Reference: operational data map by industry — what gets generated, stranded, and unlockable for 5 service verticals

By vertical: what operational data exists, what typically gets stranded, what owning it unlocks.

Home services (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, landscaping)

• Generated: service tickets, equipment serial/install dates, recurring maintenance cadences, customer property characteristics, technician notes, parts used, photos, seasonal demand
• Typically stranded: equipment registries in technician memory; weather-correlated demand patterns; "this customer always calls in June" patterns
• Unlockable: proactive replacement outreach (12-year-old units); weather-triggered staffing; dynamic emergency pricing; membership pricing reflecting actual visit cost
• Dominant SaaS: ServiceTitan, Jobber, Housecall Pro, FieldEdge

Professional services (legal, accounting, consulting)

• Generated: time entries, matter/engagement records, document templates, conflict-check data, client comms, billing realization, write-offs
• Typically stranded: which engagements were profitable and why; partner-level realization by client/matter type; template reuse efficiency
• Unlockable: refuse unprofitable engagement types; price fixed-fee work based on actual hours-by-matter-type history; identify payment-delay patterns. Powers the 64% flat-fee-billing trend in mid-sized firms (Clio Legal Trends: AI adoption among legal professionals jumped 19% (2023) → 79% (2024) → 93% mid-sized firms (2025); 64% mid-sized offer flat-fee)
• Dominant SaaS: Clio (legal), Karbon (accounting), MyCase, PracticePanther

Distribution (fuel, building supply, food service)

• Generated: delivery schedules, tank/SKU registries, customer-specific contract terms, price-per-gallon by date, route data, will-call vs automatic, seasonal load curves
• Typically stranded: true per-customer margin (route cost rarely allocated); which customers cost more to serve than they pay; weather × tank-fill correlation; emergency-delivery frequency by customer
• Unlockable: reprice or fire unprofitable accounts; route optimization; predictive replenishment; targeted contract upsell
• Dominant SaaS: Cargas Energy, ADD Systems, P-Dispatch (fuel); ECI, DDI System (building supply)

Trades (roofing, construction, automotive)

• Generated: job estimates, change orders, materials cost vs estimate, labor hours by job type, warranty claims, supplier pricing
• Typically stranded: bid-win-rate by estimator; over/under on materials by project type; warranty cost as true % of revenue
• Unlockable: estimator-specific feedback loops; supplier negotiation backed by purchase history; warranty-reserve accuracy
• Dominant SaaS: Procore, Buildertrend, Tekmetric (auto), Shopmonkey

Healthcare-adjacent (clinics, vets, dental)

• Generated: patient/animal records, treatment plans, recall reminders, prescription history, no-show patterns, insurance reimbursement timing
• Typically stranded: no-show predictability; recall effectiveness by channel; patient lifetime value by acquisition source
• Unlockable: predict no-show risk and double-book; optimize recall channel; identify referral sources producing stickiest patients
• Dominant SaaS: Dentrix, Open Dental, eClinicalWorks, ezyVet
• PHIPA caveat for Ontario: healthcare data is governed by PHIPA, not PIPEDA — stricter consent regime