Today, most businesses are online—and the next shift is clear: systems that connect suppliers, contractors, and service teams, so everyone works from the same data. It means less chasing, fewer delays, and smoother jobs.
Getting the foundations right.
Look, we’re not going to sugar-coat it: if your systems aren’t connected, that’s the first thing to fix. Patchy setups simply don’t hold up in 2025. If your tools aren’t talking to each other, you’ll struggle to take the next step.
Quoting in one tool, emailing part lists around, and logging costs by hand, these manual workarounds lead to double-handling, errors and delays. Add that to high material costs, labour shortages and more compliance pressure, and things start slipping through the cracks.
Still, if this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. More than half of field service businesses in Australia are still running some core processes manually.
How do we know where to start fixing things?
We learned this the hard way. Klugo started inside an industrial machinery distributor that installed and serviced equipment across Australia. As the internal tech team, we were dealing with disconnected systems, scattered job records, and manual workarounds. We tried automating with exports, Zapier links, and Trello boards, but nothing truly synced.
The lesson was simple: without centralised data, nothing runs smoothly.
We also saw how SaaS costs, once small and manageable, started creeping into fixed overheads. Tool after tool, each one solving a specific issue, adding complexity and cost. What looked like flexibility on paper turned into a tangle of logins, sync delays and subscription fees.
We learned firsthand: disconnected systems cost time, centralised data keeps service, stock and jobs flowing.
That experience shaped how we approach system design today. We saw the real cost of jumping between systems, exporting and importing data from one tool to another. It never really synced. But it taught us how field service, inventory and job data really need to move in sync.
Then we kept seeing the same problems with our customers:
- Quotes and jobs are handled in separate systems
- The same data is entered two or three times
- No clear view of job profitability
- Parts going missing or re-ordered because the tracking wasn’t live
We’ve worked with teams like Kerfab, where delivery times were halved by connecting their production and scheduling. At Aquatec, we helped pull together quotes, costing and stock into one place so their team wasn’t working off three different systems. At Headland Technology, our background, pulling sales, service and stock into one system helped clean up admin and give everyone a clear view of what was going on.
We chose NetSuite as a solid tech stack and built what eventually became the Field Service Module within NetSuite, designed to support job management out in the field. It’s proudly an Australian-developed software that was later acquired and scaled and now stands as proof that our industry can shape global standards.
This experience taught us a core principle: digitise with the goal of centralising data. Once that’s in place, everything—from service to supply chain—gets easier to manage. It’s how businesses grow, move faster, and plan with confidence.
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Turning internal data into external value.
Once your in-house system is in place, working better with other businesses becomes easier. We’ve seen teams align schedules, share updates, and access shared data—like product history or spare parts—without chasing emails. It cuts admin, reduces errors, and keeps jobs moving.
One of the best ways to support this kind of connection is through self-service portals. Whether it’s for customers, suppliers or subcontractors, these online tools let people do things themselves: place an order, track a job, and update details without needing to send an email or make a call.
What we’ve seen with our customers is that these self-service centres take pressure off admin teams and give suppliers and partners quick access to what they need. Some go a step further by connecting systems directly. That way, trusted partners can see things like job status, stock levels, or service history without having to chase it up.
What matters most is making the work easier for everyone involved and keeping the supply chain moving, especially when things get busy.
Setting up digital centres that work.
Going a step further with digital means building better ways to work with everyone—suppliers, service providers, subcontractors, and customers.
You don’t need to build a complex system from scratch. Often, the best place to start is by tackling the real bottlenecks: job updates, order tracking, and stock visibility. These everyday issues are what slow things down and cost time.
Self-service centres work best when they do three things:
- Reduce the number of calls and emails
- Let people solve simple problems themselves
- Keep your team focused on the work that actually needs a human touch
If you’re planning to set one up, here’s what we recommend:
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There’s no need to bolt on a brand-new platform. Look at what your current system can already do. Often, your ERP, job management, or inventory tools already have portal or dashboard features built in, use those before investing in something else.
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When it works well, a customer or supplier centre becomes an extension of your operations. It saves time, reduces stress, and helps everyone move quicker. And that’s what makes the difference when margins are tight and timelines are short.
