When Australian entrepreneurs James Davies and Matt Fairhurst (above) founded Skedulo Pty Ltd. in 2013, they set out to achieve an ambitious goal: Make it easy for large companies to manage the legions of mobile workers who support their field operations.

Three years and numerous client wins later, the startup’s efforts have received a major boost in the form of a $9.2 million investment led by early-stage fund Costanoa Venture Capital. The cash infusion will enable Skedulo to develop new features for its namesake workforce management service, which consists of a web-based scheduling platform and a set of mobile apps designed for use by workers in the field.

In the back office, team leads can use the cloud console to quickly find available personnel when a new assignment comes down the pipe. Skedulo makes it possible to narrow down the list based on workers’ skill sets, certifications and real-time location data collected from each field employee’s mobile apps. After identifying a suitably qualified professional who is near the relevant client site, the platform enables dispatching staff to send the necessary instructions directly to their device. The contents of the message may vary greatly depending on the situation.

A carrier, for instance, could have its dispatchers share technical information about a malfunctioning cell tower with the repair crew sent out to fix the issue. And healthcare providers can use Skedulo to make patient information easily accessible for in-house caregivers. Moreover, platform also enables back office staff to generate custom driving instructions for each field worker so that they can get to where they need to be as fast as possible.

Skedulo will need to keep adding such automation features if it wants to keep up with the numerous other companies that are looking to secure a slice of the field operations management market. The competition includes a mix of fellow startups and big-name companies such as General Electric Co., which joined the fray earlier this week by acquiring ServiceMax Inc. for $915 million.

Image courtesy of Skedulo