AUTHOR ARCHIVES: Bill Pollock

If you’re a field service organisation you now need to move beyond merely “kicking the tyres” and start making your final FSM solution selection writes Bill Pollock.

You have already spent a considerable amount of time (and resources) evaluating Field Service Management (FSM) vendors and solutions, and now you find yourself at the point where you will soon need to execute on your decision as to which FSM solution will be the best “fit” for the organisation.

You have examined each solution with respect to its capabilities; breadth and robustness of functionality; technology acquisition cost (i.e., both in the absolute, as well as in terms of the Total Cost of Ownership, or TCO); potential disruption during implementation; forecasted timelines for implementation; adaptability and scalability; and ease and application of use.

You have also organised and sat through several C-level meetings, team meetings and internal advisory panels; you’ve fought, time and time again, to obtain management buy-in; and you’ve debated whether to go Cloud- or Premise-based, perpetual license vs. a subscription pricing model, CRM-based vs. ERP-based, and – oh, yeah – where exactly does the Internet of Things (IoT) come into play with respect to supporting the selected FSM solution?

The market is painfully aware of the challenges that are associated with the selection and implementation of an effective FSM solution. In fact, many organizations have previously been burned by acquiring a solution that was over-sold, but under-delivered.

The advent of Cloud-based FSM solutions has also enabled several less-than-complete FSM offerings to overstate their respective functionalities, making it even more important to be able to identify the differences between a qualified start-up – and a less-than-qualified “upstart” – solution provider.

There is much to be cautious about in today’s FSM solution market – and not all products are able to live up to their hype. When asked to state their top three future challenges with respect to acquiring and integrating new FSM technologies into their existing field service management operations, UK/Europe respondents to Strategies For Growth℠’s 2018 FSM Tracking Survey cited the following as the most “disruptive”:

• 48% Return on Investment (ROI) on the acquisition of new technology;
• 36% Integrating new technologies into existing FSM solution platforms;
• 34% Identifying all of the required functionality for our organization;
• 28% Cost of new technology (both absolute, and Total Cost of Ownership, or TCO);
• 28% Obtaining management buy-in for new technology acquisition;
• 24% Identifying the most appropriate devices to support field technicians.

Do these challenges sound similar to the ones that you are facing with respect to bringing new technology to the organisation? If so, then the following opportunities, or benefits, associated with implementing a state-of-the-art FSM solution will likely represent the most compelling “talking” points to support your ability for recommending to management the solution that best fits your organization’s needs (i.e., again, as cited by UK/Europe respondents from SFGSM’s 2018 FSM Benchmark Survey Update):

• 63% Improve customer satisfaction;
• 44% Ability to run a more efficient field service operation by eliminating silos, etc.;
• 33% Improve field technician utilization and productivity;
• 28% Establish a competitive advantage• 28% Reduce Total Cost of Operations (TCO);
• 25% Ability to provide customers with an end-to-end engagement relationship.

Other opportunities and benefits “bubbling” just under the 25% mark include completely automate our field service operations (18%), foster enhanced inter-departmental collaboration (12%), and reduce ongoing/recurring costs of operations (11%). 

Again, if any of these factors represent areas where your organization would like to see improvement, then only by choosing the right FSM solution will you be able to make it happen!Services businesses – like yours – are established primarily to make money for their investors (i.e., the bottom line); however, the only way to successfully stay in business is to deliver what the customer wants, when they want it, and how they want it! And this will still all depend on the organization’s ability to deliver the expected quality of service, which in turn, will depend on whether or not it is using the most effective and powerful tools to do so. That is why choosing the most effective – and powerful – FSM solution is so important.There are many success stories out there in the marketplace – but there are even more failures (i.e., or horror stories)!

Still, the UK/Europe field services segment reflects modestly high levels for the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), or metrics, that measure and gauge its overall well-being. For example, the following represent the principal mean average KPI ratings from the UK/Europe portion of the 2018 SFGSM survey:

• 78% Customer Satisfaction(*** Some improvement definitely required here ***);
• 82% Service Level Agreement (SLA) Compliance;
• 63% Percent of Total Service Revenue under Contract / SLA;
• 36% Service Profitability (as a Percent of Service Revenues).

However, not every Field Services Organisation (FSO) is able to attain even these modestly good – but not great – performance levels. In fact, the survey results clearly reflect an underlying inability for a significant percent of the UK/Europe services community to attain even less than these modest levels of performance:

• 26% Not attaining at least 80% Customer Satisfaction;
• 30% Not attaining at least 80% Service Level Agreement (SLA) Compliance;
• 39% Not achieving at least 50% of Total Service Revenue under Contract / SLA;
• 44% Not achieving at least 30% Service Profitability.

If your organisation falls into any of these categories, then it is clearly time to do something about it; that is, to acquire the FSM solution that has the functionality to take you to the next level. The best way to identify, evaluate – and, ultimately, select the right FSM solution for your organisation will require getting down to the basics, essentially by narrowing down your “long list” to a targeted “short list” of the chosen few for final consideration; then, reading the literature, viewing the demos, checking out the research analyst reviews and recommendations (there are many!), sharing information with industry peer groups, and so on.

There will only be one best choice for your organisation – and only through a concerted effort of due diligence can you be assured that you have made the right decision!

The SFGSM’s 2019 FSM is taking place throughout February, with the top-line results being presented in Field Service News later on this year. You can take part in the survey here. 

Customer demands and expectations are greater than ever before at at time when training and retaining service engineers is a major challenge due in no large part to an exodus of retiring baby boomers exiting the workforce. Outsourcing is a tempting solution to the problem but can you ensure your customer’s needs will be fully met and satisfied? Bill Pollock discusses...

As customers become more sophisticated, the market more complicated, the economy more volatile, and the services community more demanding, it is also becoming more difficult to manage all customer service-related activities in-house.

As a result, many businesses have turned to outsourcing in order to ensure that they have the required staffing and resources to get the total job done.

While some businesses may outsource only in non-core competency areas such as accounting and payroll, secretarial and clerical, or even telesales, others may outsource entire blocks of their core business activities to firms specialising in distinct areas such as field service, technical support, customer service, sales management, manufacturing and production, human resources, quality control, etc.

However, whether the organisation’s customer service functions are staffed by full-time company employees, part-time support personnel, outsourced agencies or personnel, or any combination thereof, one thing remains certain; the company’s customers and prospects must receive consistently high levels of customer service and support, regardless of whose personnel they happen to be dealing with at any given moment.

 

"It is important to remember that customers will not care what type of employee representing your company was rude to them on the telephone, or did not provide them with the desired level of customer service – all they will remember is that your business failed to get the job done..."

 

Most managers agree that the key ingredient for success in running a services business, whether it is run exclusively by an organisation’s own full-time employees, or supplemented in part by outside personnel, outsource agencies or other third parties, is to have all of the workers that represent the business in the marketplace put on a cohesive and consistent front when they deal with customers and prospects.

It is important to remember that customers will not care what type of employee representing your company was rude to them on the telephone, or did not provide them with the desired level of customer service – all they will remember is that your business failed to get the job done.

There are many good reasons for why a services organisation might consider outsourcing; but before entering into any specific outsourcing agreement, you should first prepare yourself, and your employees, for the most effective way to manage this complementary workforce.

 

We suggest six basic recommended guidelines: 

1. Train your outsourced personnel as if they were your own employees. Make sure they understand the products and services you sell, the markets you sell to, and the way you normally conduct business.

If your business involves dealing with highly demanding customers such as hospitals, banks or aerospace, etc., make sure they share the same “sense of urgency” that your own employees have when they deal with these types of customers.

2. Take any outsourced customer contact workers on a short “field trip” to show them how your customer support center works and, if direct customer contacts will eventually be made in the field, take them along on a few customer calls first to show them the way you normally treat your customers.

3. Provide the manager of the outsourced operation with a fail-safe “back door” to a full-time manager at your company, even at the C-level, if necessary. Let the manager know that he/she is not in it alone when help is needed.

4. Get daily reports in a standard reporting format (e.g., problem or exception reports) every morning to ensure that everything is in order, and that no special problems are developing.

5. Give your outsourced employees samples of your company’s products or other items, product pictures or services marketing brochures.

You may also want to give them some small gifts with your company’s logo or name on them, such as T-shirts, mugs, pens, desk calendars, a picture frame, etc. This might be especially helpful in dealing with an outsourced night crew or other off-shift workers who would otherwise have no real contact with your full-time company personnel. Some businesses arrange for an Open House lunch or reception for their outsourced personnel for the purpose of having them meet the full-time staff.

6. Problems should be confronted immediately, head on, with the outsource manager. 

When your own managers are faced with a problem, they typically know exactly what to do – they have been there before. However, the same problems may be new to your outsource managers, and they may need some immediate help from your own management.

 

Outsourcing is basically a “partnership” designed to deliver quality equal to or greater than that which you yourself would provide.

 

"Too often these agreements are handled more as a “‘vendor” relationship, rather than as a partnership..."

 

We have found that too often these agreements are handled more as a “‘vendor” relationship, rather than as a partnership, even to the point where the in-house person responsible is often referred to as the “Vendor Manager.”

Sometimes, simple things like this set the wrong tone right from the start – and things can easily go downhill from there. It is crucially important to create an atmosphere whereby your partners feel they are part of your company’s service delivery infrastructure, and not just an add-on.

Treating outsource vendors and their employees in the manner described through these six suggestions is the first step to creating a win/win alliance.

However, it is typically the attitude of the key people that often makes the difference between success and failure in any relationship.

By following these six suggestions, a services organisation can maximise its chances for cultivating an environment that would allow for the attainment of desired levels of customer service and satisfaction.

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Bill Pollock is President of Strategies for GrowthSM. Follow his blog @ www.pollockonservice.com

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As part of an excellent analysts paper commissioned by ServicePower, Bill Pollock has provided an in-depth look at the service requirements for the security sector, here we take a look at an excerpt from that paper...

There are now more security systems players than ever, bringing refined ways of doing business and new efficiencies to the marketplace. In addition, there has been a complete transformation of the security installer/service technician into an “everything as a service” professional, supported by service delivery models that embrace Cloud technology, interactive services, predictive diagnostics and customer self-service.

The most successful companies will ultimately differentiate themselves with unique and seemingly indispensable services and solutions that make it easier for a consumer (or business) to be smarter, safer, and more cost-effective.

For those organizations that install, monitor, and maintain commercial or residential security systems, ServicePower enables faster, smarter service, so they can deliver on today’s consumer service preferences and expectations, while also reducing operational costs and driving new and more predictable revenue streams.

The five primary factors to focus on when evaluating alternative Field Service Management (FSM) and Warranty Management (WM) solutions for the security services segment are critical to the success of the vendor/solution evaluation and selection processes.

They include:

• Customer Engagement – by offering a customized, self-service portal to enable customers to log in with their account number and report issues or order add-on security services, schedule the appointment, watch their installer/ service technician en route, and communicate with him or her, if needed; also to suggest relevant new cross-sell and/or upsell services during this key interaction opportunity.
• Smart Scheduling – the ability to pair parameters such as skills, certifications, and geography with the latest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) for real-time scheduling to ensure that the best installer/service technician is assigned, at the least cost; and provide the opportunity to re-optimize schedules and routes in real-time to accommodate intra-day changes, increase on-time arrival and completed jobs per day, and decrease travel costs.
• Mobile Tech Enablement – to ensure that the installer/service technicians arrive with everything they need to get the job done the first time, driving consistent quality service delivery, improved productivity, and increased completion rates; also to provide a value-based experience by personalizing the customer’s experience via fully configurable mobile functionality which also improves schedule compliance and first-time installation/ fix rates, and proactively offer additional value-added security solutions while onsite to increase revenue.
• Contractor Management – to facilitate better management of outsourced or supplementary third-party contractor staff to quickly expand geographic reach or support changing demand; the ability to dynamically choose a contractor based on rank scores, credentials, crowd-sourced Better Business Bureau (BBB) info, and dynamic rules configuration; and confidently being able to book an appointment based on available time-slots, coupled with the ability to view the current job status and track overall progress.
• Reporting & Analytics – the ability to use real-time Business Intelligence (BI) to measure performance metrics, fine-tune future operations, and enhance the customer experience; along with the ability to access Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), scorecards and reports in real-time, from either mobile devices or the desktop, and share them both inside and outside the organization, as warranted.

The best FSM and WM solutions will also be those that include additional functionalities, such as:

• Claims Management
• Work Order Management
• Inventory, Asset and Contract Management
• Outsourced Managed Services

The main benefits that can be realized through the implementation and use of a Field Service Management (FSM) and Warranty Management (WM) solution designed specifically for the security services segment are many, and quite compelling, as follows:

• Improve management control over service provisioning
• Reduce manual processes to create and manage field schedule routes, thereby reducing travel times
• Increase appointments, per day
• Less time spent on-site
• Enable improvements in overtime, travel, skills, and spares
• Grow revenue
• Increase customer engagement
• Serve customers more efficiently with convenient scheduling, increased first-time installation/ fix rates, and improved service levels
• Use Business Intelligence (BI) to better measure and improve service operations KPIs
• Research has shown that for a typical Fortune 1000 company, just a 10% increase in data accessibility will result in more than US$65 million additional net income, according to Forbes.com.

These benefits, albeit on a smaller scale, can also be realized by small-to-medium-sized security services organizations as well.

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Bill Pollock, President of Strategies for GrowthSM gives us five questions that we need to be able to answer if we are to meet our customers’ service expectations...

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Help build the next Strategies for GrowthSM analysis report by participating in their current benchmarking research project by clicking this link and taking their current Warranty Chain Management survey... 

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The margins on hardware, software and services revenues continue to compress due to increasing competitive pressures, and as customers are becoming more knowledgeable about the growing number of support options available to them.

As a result, customer service is now an even more important factor in establishing and maintaining a strong position in the overall services community.

Every day, more services organisations are relying on customer service to differentiate their otherwise commodity-like offerings in order to bring customers in, keep them happy, and make them loyal. However, while it is not “rocket science”, any services manager can look like an “Einstein” if he or she embraces the rudimentary aspects of customer service throughout all phases of services marketing and promotion, sales prospecting, writing the contract, and managing the customer account over time.

 

"Every day, more services organisations are relying on customer service to differentiate their otherwise commodity-like offerings in order to bring customers in, keep them happy, and make them loyal..."

 

While there are many ways to go with respect to defining and establishing a strong customer service mentality within the organisation, the most direct path to determining whether your organisation is on the right track is to test yourself on a number of questions that will indicate how well positioned your organisation is from a customer service perspective.

The basic questions that any sales, marketing or customer service professional should be asking, and a corresponding set of guidelines for addressing each of them, may include:

 

Does your organisation have a formal customer service or customer care department? Does it have a well-defined customer service mission or charter? Is it adequately staffed and empowered?

Surprising as it may seem, some services organisations have no formal customer service or customer care infrastructure. Even in cases where other departments may be “managing” portions of the company’s customer service activities (e.g., handling complaints, responding to inquiries, etc.), there may still be no formal company-wide procedures or processes for managing customer service. As a result, any customer service activities provided are probably not being performed in a consistent manner. Further, in cases where customer service is performed essentially as a “secondary” activity to the department’s otherwise self-defined “primary” activities, lack of adequate staffing, empowerment and accountability may become major inhibiting factors.

 

Is there a formal process for handling customer service activities? Are specific responsibilities defined and assigned? Is there accountable ownership?

All functions within the organisation require formal processes to ensure effectiveness. Documented processes are even more important when they involve customers and other external parties (e.g., vendors, dealers, etc.). But processes, in and of themselves, do not get the job done. They must be followed by specific personnel, with specifically defined roles and responsibilities, in order to be effective.

The capability to track who actually has “ownership” of each customer service activity as it is being performed will be critical in measuring overall company performance, as well as providing an ongoing record of success (or failure) in meeting the company’s customer service goals and objectives.

 

Does your company management promote and encourage customer service? Are there incentives for doing it right, or sanctions for doing it wrong?

Regardless of where your customer service personnel get their primary inspiration, they must still be fully supported by management at all levels. However, this is clearly a case where actions speak louder than words. Management must do everything possible to articulate and communicate its philosophy of customer service throughout the organisation in order to empower its customer service personnel to get the job done – and reward them for being successful at it.

 

How interactive is your organisation with the customer base? Does it communicate with them enough? Does it provide them with a means for giving their customer service input and feedback?

A one-way street for customer service is never adequate. A services organisation’s customers must also be able to articulate and communicate their concerns to the organisation, and they will need to know how to do so. Accordingly, the organisation should have a formal process in place for soliciting and receiving customer service input and feedback from customers. The process should be well-documented and promoted, easy to access, user-friendly and sincere. Most importantly, all communications coming from the customer base must be quickly and satisfactorily answered. It is generally also a good idea to summarize some of the customer feedback and related company responses in a communicated format such as a company newsletter or Blog, or on the company Website (e.g., FAQs, Customer Service Update, etc.).

 

Are your customer service personnel properly trained? Do they have all of the necessary tools to get the job done?

Just because certain individuals are “good with people” does not necessarily mean that they are fully equipped to handle all types of customer service situations. It may mean that they have the “right stuff” – but they will still need to receive the “right training.” Even with the proper training, a customer service representative is often only as good as his/her ability to get the job done. This requires access to all of the necessary customer service and support tools, such as guidebooks and procedure manuals; software systems that allow them to log in calls, and track how and when corrective actions are taken; and state-of-the-art mobile communications capabilities.

As you can imagine, there are dozens of additional questions that will still need to be answered before you can be certain that your organisation is addressing all of its key customer service issues. However, these five questions should be at the head of your list in order to make an initial assessment of exactly where your company stands with respect to its customer service philosophy.

 

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Visit Strategies For Growth SM website @ https://pollockonservice.com/

 

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We've all know it for a long time, field service management is a rocking sector. Now Bill Pollock provides us with the evidence - rock on...

 

Whenever one of your service customers hollers “Help”, you not only need to respond quickly, you also need to Get It Right the First Time – because you certainly won’t want to waste the time and expense of having one of your field technicians Truckin’ to the customer site unnecessarily – and you also won’t want to have to Do It Again later! If you’re not careful, it will all be Wasted Time!

By the way, this is why many of the leading services organisations are incorporating Augmented Reality (AR) into their Field Service Management (FSM) solutions – because Every Picture Tells a Story, don’t it? With all of this “new” technology being integrated into FSM solutions supporting the global field services community, The Times They Are a Changin’, for sure!

For a majority of users, the decision as to which type and brand of equipment to acquire is based more on the quality of service that will be provided after the purchase, rather than on the acquisition of the piece of equipment itself. Plus, it’s not only based on Money, Money, Money – it’s more often than not based on things including Promises, Honesty and A Matter of Trust!

However, once selected, after the services provider asks the user to “Take a Chance on Me”, it will need to, first, make sure that its new customer has a Peaceful Easy Feeling, and that it hasn’t spent a whole lot of Money for Nothing (or you could end up in Dire Straights)!

 

"After the services provider asks the user to “Take a Chance on Me”, it will need to, first, make sure that its new customer has a Peaceful Easy Feeling, and that it hasn’t spent a whole lot of Money for Nothing (or you could end up in Dire Straights)!"

 

Further, whether the customer’s equipment is located in Allentown or Katmandu, the services provider must be sure that there Ain’t No Mountain High Enough to keep it away from delivering the services that have been promised. If you cannot cover all of the geographic areas where your customers’ (and prospects’) equipment is located, you may end up with an unhappy customer in Massachusetts, requiring your field techs to work weekends on Tulsa Time, finding a suitable contractor in Sweet Home Alabama, being stuck in Lodi (again), authorizing a costly flight to Kokomo, Going to California yourself – or even worse – having to deal with a Panic in Detroit! One way or the other, you’ll never want to hear one of your Colorado customers tell you to “Get Out of Denver”!

Communications is also a critical component of any services relationship – and the last thing you will ever need to experience with your customers is a Communications Breakdown! Customers will want you to be their “Nights in White Satin”, consistently being able to provide them with what they want, “Any Way You Want It”, so they will always feel Glad All Over.

Customers hate it when they call their services provider and get No Reply! There’s a Fine Line between being only casually responsive and treating your customers with a full measure of Respect – and you don’t want to cross that line the wrong way, otherwise, your customer will feel like “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and end up in Misery!

If you get your communications right with your customers, you’ll find that The Winner Takes It All (i.e., your services organization); but if you Try Too Hard, you might end up just Livin’ on a Prayer, waiting for another opportunity to make it up to them – and they may simply tell you, “Not a Second Time”! It’s also important to remember that even if your customers have already asked you 65 or 66 questions, you will still need to be prepared to answer Questions 67 and 68!

So, … if you consistently deliver the expected – and desired – levels of service to your customers, and your field technicians remain Cool, Calm and Collected with respect to managing their customer relationships, then you may be in it for The Long Run! If so, then Long May You Run (that is, in circles around your competitors)!

However, for every services organization that actually “gets it”, there are probably a dozen or so more that don’t! That’s why it is so important to make sure you properly train – and arm – your field techs (i.e., with mobile tools and accompanying technology, etc.) with everything they need All Down the Line, so they can satisfy their customers consistently, and go home every day after their last call feeling Free as a Bird and ready to Rock and Roll All Nite!

 

Bill Pollock, is President of Strategies for GrowthSM

 

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Bill Pollock, President & Principal Consulting Analyst at Strategies For GrowthSM, takes a look at the biggest two tools being used for field service management and explore the merits of each...

In today’s business environment, too much attention is often focused on new technologies on the horizon, and whatever else might be “hot” in the blogs or other social media, rather than on the core attributes of substance and sustainability.

However, when it comes down to selecting the right Field Service Management (FSM) solution for your organisation, one thing remains very clear – it must “fit” your organisation with respect to functionality, application, accessibility, scalability and – of course – cost.

While some organisations may prefer an all-encompassing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution that addresses all areas within the company (e.g., manufacturing, engineering, distribution, sales, marketing, etc.) in addition to services, others may prefer to use a Best-of-Breed FSM solution that serves as a custom “fit” to its services operations.

Differentiators that Distinguish Best-of-Breed vs. ERP solutions:

There are many definitions of Best-of-Breed currently being used in the global services community, ranging from “best in segment”, to “best anywhere”, to “best currently available”, and so on.

However, much too often, “best in segment” may not necessarily reflect “Best Practices”; “best anywhere” may be too elusive, and “best currently available” may not be quite good enough. With so many alternative definitions, some organisations may eventually end up not quite knowing which “best” they should be aspiring to.

Further, what may be “best-of-breed” in the manufacturing sector may not even be relevant in the medical device sector, and vice versa.

The complexity of the concept of “best” as it pertains specifically to a field services organisation can cloud the ability of management to choose either the precise goals to target, or the appropriate technology solutions that will be required to attain them.

Research has shown that the ability to pick and choose the specific components to support an organisation’s FSM activities offers a much more tailored solution that is able to address all facets of this service-centric process.Research has shown that the ability to pick and choose the specific components to support an organisation’s FSM activities offers a much more tailored solution that is able to address all facets of this service-centric process.

That is not necessarily to say that an ERP solution will not, or cannot, support FSM – rather, that a robust, application-specific, Best-of-Breed solution may be able to do it better.

Further, many ERP solution providers go-to-market with messages that proclaim “everything your organisation needs to support its services activities”. However, the “everything” that is offered by some of these vendors may only follow the 80/20 rule; that is, providing only “80% of the FSM functionality required”, but delivered by a “brand name” company typically as an add-on to a more extensive – and expensive – ERP solution.

On the other hand, a Best-of-Breed FSM solution typically offers 100% – or close to it – of the specific functionality required by the field services organisation from a services-oriented solution provider that truly understands the user’s needs from the requisite functional specs; to the terminology and buzzwords to the requirements for installation and training; and ongoing technical and customer support.

In addition, Best-of-Breed solution providers in the services segment have typically supported clients in their field for decades, gaining a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the market space including who the key and niche players are (i.e., vendors and users), how customers’ service organisations operate, what specific functionalities are required (and available), how usage has been and will be evolving over time, and what the key pain points are for all parties involved.

Most of today’s Best-of-Breed vendors represent the ones that have been successful in differentiating themselves beyond the enterprise-wide capabilities of the ERP generalists and the 80/20 CRM vendors.

Evaluating and Comparing Best-of-Breed vs. ERP Alternatives

Just as “you cannot tell a book by its cover”, it is uncertain – and unwise – to try to assess a solution provider simply by its marketing collateral.

Just because they say they can do it all, does not necessarily mean they can – and just because they say they support the field services segment does not mean they are specialists in doing so.

Many organisations have found that the difference between a generalist and a specialist can make all the difference in the world.

That is why it is so important to make sure that when selecting an FSM solution provider, the organisation evaluates all vendors with the same high level of due diligence – that is, assessing and comparing all vendors using the same criteria, and holding them to the same standards whether they are ERP generalists, FSM Best-of-Breed specialists, or anything else in-between.

Whether Best-of-Breed or ERP is better for your organisation will ultimately be your call – however, the results of a thorough needs assessment and long list/short list evaluation of potential solutions (and vendors) will take you to the point where you can make the right decision.

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Data collation has become perhaps one of the most important factors in delivering the levels of standards that today’s empowered customers demand. However, many companies are now finding themselves struggling to turn the vast amounts of data being generated today into meaningful insight. Bill Pollock, President for Strategies for GrowthSM explores how field service companies can find a balance between flood and thirst...

Many reports have been written about services organisations (and businesses of all types) “drowning in data lakes”. However, the key to success is to establish early on what data is needed to effectively run services operations, and focus specifically on those types of data when collecting and processing the reams and reams of data points generated from your IoT-based systems.

Too much data is … well, too much data, if you don’t have a plan to harvest it effectively.Too much data is … well, too much data, if you don’t have a plan to harvest it effectively.

The most important asset a services organisation owns is the cumulative knowledge and expertise it has acquired, developed and utilised over time to support its customers’ systems and equipment – and, in many cases, the entire customer enterprise.

Some of this knowledge may be in the form of bits of information stored in a database, while other knowledge is often manifested in the form of new systems, tools and technologies that have been placed into use.

However, knowledge can only be built on a strong foundation of data and information – and these key components of knowledge must be inherently accurate, clean, well-defined, and easily accessible.

Today, everybody talks about data analytics, but many often confuse data with information and knowledge. Basically, data is a core corporate asset that must be synthesised into information before it can serve as the basis for knowledge within the organisation. As such, data may be defined primarily as:

• Facts about things, organised for analysis, or used to support or make decisions; or
• Raw material from which information is derived to serve as the basis for making intelligent decisions.

Information, on the other hand, is defined as:

• Collections, or aggregations, of usable facts or data;
• Processed, stored, or transmitted data; or
• Data in context, accompanied by precise definition and clear presentation.

Finally, knowledge may be defined as:

• Specific information about something; that is, the sum or range of what has been discovered or learned;
• Information known, and presented in the proper context; or
• The value added to information by people who have the experience and/or acumen to understand its business potential.

The quality of the data that an organisation collects, measures and distributes is also a key factor in database building. To attain an acceptable level of data quality, the organisation must be able to mine its data whilst focusing on key areas, such as:

• Clear definition or meaning
• Correct values
• Understandable presentation format
• Usefulness in supporting targeted business processes

However, regardless of the state of the organisation’s data assets, there must still be a balance of data, process and systems in order to meet the company’s stated business objectives, which generally focus on things like:

• Increasing revenues and margins
• Increasing market share
• Increasing customer satisfaction

However, if there is not a match between data quality and the application of that data, then the entire process will ultimately become a fool’s errand (i.e., garbage-in; garbage-out).

Regardless, data is ubiquitous – it is used to support every aspect of the business, and is an integral component of every key business process. But, the usefulness of the data is only as good as the data itself – and this is where many organisations run into trouble.

You don’t go to work wearing 12 watches; you don’t buy 48 oz. of steaks, per person, to put on the grill for a summer barbecue; so, why would you pay for more data than you will ever needAs such, services organisations need to be able to identify which data is “need to know” vs. which data is only “nice-to-know”. Nice-to-know data is ultimately way too expensive to collect, process, analyse, monitor and distribute; however, need-to-know data is not only invaluable – but critical to ensuring the operational and financial well-being of the organisation.

For example, you don’t go to work wearing 12 watches; you don’t buy 48 oz. of steaks, per person, to put on the grill for a summer barbecue; so, why would you pay for more data than you will ever need when you can harvest just what you need for now (plus whatever else looks like you may need in the future)?

The quest for knowledge is the key that can unlock the potential applications and uses of the organisation’s existing – or planned – databases.

In fact, most businesses are already sitting on a goldmine of data that can – and should – be transformed into actionable information and knowledge with the potential to:

• Enhance and expand their existing product, service, supply chain, CRM and operational databases;
• Create knowledge-oriented delivery systems for new, or enhanced, value-added products, services and support; and
• Differentiate itself from other competitive market players.

Knowledge that was previously unknown – or unavailable – such as profiles of potential buyers, or specific patterns of product/service usage may be uncovered and put into practical use for the first time. The end result can lead to anything ranging from improvements in operational efficiency to improved service delivery performance, more accurate parts forecasting, and higher levels of customer service and support – all based on a strong foundation of data collection, measurement and distribution.

Consider your data repository as a storage space for all of the data you will need today, tomorrow and in the future. If large enough, put it in a data lake – but make sure you don’t use Loch Ness for what a smaller data lake can do for you more efficiently.

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As service becomes a core differentiator amongst competing for business the ability to sell the value of service is an essential facet of modern business strategy. Bill Pollock, President of Strategies for Growth discusses the nuance of marketing the value of your service and how to get it right...

Most of the customers comprising your Field Service Organisation's (FSO) customer base probably already love your organisation, and its products, services and support! But the rest of the marketplace may not even know you exist! All things considered, if you can get the rest of your targeted market to become just as aware of your organisation as your customers are, you may find that selling to them is easier than you might think!

Any marketing expert will tell you that a service organisation's market awareness and perceptions are among its most valuable assets, but that they each require high levels of maintenance and a great deal of attention. However, unlike other important contributors to an organisation's overall economic well-being, market awareness and perceptions are almost always entirely out of its control, except for the ability to continually attempt to shape, nurture and cultivate them in the eyes of the marketplace.

Two Alternative Market Awareness and Perception Scenarios

There are basically two alternative scenarios where your organisation may operate in today's marketplace. The best way to explain them is to present two side-by-side examples for the purposes of comparison:

Example 1: An FSO with 100% Market Awareness, and a 10% Market Share

In this first example, the organisation has near total awareness in the marketplace (i.e., virtually 100% name/brand awareness or recognition), with an approximate 10% market penetration rate, or share. In other words, in the marketplace in which it presently serves, virtually all of the potential customers know who the company is, but only 10% choose – for one reason or another – to become a customer. The net result is that of the 100% or so of the marketplace that is aware of the business, only 10% have been “converted” to customers. This is not a bad “conversion” rate, but there is nowhere else to go! The market potential for the FSO is already saturated! Basically, everyone is already aware of the company, but 90% of the universe has decided not to go with it.

Example 2: An FSO with 25% Market Awareness, and a 10% Market Share

A second example reflects an organisation with only one-quarter (25%) of the market awareness manifested in Example 1. However, the organisation has been able to successfully “convert” 40% of those who are aware of its offerings into customers – virtually four times the “conversion” rate of the organisation in Example 1. What’s even better is that – all things being equal – once the remaining three-quarters of the market is made aware of the company's products, services and support (i.e., through ongoing marketing and promotion, telesales, etc.), it will also be likely to gain up to a 40% market share before its market potential becomes "saturated".

Of the two alternative examples, Example 1 is clearly less attractive in that although nearly everyone knows who you are, your market penetration – at roughly 10% – remains fairly low. In this case, the only way to gain increased market share is to “re-educate” your non-customers as to who you really are with respect to your overall image and value proposition. The problem is, however, that they may already have formed negative perceptions of your organisation, and once formed, a negative image becomes very difficult to change.

Can you honestly say that a majority of your targeted marketplace has a clear, accurate and complete awareness of who you are and what you have to offer?Example 2 is a much better situation since the organisation is experiencing a much higher customer “conversion” rate (i.e., 40%, compared to only 10%). In this case, the best way to increase overall market share is to also make the organisation's name known to the “other” three-quarters of the marketplace through targeted marketing and promotion. Again, all things being equal, there will be a strong likelihood that the same ratio of customer conversion (i.e., 40%) will also apply to this "new" market base – thus leading to a potential quadrupling of the historical market share (i.e., from 10% to 40%).

In which of these two alternative scenarios is your organisation presently operating? If it is the first of the examples, then you will need to embark fairly quickly on an intensive market image reengineering, re-education and enhancement effort. If it is the second, then the primary focus should be on increasing overall market awareness – and this is typically much easier than trying to "re-educate" a market base that has already made up its mind!

The questions to ask yourself are: “Can you honestly say that a majority of your targeted marketplace has a clear, accurate and complete awareness of who you are and what you have to offer?” and “Is it possible that once an expanded market base learns about you, that they may be just as likely to become customers as your already "aware" market base?” These are key questions that should require honest answers!

Merely tracking trends in your organisation’s market awareness and perceptions over time does not, in and of itself, provide you with the information you will need to improve your overall market image and share. However, without doing so, you will not be able to effectively identify where you strengthen your ongoing marketing and promotional campaigns, or where you can most successfully identify and cultivate new business development opportunities.

The results of a targeted Market Awareness and Perception study, converted into a practical tactical action plan, can provide the organisation’s management with all of the tools it requires to work immediately toward increasing existing levels of market awareness; identifying areas of awareness and image requiring further strengthening; improving its perceived market position within its targeted marketplace; and lead to the cultivation and development of new business opportunities.

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Bill Pollock, President, Strategies for GrowthSM tackles one of the biggest questions smart Field Service Directors are asking themselves today - how to make money from IoT based field service delivery...

The ability to monetise the IoT in field services is another variation on a theme of what has dogged the field services industry for decades! Every time there are advances in technology, the more progressive – and aggressive – Field Services Organisations (FSOs) adopt the technology to streamline their processes, reduce their internal costs, and improve their service delivery capabilities.

However, customers, for the most part, see the adoption of this technology as being

[ordered_list style="decimal"]

1. Strictly for the benefit(i.e., cost-benefit) of the services organisation itself, and not them and
2. means that should reduce overall costs for both the services organisation and its customers (i.e., themselves)[/ordered_list]

With subscription-based pricing, however, cost should no longer be as critical an issue to the prospects for moving forward with the desired FSM solution – however, do your CFO and Purchasing teams understand that? Or are they still entrenched in the traditional perpetual license mindset?

The mistake that many services organisations make is trying to sell the same services to customers, at reduced costs to themselves, but increased costs to their customers. Customers will typically see this apparent disparity and question their services providers as to why they should have to pay more for something that costs their vendors less!

What basically needs to happen is for the services organisations to move away from traditional Service Level Agreement (SLA) pricing, to an outcome-based pricing model, such as “power by the hour”, “airplanes in the air” or “x levels of output”, rather than “y hours of service coverage”. Remember the “bullion” pricing model (i.e., Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze)? It bit the dust (in most cases) years ago.

 

So, too, will traditional Service Level Agreements (SLAs) as they are replaced by outcome-based services agreements.

The best current examples of this are, as noted, are selling “uptime as a service”, rather than merely “throwing hours of support” at customers – a rifle shot, rather than a scatter-gun approach to selling services. Although many services organisations say they offer total Service Lifecycle Management (SLM) support, most still only offer Field Service Management (FSM) solutions in terms of field service and support, preventive maintenance, and standard parts and inventory management.

However, the IoT, in some cases for the first time, now empowers FSOs to provide “true” Lifecycle Management for their services customers – essentially “cradle to grave” support for all of their systems and devices, throughout all of their day-to-day usage and applications.

How does the IoT do this?

Basically, by automating the entire services management process, end-to-end, from data collection, through device monitoring, problem identification and resolution, routine and ad hoc maintenance services, predictive and pre-emptive maintenance, parts/inventory management – and even “end-of-life” product support! SLM is more than FSM – and the IoT can support all of the organisation’s SLM services processes.

The IoT is more likely to change the way in which services organisations deliver their services, first; and the way they package and price them, second.

By that, I mean that, first, the IoT will allow services organisations to perform more maintenance and repair service remotely, rather than on-site – and the growing use of predictive diagnostics will continue to reduce the need for on-site services (in some cases, at all) over time.

As a result, many services customers may not even know that their systems or equipment have been serviced, as everything that was needed was either performed remotely – or did not need to be performed at all (i.e., through routine monitoring and minor calibrations or maintenance “tweaks”, etc.).

Through the use of a customer portal, customers can typically gain full visibility of exactly what types of maintenance have been performed, on which systems, at what times, and with what results.

However, those customers not electing to utilise their customer portals (or if their services provider does not offer that capability) will have virtually no visibility as to the extent of the maintenance that has been performed.

This ultimately becomes problematic for some services organisations that must then report what they have done for the customer – and try to convince them that by doing so, there was added value provided.

 

Packaging this “new” way of providing services through an IoT-powered FSM, or SLM, involves an entirely new way of delivering services to customers. For example, instead of providing a certain number of hours of support, within a designated time window, and providing a “guaranteed” uptime percent (i.e., or you don’t have to pay your services contract fee that month), some organisations are now selling uptime – period.

Instead of throwing service contract hours at an aviation customer, they now provide “airplanes in the air” to this segment. Similarly, instead of selling a standard SLA to a wind farm customer, they are selling “power by the hour".

Instead of selling standard SLAs for extermination services, they’re selling a “rodent-free” environment. And so on.

However, this ”new” way of packaging services will be difficult for some services organisations to deliver – and for many customers to acclimate to – or price! It will take time, and it will not be an easy conversion for some. But, it is already the way of the present, in many cases – let alone the future.

 

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