As a mid-market business, GreenThumb had to consider potential technology solutions carefully with a mind for overall value. GreenThumb became a Trailblazer by implementing Service Cloud and Field Service Lightning and integrating them with a newly installed Sage financials system.

GreenThumb now has an integrated view of invoices, payments, and balances, and has automated its reconciliation process. When a field crew member clicks a button on their phone to say they’ve completed a job, it immediately shows up in the customer’s account with a balance due. As soon as the customer makes a payment, Sage Financials reconciles it to their account in Salesforce.

Edwards admits he wasn’t sure how quickly GreenThumb’s field crew—many of whom didn't use computers at home or at work—would adopt Salesforce. But they have proven themselves to be true Trailblazers.

“One of our long-time crew members, Gareth, told me Salesforce has revolutionized his job,” remarks Edwards. “He used to sit at home in the evening laying out his work orders on the kitchen floor and using a map to plan his route for the next day. He now wakes up excited to come to work because he has all of the answers to customers’ queries on his handheld device and he can now focus on providing solutions for customers.”

Previously, when customers asked a field crew member to deliver an additional service or book their next treatment, the crew member would direct them to call the office. Today, field crew can manage customer service right from their mobile devices while they are standing on a customer’s lawn.

Meanwhile, GreenThumb’s dispatchers are working more efficiently than ever. Rather than calling field crew to check in on job status, they can use one screen to track everyone’s location and progress. When cancellations and last-minute bookings pop up, they can easily re-route crew. Powerful scheduling capabilities within Field Service Lightning are helping GreenThumb get the most out of its field team.

“Salesforce lets us build schedules that take into account the skillset and efficiency of each of our crew members,” Edwards explains. “We’ve identified the workers who are the most productive and can do the most complex jobs, and we’re now able to give them work most suited to their experience—which helps us to keep our customers happy.”

Just months after implementing Field Service Lightning, the Trailblazers at GreenThumb are saving money—and the environment. Smarter scheduling has enabled GreenThumb’s field crew to complete at least one extra job per worker per day, which generates more revenue. By routing crew efficiently, the company estimates it will save over £400,000 in annual fuel costs.

With no more need for paper work orders, GreenThumb will cut its paper requirement by three million sheets per year. Edwards believes this number will rise as the company also gradually replaces traditional mail with digital communications. In addition, working on a lightning-fast system has enabled GreenThumb’s dispatchers to resolve customer inquiries an average of 45 seconds faster than before—going from seven clicks per case to just three.

“These are initial results that will only get better,” Edwards is quick to mention. “With Salesforce Field Service Lightning, we’re providing agile service that our competitors can’t match. Meanwhile, we’re reinvesting our savings in our people as well as research and development so that our industry-leading lawn care products will always give customers the greenest, healthiest lawn possible.”