What is the best field service software for equipment manufacturers?
ServiceMax is the best field service software for an equipment manufacturer, because it puts the history of the installed asset at the center and is sold to companies that service what they make. A custom system built by Black Badger ranks second, and it wins when your warranty, contract and parts rules are tied to your own product lines in ways a general product cannot hold without workarounds.
Manufacturers whose customer service runs on ServiceNow
Field work runs on the same platform as ServiceNow IT or customer service
Runs on the ServiceNow AI Platform
No published price
Needs a ServiceNow subscription
Not a standalone field tool for a company without ServiceNow
The ranking, entry by entry
1 ServiceMax
Best for manufacturers that service their own installed base
An equipment maker does not dispatch to an address. It dispatches to a machine, with a serial number, a service history and often a contract attached. ServiceMax is first because the vendor sells it for that buyer, a manufacturer that services installed assets and wants asset history at the center. PTC offers it as ServiceMax Core, as Asset 360 for Salesforce Field Service, and as FieldFX, and quotes each per customer.
Watch for. PTC publishes no price list, so you cannot compare cost before a sales conversation. Decide which of the three packages fits before you ask.
How it charges
Quoted by organization size, features and user licenses
Main limit
Three separate packages and no published price for any
Best for makers whose warranty and parts rules follow their own products
A manufacturer's service rules come from its own products, so no other company has the same ones. Examples are which parts fit which serial range, what a warranty covers after a retrofit and when a visit is billable. Black Badger publishes this guide and builds custom software. We rank a custom build second here because those rules can be built in directly and connected to the ERP that already holds your items and serial numbers.
Watch for. A build is worth the cost only when the rules are stable enough to write down. If your service process is still being designed, start with a product and learn from it.
How it charges
One-time build scoped in writing, then running costs such as hosting
Main limit
Needs a scoping call first, and suits companies of 50 or more employees
Best for asset service organizations that want contracts on one platform
IFS Cloud Field Service Management ranks third for manufacturers. IFS sells field service inside an enterprise platform that carries assets and service contracts, which are the two records an equipment service business runs on. It sits behind ServiceMax because ServiceMax is sold for manufacturers by name and IFS is sold to large service organizations in general, and because there is no published price to plan against.
Watch for. Ask IFS how asset records would be loaded from your ERP, and get the cost of that work in the same quote as the licenses.
How it charges
Quoted by sales, no published price
Main limit
No published price, sold through a sales conversation
Best for manufacturers already selling and supporting through Salesforce
Salesforce Field Service is fourth. For a manufacturer already on Salesforce it keeps the service visit on the same account as the sale. The asset features a manufacturer wants are sold as add-ons, and Asset Service Lifecycle Management and Connected Assets are both listed without prices. So this kind of buyer pays for those add-ons on top of the published per-user price for Dispatcher and Technician licenses.
Watch for. Ask for the asset add-ons to be priced in writing. ServiceMax Asset 360 is another route to asset history on the same platform, and it is quoted separately.
How it charges
Per user, billed annually, on top of Service Cloud
Main limit
Needs a Service Cloud license and at least one Dispatcher license
Best for manufacturers on Dynamics 365 that use outside service contractors
Dynamics 365 Field Service ranks fifth for equipment makers. It suits a manufacturer already on Dynamics that wants service connected to its other Microsoft tools, and its per-user price is published. Many manufacturers service through dealers or contractors, and the lower-priced Contractor plan is aimed at them. That plan does not include planned maintenance agreements or returns processing, which are two things equipment service depends on.
Watch for. Check which of your people could work on the Contractor plan. It also has limited access to Guides and Remote Assist.
How it charges
Per user, billed yearly, with per-resource add-ons
Main limit
Schedule optimization is an add-on charged per resource
Best for manufacturers whose customer service runs on ServiceNow
ServiceNow Field Service Management is sixth. It belongs on a manufacturer list only for a company that already runs customer service on ServiceNow and wants the field visit raised from the same request. The facts we could read from ServiceNow are about the platform and its subscription, and the price is by custom quote. For most equipment makers the options above are a closer fit.
Watch for. Field Service Management runs on the ServiceNow platform and needs its own subscription or agreement. Confirm what your current contract covers.
How it charges
Quoted by sales, as a ServiceNow subscription
Main limit
Runs on the ServiceNow platform and needs its own subscription
We ranked for a manufacturer or equipment maker with 50 or more employees that services what it sells, through its own technicians, dealers or both. The test was how close the option starts to the installed asset, with its serial number, history and contract, and how much has to be added before it gets there.
We ranked only on what each vendor states about its own product. Where a vendor says nothing specific about equipment service, the entry says so and ranks lower for it.
Questions buyers ask
Why is asset history so important for equipment service?
Asset history is important for equipment service because the technician is sent to work on a specific machine. What was installed, what was replaced, what is under warranty and what the contract promises are all recorded against the asset. Software that treats the asset as a note on a work order leaves that knowledge in people's memory.
Can field service software read serial numbers and items from our ERP?
Whether field service software can read serial numbers and items from your ERP depends on the product and on the integration work, and none of the vendors on this list publish a price for it. Ask for it in the quote. In a custom build it is part of the scope from the start, because the ERP is usually where items and serial numbers already live.
Which ServiceMax package should a manufacturer ask about?
PTC sells ServiceMax Core, Asset 360 for Salesforce Field Service and FieldFX. Asset 360 is the one that extends Salesforce Field Service. PTC does not publish prices, and a quote request needs to name the package you want.