In this new series of excerpts from a recent white paper published by IFS and Noventum, now available at Field Service News, we analyze how to productise services and set the climate for the service transformation...
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Dec 15, 2020 • Features • White Paper • field service management • IFS • Service Leadership • Leadership and Strategy
In this new series of excerpts from a recent white paper published by IFS and Noventum, now available at Field Service News, we analyze how to productise services and set the climate for the service transformation...
Want to know more? Field Service News Subscribers can access a White Paper on this topic on the link below.
If you have yet to subscribe click the button below to join 30K of your field service management professional peers and subscribe now to access this content and our entire premium content library now!
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content IFS who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
With ever increasing internal and external market pressures, manufacturers have been searching for ways to diversify their revenue streams. Within product-oriented businesses, there has been a drive to offer a greater diversity of aftermarket services, we refer to this shift as servitization.
Both those organizations looking to servitize their business, as well as businesses who previously include service contracts or warranty offers, are diversifying the established business models inherent in these approaches. Most notably, organizations are employing contracts based on asset or product outcomes, uptime, and output rather than focusing on a break-fix approach and maintenance contracts.
These dramatic shifts in both the go-to-market and service delivery approach runs the risk of increasing organizational complexity, creating redundant systems, and unforeseen personnel risks. In an environment where margins are tight, servitization will be a strategic differentiator and a path to growth BUT manufacturers must ensure they carefully manage the transformation journey to ensure they deliver value and not give away service for free.
Recent research from IDC investigated the factors which are preventing manufacturing companies from progressing on their Servitization Journey. Lack of internal know-how, organizational resistance and lack of technology systems were found to be the most common inhibiters.
What is limiting your companys ability to deliver more technology-enabled services as part of your overall business?
What Is Limiting Your Companys Ability to Deliver More Technology-Enabled Services As Part of Your Overall Business?
All these challenges need to be addressed when companies embark on Servitization. This report will explore the organizational, cultural, and technological challenges and look at methods that businesses have employed to ease in the shift towards Servitization.
HOW TO PRODUCTIZE SERVICES? THE SERVICE TRANSFORMATION JOURNEY
To answer this question, we have investigated what steps manufacturers that have a successful service business undertook and how these steps have helped to overcome these challenges.
Aside from these steps, we also identified a particular sequence in undertaking these steps to overcome these challenges. Based on these insights, we developed the ‘Service Transformation Journey’:
As the above illustrates, there are several steps to undertake which emphasizes that a Service Transformation is not something you can do in a day. But what is each step, and why is it essential?
SET THE CLIMATE FOR SERVICE TRANSFORMATION
The first block contains the steps related to ‘Set the climate for Service Transformation’. It is essential to start with this block to deal with most of the identified barriers. Undertaking these steps will also ensure you get funding for the full journey; get help to set the right priorities; ensure that you develop services for which there is a customer demand; and be able to deal with organizational resistance from start to finish.
In the table below we have outlined the first steps that are necessary to set the climate for Service Transformation:
In the next feature of this series of excerpts coming next week, we will discuss how to deal with organisational resistance, develop internal skills and capabilities and how to use technology solutions to support effective service delivery.
Look out for the next feature in this series coming next week where we discuss how to deal with organisational resistance.
However, www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.
If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and you can access the white paper instantly upon completing the registration form!
Further Reading:
- Read more about Leadership & Strategy @ www.fieldservicenews.com/leadership-and-strategy
- Read more about IFS on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/ifs
- Find out more about IFS @ www.ifs.com
- Learn more about Noventum @ www.noventum.eu
- Follow IFS on Twitter @ twitter.com/ifs
Dec 09, 2020 • News • Research • Salesforce • Covid-19
As the serial crises of 2020redefine customer engagement, customer service leaders are transforming their operations, accelerating digital transformation, and overhauling their workforce management strategies. That’s according to Salesforce’s fourth
As the serial crises of 2020 redefine customer engagement, customer service leaders are transforming their operations, accelerating digital transformation, and overhauling their workforce management strategies. That’s according to Salesforce’s fourth State of Service research report, released today, which provides a snapshot of the priorities, challenges, and trajectories of customer service teams around the world. This edition is based on Salesforce’s largest and most global survey of customer service agents, decision makers, mobile workers, and dispatchers: over 7,000 respondents across 33 countries.
“We knew based on our previous research that businesses no longer view their service and support operations as cost centers, but as strategic assets that benefit revenue and retention as customer expectations soar,” said Bill Patterson, EVP and GM of B2B CRM at Salesforce. This research helps us and our customers understand how the playbook is changing, and what the best teams do differently from their competitors as they move back into growth mode.” [CTT]
From the channels they use to serve customers to the spaces employees work from to the skill sets agents require, there’s not much that hasn’t changed for customer service organizations. Here are some key takeaways.
The pandemic has exposed customer service shortcomings, but leaders are taking decisive action
The impacts of COVID-19 were a wake up call for customer service organizations used to the status quo. As workers stayed at home and customers asked questions for which there were no answers, customer service leaders were faced with conundrums with far reaching consequences for their teams.
Eighty-eight percent of service professionals say the pandemic exposed technology gaps, and 86% say the same for service channel gaps as customers flocked away from physical locations and towards digital methods of engagement. Teams also found shortcomings that went beyond the obvious. For example, 87% realized that their existing policies and protocols — such as cancellation fees for events that were prohibited by public health measures — were not suited for current circumstances.
Faced with these challenges, service teams and their leaders are making transformations that will endure beyond the current crisis. Eighty-three percent of service organizations have changed policies to provide customers with more flexibility, for instance, and 78% have invested in new technology as a result of the pandemic.
“Leaders are taking this time to rethink the value of experiences and reimagine engagement with customers and employees alike,” said Brian Solis, Global Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce.”It’s not just about technology. Sometimes technology is at its best when invisible. We’re going to see significantly more agile, innovative, and relevant organizations emerge from this crisis that provide modern and sought-after experiences that change the game for everyone.”
Digital transformation is accelerating for customers and employees alike
A related research report shows the extent to which customers have shifted to digital, as well as how that shift is expected to persist. Consumers and business buyers estimate that six out of ten of their interactions with companies will occur online in 2021, up from 42% in 2019.
This uptick has coincided with a surge in adoption of various digital channels by service organizations. Video support saw the highest rate of increase in adoption since 2018 (+42%), followed by live chat (+35%) and messenger apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger (+29%). Conversely, the share of organizations offering in-person service and support fell by 16%.
The digital transformation of customer service goes beyond the increased use of digital channels. Service teams also ramped up their adoption of artificial intelligence by 32% since 2018, and their adoption of chatbots shot up by 67%.
"It's never been more important to remove friction from every user experience." says Jim Roth, Executive Vice President of Customer Support at Salesforce. "In our personal lives, we so often solve issues on our own with a simple Google search. We reach out to our friends and family on our preferred communication channels, during a time that's good for us. When we interact with companies, we expect the same level of easy, seamless interactions. If a company makes it too hard for customers to engage, they may become former customers."
Service teams are being challenged by a new era of workforce engagement
Customer service workforces, rooted in contact centers, were spun into upheaval as stay at home orders spread across the world and social distancing became part of daily life. Over half (54%) of global customer service professionals worked from home during 2020, and only 43% expect to return to their normal workplace in 2021.
The shift to remote work has not impacted productivity as much as some may assume, with a majority (72%) of service agents agreeing they have all the tools and technology they need to work remotely. But as 54% of organizations experienced increased case volume, many of them have brought on contractors (42%) or employees from other departments (62%) to help. Just 25% of service professionals say their organizations excel at training such employees from afar, and even fewer (19%) say the same for their ability to onboard these employees in the first place.
Training is a focus as requisite skill sets evolve
Particularly during a crisis, the role of a customer service agent can no longer be limited to closing tickets. Agents are now expected to be knowledgeable, consultative, and above all, empathetic to customers’ unique needs and circumstances. A mix of hard and soft skills — communication, listening, and product knowledge — are in the highest demand. What’s more, service organizations accelerated their tracking of revenue more than any other metric since 2018 (up 57%), putting new expectations for sales savviness on agents’ plates.
Despite tightened budgets, service organizations by-and-large continue to invest in training programs and infrastructure, with a particularly significant bump in the share of teams with access to on-demand training (61%). Far from an entry level position, customer service agents see their roles as providing increasing opportunity even amidst an economic downturn. Sixty-seven percent of agents say they have a clear career path, up from 59% in 2018.
“You’re going to see more blurred lines between different roles moving forward,” predicted Salesforce Global Growth Evangelist Tiffani Bova. “This isn’t new, but it’s accelerating. It’s why so many companies have realized that ‘customer success’ is a more appropriate term than ‘customer service,’ especially when they’ve committed to being more customer-centric. Service has to be part of growth strategies. That’s when customer success truly has a significant impact on the bottom line.”
Field service is thriving, even amid a pandemic
Over the summer of 2020, Salesforce found that 70% of consumers, including 67% of Americans) still preferred in-person appointments where on-site support was a must, such as appliance repairs or internet installs, with the remainder opting for digital alternatives. Accordingly, three-quarters of decision makers with field service continue to see significant revenue from their operations and nearly seven in ten (69%) continue to make significant investments in their mobile workers through tactics such as additional hiring, training, technology investment.
Field Service News Analysis:
Having had access to a selection of the key data relating to the service sector in the UK, some additional key findings Field Service News has identified that will be of interest to Field Service Directors include:
In response to the pandemic:
- 82% of service teams say they’ve shifted workflows/processes
- 85% of service teams say they’ve changed policies to provide more flexibility to customers
- 60% of service decision makers say they’ve invested in new service technology
Agents’ ability to find information needed to do their job:
- 83% of agents can remotely access all the data and information they need
- 57% of service teams have brought in employees from other departments to work in service and support roles
- 49% of agents see a clear path for career growth at their job
- 61% of service decision makers say they’re making significant investments in agent training
Field Service spotlight:
- 76% of service decision markets say field service is a key part of their overall strategy
- 68% of service decision makers say field service drives significant revenue for their company
Further Reading:
- Read more about Digital Transformation @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/digital-transformation
- Read more about the impact of the pandemic on the field service sector @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/en-gb/covid-19
- Read more key research into the the key trends within field service sector @ https://research.fieldservicenews.com/
- Follow Salesforce on twitter @ https://twitter.com/salesforce
- Find out more about the solutions Salesforce provide to the field service sector @ https://www.salesforce.com/uk/products/service-cloud/field-service/
- Read more features and news relating to Salesforce on Field Service News @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/hs-search-results?term=salesforce
Dec 03, 2020 • Features • White Paper • field service management • Leadership and Strategy • Appify
In this final excerpt from a recent white paper published by Appify, now available at Field Service News, we break down the budgeting and division of labor...
In this final excerpt from a recent white paper published by Appify, now available at Field Service News, we break down the budgeting and division of labor...
Want to know more? Field Service News Subscribers can access a White Paper on this topic on the link below.
If you have yet to subscribe click the button below to join 30K of your field service management professional peers and subscribe now to access this content and our entire premium content library now!
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content Appify who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
How Many Work Orders Do You Typically Receive in a Month?
It seems that keeping projects on budget isn't a pressing concern. However, organizations can still improve budgeting at the margins. We asked respondents "How much time would you estimate each field technician spends managing/administering work orders vs. actually performing the work?"
One-quarter of all respondents replied that field technicians spend between 15 and 30 minutes performing administrative work. A slightly smaller proportion (19.48%) of field technicians replied that they spend between 15 and 30 minutes on administrative work. One-third of managers replied that field technicians spend that amount of time doing administrative work.
How Much Time Does Each Field Technician Spend on Managing / Administering Work Orders vs Actually Performing the Work?
Managers think that field technicians spend a minimal amount of time on administrative work than the field technicians themselves. This difference is illustrated more boldly when we examine the rate of respondents that think field technicians spend more than two hours on administrative work. Almost 7% of managers think field technicians spend more than two hours on administrative work. But almost, 16% of field technicians report spending more than two hours on administrative work.
Managers have a different idea than field technicians about the amount of time technicians spend on administrative and work- order management tasks relative to their service tasks. For the Field Service industry in particular, time is money, and any excess time spent on administrative work relative to servicing the work order in question is lost time and therefore lost money.
Bridging this gap using technology and better collaboration can help field technicians see eye to eye with managers about how much time is lost to paperwork and other similar activities.
Are You Looking to Invest in New Technology for Your Service TeamS Post-COVID-19?
Change happens. The question is, will your business be flexible enough to manage through the change. To ensure you can, addressing the needs of the field service teams, continuously examining business processes to look for efficiency gains and improving your technology are key to the continuity of servicing your customers when change occurs.
Field Service remains a vital part of our infrastructure. Allowing employees to focus on the job at hand while increasing productivity to satisfy the needs of their customers should be the goal of any organization. It's clear, however, that many organizations are not prioritizing technology investments in the near future.
It is unwise to buy technology for the sake of having shiny new tools. Yet, companies can still reevaluate their current platforms. If tools in use today are not providing the efficiency needed to service customers and keep field technicians from spending inordinate amounts of time doing administrative work, it may be time to consider a new solution.
IS YOUR BUSINESS READY TO MANAGE THROUGH CHANGE?
Change happens. The question is, will your business be flexible enough to manage through the change. To ensure you can, addressing the needs of the field service teams, continuously examining business processes to look for efficiency gains and improving your technology are key to the continuity of servicing your customers when change occurs.
Field Service remains a vital part of our infrastructure. Allowing employees to focus on the job at hand while increasing productivity to satisfy the needs of their customers should be the goal of any organization. It's clear, however, that many organizations are not prioritizing technology investments in the near future.
It is unwise to buy technology for the sake of having shiny new tools. Yet, companies can still reevaluate their current platforms. If tools in use today are not providing the efficiency needed to service customers and keep field technicians from spending inordinate amounts of time doing administrative work, it may be time to consider a new solution.
In this feature, we analyzed budgeting and division of labor.
However, www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.
If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and you can subscribe to our complimentary subscription tier FSN Standard and get instant access to this white paper as well as our monthly selection of premium resources.
Further Reading:
- Read more about Leadership & Strategy @ www.fieldservicenews.com/leadership-and-strategy
- Read more about Field Service Management @ www.fieldservicenews.com/field-service-management
- Find out more about Appify @ appify.com
- Follow Appify on Twitter @ twitter.com/AppifyInc
Nov 26, 2020 • Features • White Paper • field service management • Leadership and Strategy • Appify
In the third excerpt from a recent white paper published by Appify we discuss the resources and technology investments for field service....
In the third excerpt from a recent white paper published by Appify we discuss the resources and technology investments for field service....
Want to know more? Field Service News Subscribers can access a White Paper on this topic on the link below.
If you have yet to subscribe click the button below to join 30K of your field service management professional peers and subscribe now to access this content and our entire premium content library now!
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content Appify who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
We asked respondents what resources are currently being provided to enhance the work and on-site performance of their service teams. Nearly 60% of field technicians replied with "online self-paced education (60%)," "peer-to- peer mobile communication tools (55%)," or "mobile technology (57%)."
Very few field technicians (13%) report using augmented reality (AR) software, and fewer than one-third (31%) report leveraging in-person classroom resources.
What Resources Are Being Provided to Enhance Team Performance
How Would You Rate the Mobile Technology You Are Using to Service Your Customers?
Responses to these questions can provide organizations with a better understanding of the types of resources technicians may need moving forward. A venture capital firm's survey found that 80% of the global workforce is deskless1. And, despite these workers' reliance on mobile devices, they rarely seem to be considered when it comes to new technology advancements.
For example, just 5.48% of our field technician respondents feel their mobile technology is "excellent." And, while a majority (54.79%) feels their mobile technology is "good, it gets the job done," a further one-quarter say their mobile technology is "average and just OK."
Are You Looking to Invest in New Technology for Your Service TeamS Post-COVID-19?
Technology investments might be in order, given those challenges. But, 62.9% of managers and above said "no investments planned" when asked if they are looking to make investments in new technology to support their team post pandemic (though we may again here consider the pandemic to equate with any future upheaval organizations may encounter).
How Much Are You Budgeting for New Technology to Support Your Service Teams post COVID-19?
To help determine the types of investments that may help technicians, we asked them to rank,in order of importance, the features they need from their mobile application in the field. Two-thirds (62%) or more of the respondents felt work order information, communication with customers, and maintenance procedures and knowledge base were "very important."
While customer communications and work order information are likely available to field technicians currently, it seems that their tools may be lacking the ability to pass down the organic knowledge base. When a 25-year veteran technician retires, does their domain knowledge leave with them?
Technology decision making must take into account non-traditional forms of data, such as institutional knowledge, in order to provide field technicians with the information and skills they need to succeed.
Look out for the next feature in this series coming next week where we discuss how to measure field service readiness.
However, www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.
If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and you can access the white paper instantly upon completing the registration form!
Further Reading:
- Read more about Leadership & Strategy @ www.fieldservicenews.com/leadership-and-strategy
- Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/digital-transformation
- Find out more about Appify @ appify.com
- Follow Appify on Twitter @ twitter.com/AppifyInc
Nov 20, 2020 • Features • Digital Transformation • Salesforce • The Field Service Podcast • Covid-19 • Remote Services
In this final excerpt from a series featuring conversation between Salesforce's Gary Brandeleer and Field Service News' Kris Oldland the conversation takes a more philosphical turn as Brandeleer outlines why we should be taking the opportunity to...
In this final excerpt from a series featuring conversation between Salesforce's Gary Brandeleer and Field Service News' Kris Oldland the conversation takes a more philosphical turn as Brandeleer outlines why we should be taking the opportunity to build sustainability into the new normal...
Want to hear more head over to our podcast library @ www.fieldservicenews.com/podcasts
A SERVITIZED WORLD IS A SUNSTAINABLE WORLD
In a recent white paper authored by Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News, published in partnership with Salesforce we looked at one of the big questions as we build the new normal and we plot our route to recovery – ‘should we be redefining the very definition of what the value proposition is of field service in a world of remote service delivery, zero touch service delivery?’
Of course, in this post pandemic, new world, it's an embryonic conversation. It's early days as we find our way towards these new modes of working, but it is imperative that we, as service leaders, are having these kinds of conversations today as we all build towards recovery together.
The white paper, which is available on the button beneath this article, goes into a number of aspects of this conversation and it's designed to promote the leaders of our sector to start thinking about these kinds of conversations. To further build on this discussion Oldland invited Salesforce’s Gary Brandeleer onto the Field Service Podcast to push that discussion further and to hear Brandeleer’’s insight reflecting on the many conversations he has had working with companies from all different parts of the world across many all different industries, in terms of embracing digital transformation.
Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of the discussion was how Brandeleer outlined that what we're doing now isn't just reaction to the pandemic but can also really be building a much more sustainable future as well.
"Can we actually sell much more services and our experience, and really think about the impact on the climate when we do this?"
- Gary Brandeleer, Salesforce
“I think if you look at optimization right now there is a really deep advantage at moving towards these more advanced services-based relations on a recurring basis,” begins Brandeleer.
“What I mean by this is that if we want to achieve sustainability on this planet, consuming more products is not the way forward. We know that literally every single time you consume anything it's pollution one way or another. When you consume a service, well, there is not always pollution behind it. Going back to outcome-based services, sometimes actually, the outcome can be where the device is going to be more efficient, which is going to consume less energy, which at the end of the day, we make it a more sustainable device.
“The criteria we're going to have to think of is ‘can we use everything that is going right now in the world, especially in the field service world where many of the companies we have as customers, make the world a better place by servicing the device making the product better and keeping the world running.
“Can we use now all the skills we have around us to actually say, ‘Well, you know what COVID-19 that's one thing, but there is also climate change going on?’ I mean, literally three weeks ago in San Francisco, we had a day where it was night during the day, which was pretty disturbing, for sure. I was thinking like, well, these are sharp, guys. I mean, that's where we are going, we need to make sure that we are creating differentiation for services and that we literally stop selling too many products.
“Can we actually sell more services, leverage our knowledge and experience, and really think about the impact on the climate when we do this? Of course, we are not going to stop selling every product out there and for the install base that is 40 years old, actually keeping it running is more polluting than not having a new product. However, for some products, it may be a case of thinking ‘I can keep it for three years more, it's fine’. ‘I'm going to be fine with that, I'm going to maintain the asset to improve the efficiency of the device for two more years and that's going to save us maybe a little bit of steel, a little bit of co2 emission and we can optimise this.
“I think there is really a spot we can reach which this kind of optimal place with a balance between new products and services which by the way, we need to be offered in a trusted relationship style and get to a world where there are no surprises with the product, it's not breaking anymore - but on top of that, actually, it's helping the world to be more sustainable. I think that's really all Holy Grail I would love to reach at one point of time."
Want to know more? Field Service News Subscribers can access a White Paper on this topic on the link below.
If you have yet to subscribe click the button below to join 30K of your field service management professional peers and subscribe now to access this content and our entire premium content library now!
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content Salesforce who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
Further Reading:
- Find the full episode of this interview and the entire back catalogue of The Field Service Podcast @ www.fieldservicenews.com/podcasts
- Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/digital-transformation
- Read more about the impact of Covid-19 on Field Service @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/en-gb/covid-19
- Connect with Gary Brandeleer on LinkedIn @ https://www.linkedin.com/in/garybrandeleer/
- Follow Michael Kuebel on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/garybrandeleer?lang=en
- Find out more about Salesforce Field Service Solutions @ www.salesforce.com/uk/products/service-cloud/field-service-lightning/
- Follow Salesforce on twitter @ twitter.com/salesforce
Nov 19, 2020 • News • Cognito iQ • Konica MInolta • Digital Transformation • EMEA
Konica Minolta has won the BLI PaceSetter Award for Serviceability and Support 2020-2021 in Western Europe awarded by Keypoint Intelligence for the second time.
Konica Minolta has won the BLI PaceSetter Award for Serviceability and Support 2020-2021 in Western Europe awarded by Keypoint Intelligence for the second time.
With Cognito iQ flagged as a platform that supported the win, the recognition honours the OEM that offers the best-designed tools, programs and trainings to enhance the serviceability of its products and services. With its “shift left” approach, Konica Minolta provides systems to empower its clients to help themselves, such as using online trainings or providing support through remote tools.
COGNITO iQ's PLATFORM ALLOWS KONICA MINOLTA TO AUTOMATE THEIR FIELD OPERATION, IMPROVING EFFICIENCY AND REDUCING ERRORS
Leveraging their Cognito iQ-developed platform, Konica Minolta is able to analyse operational performance of its field service in real time. With this “shift left” approach, the issues are solved closer to their origin and field presence of service experts can be reduced significantly. This helps to limit physical contact points which increases safety for customers and technicians, as travel from client to client can be minimised in the time of Covid-19.
Konica Minolta use Cognito iQ to automate and mobilise their field operation, automating previously manual processes, improving efficiency and reducing errors, and giving Konica Minolta real-time information to control the service support operation. In addition to this they have implemented the Cognito iQ analytics platform, OPA, which gives the field service operation live data enabling them to make fact-based decisions on trends in real-time.
“Pursuing a customer-centric approach, Konica Minolta always focuses on the needs of its users for its products and services’, commented Nick Ranson, UK Director of Value Added Services, Konica Minolta Business Solutions UK, “We have a close relationship with Cognito iQ, their expertise and understanding of our operation has helped to redefine service for the UK business. It’s great to see our efforts recognised with this award”.
Further Reading:
- Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
- Read more about Cognito iQ on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/cognito-iq
- Learn more about Konica Minolta @ www.konicaminolta.co.uk
- Find out more about Cognito iQ @ www.cognitoiq.com
- Follow Cognito iQ on Twitter @ twitter.com/Cognito_iQ
- Follow Cognito iQ on LinkedIn @ www.linkedin.com/cognito-
Nov 19, 2020 • Features • White Paper • field service management • Leadership and Strategy • Appify
In this second excerpt from a recent white paper published by Appify, now available at Field Service News, we provide an analysis on how to measure field service readiness...
In this second excerpt from a recent white paper published by Appify, now available at Field Service News, we provide an analysis on how to measure field service readiness...
Want to know more? Field Service News Subscribers can access a White Paper on this topic on the link below.
If you have yet to subscribe click the button below to join 30K of your field service management professional peers and subscribe now to access this content and our entire premium content library now!
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content Appify who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
How field technicians rate their Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other service equipment is especially crucial as all must now adopt additional, more stringent workplace safety protocols. Seventy-two percent (72.6%) of field technicians and managers rate the quality of the PPE they use to service their customers as "good" or "very good," an encouraging sign.
This suggests field technicians and management have a shared understanding of what makes for effective PPE.
How Would You Rate The Quality of the PPE You Are Using to Service Your Customers?
How Would You Rate The Quality of Equipment You Use to Service Your Customers?
How Ready Are Your Service Teams to Service Customers Post COVID-19?
Many respondents don’t feel that the pandemic will impact their field readiness. We asked respondents to rate how ready service teams will be to go on-site to service customers post COVID-19. Field technicians responded, on average, with a rating of about 8.3.
IMPROVING WORK ORDER MANAGEMENT EFFICIENCY
The current societal disruption may very well cause ongoing changes to the types of work orders technicians service. When people stop using hotels en masse, there is less of a need for maintenance. Textile factories have likely seen an uptick in machine usage due to the demand for cloth masks. Those machines will need more frequent attention than they did in the past.
We may see spikes in work orders for industries that previously relied on only semi-regular maintenance visits. Other industries will demonstrate a marked drop in demand for their equipment.
Currently, field technicians see about 50 orders or fewer in one month. Forty-four percent of field technicians report receiving fewer than 50 work orders in one month.
How Ready Are Your Service Teams to Service Customers Post COVID-19?
There is a range of time frame durations for these work orders. More than one-third (39%) of field technicians have work orders stretching over multiple days, 35% have work orders that last one day, and 25.97% have work orders that last a few hours.
How Long Does It Take to Complete a Work Order?
The volume of these orders and the duration they last may shift dramatically in the coming months. How organizations respond to changing demands will likely dictate future success.
Look out for the next feature in this series coming next week where we discuss resources and technology investments for Field Service.
However, www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below. If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and you can access the white paper instantly upon completing the registration form!
Further Reading:
- Read more about Leadership & Strategy @ www.fieldservicenews.com/leadership-and-strategy
- Read more about Field Service Management @ www.fieldservicenews.com/field-service-management
- Find out more about Appify @ appify.com
- Follow Appify on Twitter @ twitter.com/AppifyInc
Nov 18, 2020 • Features • Digital Transformation • Salesforce • The Field Service Podcast • Covid-19 • Remote Services
Salesforce's Gary Brandeleer and Field Service News' Kris Oldland discuss the true value of the service engineer and outline a future of field service where break-fix is no longer part of our day-to-day lexicon...
Salesforce's Gary Brandeleer and Field Service News' Kris Oldland discuss the true value of the service engineer and outline a future of field service where break-fix is no longer part of our day-to-day lexicon...
Want to hear more head over to our podcast library @ www.fieldservicenews.com/podcasts
IF A DEVICE FAILS, CSAT WILL GO DOWN
Perhaps one of the biggest questions of the current times for the field service sector, as we plot our way towards the new normal, is should we be redefining the value proposition of what field service delivery means, in an age of remote service and a post-pandemic world? It's an embryonic question. Indeed, it's an embryonic conversation, but it's one that the field service sector needs to be having.
Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News recently authored a white paper on this topic, published in partnership with Salesforce to kick start the discussion. To get further insight into the area Oldland invited Salesforce's Gary Brandeleer onto the Field Service Podcast to gain further understanding and learn from Gary's experience working with a number of different organisations in the areas of digital transformation so we can start to piece together exactly how we should be rethinking the value proposition of service delivery.
In the above highlight from that conversation, Brandeleer and Oldland start discussing what the real value is of the field service engineer.
"The key aspect and all the research that we've run on where the value is regarding service engineers, suggests that the value lies in the fact that they are subject matter experts, and that's come from across research projects, interviews, Think Tank Sessions that we've run at Field Service News. It is a constant, consistent theme," explains Oldland.
"The real value of the engineer is having a subject matter expert on-site, so I think we might see an annual, biannual, or even quarterly review process where that engineer, the subject matter expert, goes on and spends the day with the customer. A scenario where they aren't just on-site to fix a couple of issues, but looks at how those assets are interacting looks at how the data that they have from other organisations, across the fleet and outlines to the customer how to optimise for those.
"Then the more day to day routine, or the quick break, fix problems that can be solved remotely, that's where that level of remote-first comes in," he adds.
What if you could transform this relationship into one where the customer will never expect and never experience a failure?"
- Gary Brandeleer, Salesforce
"I think, I wish that, in 10 years from now we will not even know what break-fix is," adds Brandeleer.
"What I mean by this is with more and more new products being developed, the product shouldn't break anymore. It will need to be maintained - and it needs to be very clear how to maintain it, so it doesn't break. I think that's really where I wish all our customers were right now because when one of your devices is breaking, essentially, you can't have a good CSAT - it's nearly impossible.
"Yes, the service provider can get in to fix the problem quickly, and they can get the CSAT up again, but the break is going to see the CSAT going down for sure.
"What if you could transform this relationship into one where the customer will never expect and never experience a failure? Where they will never experience breaking points with your device? To say to the customer, we are going to create this relationship where we guarantee you that the assets won't break. We are going to make sure that we execute on this promise, delivering you a device and a service that leads to a position where the asset you need won't ever let you down - and at the same time, the customer understands clearly what they're going to pay for it. It's much easier as a relationship to say 'okay, yes, you're paying $1,000 a month for the service contract, but you have no break-fix, no surprises.'"
"I think that's really where I think these relationships can grow into true partnerships."
Want to know more? Field Service News Subscribers can access a White Paper on this topic on the link below.
If you have yet to subscribe click the button below to join 30K of your field service management professional peers and subscribe now to access this content and our entire premium content library now!
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Further Reading:
- Find the full episode of this interview and the entire back catalogue of The Field Service Podcast @ www.fieldservicenews.com/podcasts
- Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/digital-transformation
- Read more about the impact of Covid-19 on Field Service @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/en-gb/covid-19
- Connect with Gary Brandeleer on LinkedIn @ https://www.linkedin.com/in/garybrandeleer/
- Follow Michael Kuebel on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/garybrandeleer?lang=en
- Find out more about Salesforce Field Service Solutions @ www.salesforce.com/uk/products/service-cloud/field-service-lightning/
- Follow Salesforce on twitter @ twitter.com/salesforce
Nov 17, 2020 • News • Cognito iQ • Digital Transformation • EMEA • BAXI
Improving customer service, maximising worker efficiency and meeting SLAs are just a handful of the challenges that field service operators face.
Improving customer service, maximising worker efficiency and meeting SLAs are just a handful of the challenges that field service operators face.
Even field service operations that are working well can find 5% improvements when they set out to become exceptional, and improvements of more than 20% are not uncommon.
Baxi, together with Cognito iQ, recognise the true significance of data and the value it can bring to a business, from cost savings, improving repeat busines through improved customer satisfaction to identifying areas of process improvement that can bring transformational change to a business.
BAXI HAVE MADE THEIR GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE EVEN BETTER BY SUCCESSFULLY LEVERAGING DATA AND ANALYTICS WITH COGNITO iQ
Quality data that can provide insight is key to transformational change and improvements. Cognito IQ’s next generation analytics solution, Insight Hub does just that. Providing real-time analytics, it provides at a glance metrics in its bespoke dashboard that allows you to make instant changes to keep your team on track as well as a longer term view for informed strategic planning and strategy.
Baxi, and Cognito iQ have successfully leveraged data and analytics that enabled them to:
- Increase productivity 25%
- Reduce secondary visit times by 42%
In this webinar, Steve Randall, Baxi’s Head of Service will share:
- The challenges Baxi faced and how they addressed them.
- How technology such as Insight Hub, makes it easier to manage a large mobile workforce.
- The impact of having real-time analytics on their customer service and more.
To register for the webinar 'Transforming Your Field Service Operation from Excellent to Exceptional, visit info.cognitoiq.com/getting-to-exceptional-webinar2.
Further Reading:
- Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
- Read more about Cognito iQ on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/cognito-iq
- Register for the webinar 'Transforming Your Field Service Operation from Excellent to Exceptional' @ cognitoiq.com/getting-to-exceptional-webinar2
- Find out more about Cognito iQ @ www.cognitoiq.com
- Follow Cognito iQ on Twitter @ twitter.com/Cognito_iQ
Field Service News is published by 1927 Media Ltd, an independent publisher whose sole focus is on the field service sector. As such our entire resources are focused on helping drive the field service sector forwards and aiming to best serve our industry through honest, incisive and innovative media coverage of the global field service sector.
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