Field Nation Competitors Analysis

The 2008 economic recession forced many businesses to reevaluate their staffing models and find ways to cut costs.

The desire for flexible, cost-effective staffing led to the development of several online marketplaces that connect businesses with independent contractors and freelancers. One of the most popular of these marketplaces is Field Nation.

Mynul Khan founded Field Nation in 2008 to connect businesses with the best workers for the job, regardless of location. The platform allows companies to find qualified workers for short-term, one-time projects, and long-term positions.

It also offers excellent flexibility for businesses, as they can create their custom project requirements and post them on the Field Nation website.

Field Nation’s ambition to become the “Amazon of the staffing industry” led to its rapid growth. According to Crunchbase, the company has raised $30.2 million in funding from four investors, including Susquehanna Growth Equity and Ryan Weber.

Two years after its founding, Field Nation acquired Field solutions, its most direct competitor at the time. This acquisition solidified Field Nation’s position as the leading online marketplace for companies to find IT pros for on-site support, project-based work, and temporary staffing needs.

However, more competitors have entered the market since then, with WorkMarket and MBO partners being the two most notable. This Field Nation competitors analysis will take a closer look at the competitive landscape of the field service industry.

We’ll analyze the competitors’ financials, competitive advantages, and growth prospects to see how they stack up against Field Nation.

Bottom Line Up Front

Field Nation is the leading online marketplace for businesses to find IT pros for on-site support, project-based work, and temporary staffing needs.

Part of the company’s success is due to its early market entry and aggressive growth strategy, which included the acquisition of its main competitor, Field solutions.

With more players entering the field service marketplace, Field Nation will need to continue to invest in its technology and marketing efforts to stay ahead of the competition.

List of Field Market Competitors

Field Nation Growth Strategy

The Field Nation platform enables businesses to find, schedule, and pay qualified workers for on-demand or project-based positions.

In 2021, technicians and service companies accomplished more than one million jobs through the Filed Nation platform, a testament to the company’s stature in the industry.

A closer look at industry trends reveals that the retail sector plays a significant role in Field Nation’s growth. The company intends to capitalize on this opportunity to grow its top line.

“Winning Retailer” or those companies whose sales growth increased by more than 10% spend more than 47% of their IT budget on buying new systems and innovations. Retailers are willing to invest in technology, which creates opportunities for Field Nation to sell its services.

As of 2019, only 8% of companies used independent contractors. The gap between companies that use independent contractors and those that don’t creates a significant opportunity for Field Nation to grow its customer base.

The company plans to grow its customer base by expanding its sales and marketing efforts. It’s also worth noting that Field Nation adds about 600 technicians every week to its online marketplace.

Field Nation plans to continue investing in its technology platform to solidify its leading position in the industry further.

The company plans to add more features to its mobile app and improve the user experience on its website. While it only has one acquisition under its name, Field Nation will likely acquire more companies in the future to accelerate its growth.

Field Nation Revenue Sources and Financial Stand Point

The company monetizes its platform by charging workers a 10% fee for every job they complete on the Field Nation website.

Businesses can sign up for up to 50 job postings for free. However, it offers two plans for companies that need more features, such as custom fields, priority customer support, and advanced Auto Dispatch.

The Plus plan costs 3% of the work order value, whereas the Premier plan costs 5%. The Plus plan charges an OAI (on-average invoice) fee of 2% on job payments.

Both plans have the optional add-on of a client portal for $250/month. Field Nation has a pretty clear pricing structure which helps it avoid the common pricing mistakes that startups make.

Field Nation is a private company, so its financials are not public. Zappia estimates that the company generates $175.9 million in annual revenue.

According to Crunchbase, the company raised $30.2 million in funding from four investors as of 2015. If these estimates are anything close to accurate, then Field Nation is a pretty healthy company with a solid financial position.

Field Nation Competitors Analysis

Field Nation competes with other companies in the field service management (FSM) industry. While many companies exist in this space, we can only consider a few direct competitors to Field Nation.

Part of the reason is that most companies use FSM software to complement their existing business, such as office management or accounting software. However, Field Nation is a stand-alone FSM company connecting businesses with service technicians.

Below is a detailed analysis of some of the most notable Field Nation competitors:

WorkMarket

WorkMarket is a New-York based company that helps businesses find, hire, and manage independent contractors and freelancers. It operates an enterprise software platform that allows businesses to manage W-2 employers and 1099 contractors from a single interface.

Jeffrey Leventhal founded the company after selling his previous startup OnForce to Adecco Group, a Swiss HR company, for an undisclosed amount.

In 2018, ADP, a leading provider of HR services, acquired WorkMarket. The acquisition was strategic for ADP. It helped the company enter the FSM market and offer its existing customers a complete solution for managing their workforce.

However, it also gave WorkMarket the resources it needed to compete with Field Nation on a larger scale.

WorkMarket enjoys the financial backing of a large company like ADP. It also has a well-established customer base and a strong brand name.

Given the resources at its disposal, WorkMarket is a serious threat to Field Nation. However, the company has been relatively quiet since the acquisition, so it’s hard to say its plans for the future.

Before its acquisition, it had raised about $66 million from five investors after five funding rounds as per Crunchbase.

We can’t assume that ADP has the same level of interest in WorkMarket as its previous investors. However, it’s safe to say that WorkMarket won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. However, it remains one of the most serious Field Nation competitors.

MBO Partners

MBO Partners is a Herndon, Virginia-based Company that provides an end-to-end platform for independent professionals. Founded in 1996, the company has more than 25 years of experience in the industry.

It offers products and services that help independent professionals run businesses, find work, get paid, and manage taxes.

Through the MBO marketplace, businesses can find and hire independent professionals for short-term or long-term projects. The platform allows businesses to post jobs, receive proposals, and manage the hiring process from a single interface.

Independent contractors (ICs) with proven experience can also create profiles and showcase their work on the MBO marketplace.

Unlike Field Nation, MBO Partners focuses more on providing services and products to independent professionals than businesses.

As a result, it doesn’t have the same kind of brand recognition as Field Nation in the FSM space. However, its long-term experience in the industry and the quality of its products and services make it a serious competitor.

Part of MBO Partners’ growth strategy is through acquisitions. In 2020, it acquired MindSumo, a leading provider of crowdsourcing solutions for businesses.

The acquisition helped MBO Partners expand its customer base and offer a more comprehensive solution to its existing customers. It also gave the company a foothold in the growing crowdsourcing market.

As a private company, the financial details of MBO Partners are not public. However, we can tell from the MindSumo acquisition that the company has the resources to make more acquisitions in the future.

Moreover, it finalized the acquisition of its UK and Ireland-based affiliates, MBO Partners Limited, in 2020. For Field Nation to compete with MBO Partners, it has to expand its geographic footprint and continue to innovate its product offerings.

SAP Fieldglass

SAP Fieldglass is a software company that provides a cloud-based Vendor Management System (VMS). Initially launched in 1999, the company was acquired by SAP, a leading enterprise software company, in 2014.

SAP Fieldglass provides a complete solution for managing contingent workers, services providers, and Statement of Work (SOW)-based projects.

SAP Fiber introduced an external marketplace for contingent workers but later decommissioned it. As a result, SAP Fieldglass is the company’s only solution for managing contingent workers.

However, it’s worth noting that SAP offers a comprehensive suite of enterprise software solutions that can be integrated with SAP Fieldglass.

According to the SAP Fieldglass website, the company has a customer retention rate of 99% and employs about 1000 people. It’s one of the largest providers of VMS solutions and has a strong foothold in the enterprise space.

However, it doesn’t have the same brand recognition as Field Nation in the FSM space. But because the services offered overlap, SAP Fieldglass is a serious competitor.

SAP Fieldglass is a subsidiary of SAP, a publicly-traded company with a market capitalization of $99.90 billion as of October 4, 2022. The strong financial backing of its parent company gives SAP Fieldglass the resources it needs to continue to innovate and expand its product offerings.

Unlike MBO Partners, SAP Fieldglass is not focused on acquisitions. However, the company has been growing organically and expanding its customer base.

To compete with SAP Fieldglass, Field Nation has to continue to innovate its product offerings and expand its customer base. The company also needs to expand its geographic footprint as SAP Fieldglass has a strong global presence with operations in over 190 countries.

Healthcare IT Leaders

Healthcare IT Leaders is a healthcare-focused IT consulting and staffing firm. The company started its operations in 2011, intending to meet the growing demand for IT talent in the healthcare industry.

As a KLAS-rated company, Healthcare IT Leaders has a strong reputation in healthcare IT staffing.

Healthcare IT Leaders and Field Nation share the same focus on the healthcare industry. However, Field Nation has a more comprehensive solution that includes a vendor management system (VMS) and a project management system (PMS).

Healthcare IT Leaders doesn’t have a marketplace where service providers can bid on projects. Instead, the company relies on its network of pre-vetted IT professionals to staff projects.

Given the company’s focus on the healthcare industry, it’s not surprising that its clientele is mostly healthcare organizations.

Perhaps the most notable difference between Healthcare IT Leaders and Field Nation is that the former is a pure-play staffing company while the latter offers a more comprehensive solution.

The company doesn’t release its financials publicly, and there’s no evidence of funding. We do know that it’s a privately-held company with about 200 employees.

To compete with Field Nation, Healthcare IT Leaders must continue growing its network of IT professionals and expanding its geographic footprint. The company also needs to increase its visibility in the market and differentiate itself from other staffing companies.

Upwork

Upwork is a publicly traded company that operates a freelancer marketplace. Founded in 2015, the company has its headquarters in Mountain View, California.

Upwork provides a marketplace where businesses can post projects, and freelancers can bid on them. Some popular categories on Upwork include web development, writing, and customer service.

Upwork doesn’t operate in the FSM space. However, the company is a direct competitor of Field Nation in the freelancer marketplace space.

Upwork has a much more extensive network of freelancers than Field Nation. While Upwork doesn’t reveal the number of freelancers on its platform, it’s estimated to be in the millions. In contrast, Field Nation has about 100,000 independent service providers (ISPs) in its network.

As an FSM platform, Field Nation is a more comprehensive solution than Upwork. However, the latter has a significant advantage in terms of network size.

Upwork has better financials too. In 2021, the company generated revenue of $502 million. As of October 2020, Upwork had a market capitalization of $1.835 billion.

Upwork is a bigger and better-funded company than Field Nation. However, the latter is a more specialized solution for businesses procuring field services. We can say that Field Nation is a more focused solution while Upwork is a more general one.

Field Nation SWOT Analysis

Below are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for Field Nation:

Strengths

Comprehensive service offering
Competitive prices
Extensive provider network
Ease of use
Flexible work arrangements

Weaknesses

Lack of brand awareness
Reliance on a single platform
Poor financials

Opportunities

Expansion into new geographies
Growing demand for digital services
Increasing awareness of the brand
Growth of the retail sector

Threats

Changes in technology
Economic downturns

Field Nation Competitors Analysis (FAQs)

Question: Who are Field Nation’s Main Competitors?

Answer: Field Nation’s competitors are companies that provide businesses with on-demand access to a network of independent contractors for various projects and tasks.
Some of the most well-known competitors in this space are WorkMarket, MBO Partners, SAP Fieldglass, Hudson recruitment, Healthcare IT Leaders, and Upwork.

Question: What Distinguishes Field Nation from its Competitors?

Answer: Field Nation is a platform that helps businesses connect with independent contractors for various projects and tasks.
The company’s main differentiating factor is its focus on quality control, which includes a contractor vetting process and a robust reporting system that allows businesses to track the progress of their projects.

Question: Who is the Target Market for Field Nation?

Answer: Field Nation’s target market is businesses of all sizes that need to outsource projects or tasks to a network of independent contractors.
It also targets independent contractors who are looking for work. The company makes money by charging businesses and contractors a percentage of the total project value.

Conclusion

The field service management (FSM) market is growing rapidly as businesses increasingly outsource tasks and projects to independent contractors.

Field Nation is one of the leading companies in this space, providing businesses with a platform to connect with a network of independent contractors.

But the growing demand for digital services is attracting new competitors to the market, including Upwork, a bigger and better-funded company.

Other players up for grabs in the market include MBO Partners, SAP Fieldglass, Healthcare IT Leaders, and Hudson Recruitment.

While most of these companies focus on providing businesses with a platform to connect with independent contractors, each has its unique selling proposition.

The better-funded companies, such as Upwork and SAP Fieldglass, have the advantage of scale. MBO Partners focuses on providing businesses with a managed service solution, while Healthcare IT Leaders is a niche player focusing on the healthcare IT sector.

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John Hughes

John Hughes is a seasoned expert in digital marketing strategy, business model analysis, and financial insights. Possessing a robust background in finance, his expertise extends into deciphering complex business models, conducting comprehensive SWOT analyses, and staying attuned to the latest market trends.