications, wiring diagrams, parts lists, or troubleshooting guides, technicians can quickly retrieve all the necessary information through the Field Service Mobile App, enhancing their ability to diagnose and repair equipment efficiently.

Further advancing Vixxo’s commitment to technology-driven service optimization, the integration of Copilot in Dynamics 365 Field Service will provide field workers with enhanced tools to exceed their performance goals. Bobby Hunnicutt, Vixxo’s Vice President of IT, explains, “Vixxo is excited about the potential AI has to transform our business processes and deliver better customer experiences. With Copilot in Dynamics 365 Field Service, we are discovering how to leverage AI in a secure and flexible way, to enhance the efficiency of our service and field teams. This is only the start, and we look forward to what’s next!"

By using specialized accelerators to customize certain functions of Dynamics 365 specifically for a company our size and with our unique inventory needs, we’re seeing cost savings while getting the most out of our investment.

Kelly Fitzroy, Vice President of Operations, Vixxo