Use Case | How to automatically notify customers when a technician is on the way or has arrived in Microsoft Dynamics and Power Automate
Goal: Automatically text customers the moment a field technician updates their job status in Microsoft Dynamics, using Sinch Power Automate - so customers always know where their technician is without calling in.
- Eliminate “where’s my technician” calls to support
- Give customers real-time visibility into technician status
- Remove the manual step of notifying customers from staff workflow
- Improve on-time expectations and reduce missed appointments
- Reinforce a professional, proactive customer experience
Customer scenario
Customer industry: Field Services
A home and commercial services company manages jobs as Work Orders in Microsoft Dynamics Field Service. Technicians update their own status - Traveling or In Progress - directly from their mobile app while on the road or on site.
Before automating this notification, customers had no visibility into when their technician was actually on the way, which led to repeated inbound calls asking for an ETA, missed appointments where customers weren’t home, and extra load on the support team fielding status check-ins.
By connecting the technician’s status update to an automatic SMS via Sinch Power Automate, the company ensures customers are notified the instant a technician starts traveling or arrives on site - with no manual step required from dispatch or the technician themselves.
Results achieved:
- Fewer inbound “where’s my technician” calls to the support team
- Customers are ready and available when the technician arrives
- Zero manual effort from technicians or dispatch - the text sends itself
- More professional, on-brand customer communication at no extra cost to staff time
Implementation requirements
Product setup:
- Sinch Power Automate connector authenticated
- Dynamics Field Service (or equivalent Work Order entity) configured with a technician status field (e.g. Traveling, In Progress)
- SMS-enabled sender number provisioned
- Cloud Flow created and turned on in the relevant Dynamics environment
Data requirements:
- Work Order records with a valid customer mobile number
- Technician name and estimated arrival time populated on the Work Order or Booking
- SMS opt-in and compliance fields captured and stored on the customer record
Workflow summary
- Trigger: Technician updates their status to “Traveling” or “In Progress” on a Work Order
- Audience: Customers with a valid mobile number and SMS consent, linked to an active Work Order
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Message examples:
- Hi John, your technician David Smith is on the way for Work Order WO-001245 at 25 Collins St. Estimated arrival: 10:30 AM.
- Hi John, your technician David Smith has arrived on site for Work Order WO-001245.
- Channels: Automated SMS via Power Automate
- Result: Customers are notified the instant their technician is en route or on site, without anyone on the team having to remember to send an update.
Key use cases and setup guide:
Notify a customer when a technician is traveling or has arrived
- Create a new Cloud Flow in Power Automate.
- Add a Dataverse trigger (“When a row is added or modified”) scoped to the Work Order (or Booking) table.
- Add a condition to check whether the technician status field has changed to “Traveling” or “In Progress”.
- Add the Sinch Power Automate “Send SMS” action, mapping in the customer’s mobile number, technician name, Work Order number, address, and estimated arrival time.
- Save and turn on the flow, then test with a sample Work Order.
This results in customers being notified automatically at both key moments - departure and arrival - without dispatch or the technician sending anything manually.
FAQs
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Will the text go out if the customer has no mobile number on file?
No - the flow requires a valid mobile number on the customer record. No number means no text.