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HealthCheck of UK Businesses Running Field Service Teams

Oct 14, 2021 • Features • BigChange • Covid-19 • Leadership and Strategy • EMEA

In the first feature of a series of excerpts from a recent white paper published by BigChange, we look at their first health check of UK businesses running field service teams.

This feature is just one short excerpt from a white paper published by BigChange.

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 registering for our complimentary subscription tier FSN Standard on a dedicated page that provides you instant access to this white paper PLUS you will also be able to access our monthly selection of premium resources as soo as you are registered.

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 BigChange 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.

These trades are the backbone of the economy: plumbers, electrical engineers, construction businesses, maintenance companies, environmental services, and many others with field-based workers.

One in five UK businesses rely on field service teams to deliver their services. We estimate that there are now more than 1.2 million field service businesses in the UK employing 6.7 million people.

Because they all run field service teams, they face similar opportunities and challenges:

Managerial oversight
Job scheduling and management
Recruting suitably skilled workers
Compliance
Maximising job efficiency
Competing on customer experience

During August 2021, we engaged the research consultancy Opinium to survey businesses of all sizes with field service teams.

Opinium spoke to 504 leaders from businesses in the building maintenance, cleaning services, drainage, electrical contractors and electricians, facilities management, fire and security, plant hire, industrial doors, plumbing and heating, and the waste and recycling sectors.

We asked about business health and how they fared from August 2020 to July 2021 – the first full 12 months since the easing of the strictest UK lockdown measures.

72% OF THE UK FIELD SERVICE BUSINESSES ARE GROWING, BUT ONLY ONE-IN-FIVE ARE GROWING STRONGER

Across the field service sector, firms have performed significantly better since the end of the first strict lockdown in July 2020

Workloads are up 70%, and turnovers have soared as prices charged for services increased by an average of 47%
Demand for facilities management, fire and safety, plumbing and heating, and plant hire services bounced back particularly welL

While the headline figures are positive, the benefits of booming demand are not enjoyed by everyone

Turnovers rocketed across the sector, yet fewer than half of companies reported making a profit. 26% of firms lost money in the 12 months to August 2021 as the industry was hit by Covid-19 complications, compliance issues and surging costs
One in eight field service firms fear they could go out of business within a year
More than eight out of ten firms expect turnover to grow into 2022. But a talent crisis means firms face this increased demand without employee numbers increasing at the same rate. 56% of field service leaders reported difficulty retaining frontline operators.

Productivity is now a major focus for field service firms

Poor management oversight, outdated technology, and poor planning and workflow were significant barriers to more efficient work. 82% of field- service leaders said they wanted oversight of all parts of their operations in real-time

Our analysis indicates that there is a big difference between growing and growing stronger

The strongest firms took advantage of rising demand to do more work, but remained in control of costs and became more productive
In contrast, many firms now struggling for survival, grew too quickly. They took on the highest increases in workload and turnover of any segment, but doubled the size of their workforces and their levels of debt

Customer experience is key for competitive advantage

Facing rising costs, the ability to compete on price is getting smaller. Customer experience has become the new source of competitive advantage. Most leaders said good service now requires same-working-day fixes for reactive jobs (68%) and that customers be kept fully informed digitally (65%)

Technology is critical in helping firms thrive

Technology spending across the sector increased by an average of 54% in the last 12 months as firms focused on job management, productivity and customer experience
Users of job management technology grew faster, on average, than those relying on spreadsheets and paper processes last year. They are in a better position to take on further work and deliver it profitably in the year ahead
Most leaders expect spending in this area to continue growing into 2022

A Defining Period for the Field Service Sector

The following 12 months will be pivotal for field service firms. Everyone has the opportunity to grow, but they must manage significant cost increases and face major challenges recruiting and retaining skilled frontline operators. It will be a year of abundance for some - gaining market share and driving growth in turnover and profitability. Others will see their margins eroded further. Everyone would benefit from becoming more productive and competing on customer experience rather than price.

This feature is just one short excerpt from a white paper published by BigChange.

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 registering for our complimentary subscription tier FSN Standard on a dedicated page that provides you instant access to this white paper PLUS you will also be able to access our monthly selection of premium resources as soo as you are registered.

IFS Extends Boomi Integration Capabilities for IFS Cloud

Oct 13, 2021 • News • Digital Transformation • IFS • GLOBAL • BOOMI

Following the initial success of the partnership between global cloud enterprise applications company IFS and leading cloud-based iPaaS provider Boomi, IFS is now unveiling enhanced connectivity to empower IFS Cloud customers to accelerate time to...

The IFS-Boomi partnership, announced in February, 2020, has already attracted investments from numerous IFS customers looking for a faster and more efficient way to integrate and interconnect their business solutions' landscape with minimum effort and a low total cost of ownership.

CUSTOMER DEMAND FOR INTEGRATION PLATFORM AS A SERVICE CONTINUES TO GROW

The extended IFS-Boomi connector is designed to deliver all the benefits of the Boomi AtomSphere™ Platform to all IFS Cloud customers. By leveraging IFS Cloud's REST APIs, IFS customers can connect and integrate IFS Cloud with any other application in their IT landscape. The connector is future-proof by design with a drag-and-drop interface, enabling companies to connect various business applications to support their evolving needs without the need to consider future updates and releases.

The enhanced IFS Cloud connector supports OAuth 2.0 authentication, making it secure and significantly simplifying how companies manage the flow of information between their IFS applications and any other application. Performance improvements have been made to handle large amounts of data, and new hierarchy navigation capabilities will make it easier to find, update, and query integrations.

"Our collaboration with Boomi empowers our customers with tools that make it easy to innovate, integrate, and extend their IFS platform," IFS Chief Product Officer Christian Pedersen said. "Over the past year and a half, we have seen a sharp increase in the number of customers looking to adopt new technologies to stay ahead of the competition. The IFS-Boomi offering provides the ideal platform to orchestrate the full range of enterprise applications used by today's businesses, while de-risking and simplifying digital transformation initiatives aimed at supporting new business models and delivering outstanding moments of service."

"The Boomi promise to instantly connect everyone to everything aligns perfectly with the ethos of our partnership with IFS," said Ed Macosky, Head of Product at Boomi. "The enhanced connector makes it possible for customers to innovate quickly and easily, in the manner that makes sense for their business models. We are very excited to embark on the next phase of our collaboration and look forward to helping IFS customers achieve their goals and create value faster."

Over the next 12 months, IFS and Boomi will continue to develop connectors that address customer needs and reduce integration complexity and time.

Has the Pandemic Killed Servitization?

Oct 13, 2021 • Christian Kowalkowski • field service technology • Servitization • The View from Academia • Covid-19 • Digital Symposium

Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News is joined on the Field Service News Digital Symposium by Christian Kowalkowski, Professor of Industrial Marketing at the Institute of Technology at Linköping University and he is affiliated with...

Professor Kowalkowski rapidly established himself as a leading authority in the field of B2B service strategy research and he focuses on service growth strategies, service innovation, and the interplay between digitization and servitization.

During the conversation, the two discuss a wide range of topics related to the growing trend towards servitization and how the pandemic has changed the approach to digital transformation among field service organisations.

In this exceprt from that conversation, they discuss whether the pandemic has killed or reinforced the role of servitization.

Want to know more?

FSN Premium subscribers and FSN Elite members can access the full-length interview plus many, many more in the Field Service New Digital Symposium. If you have an FSN Premium account you can access the video on the button below. If you are currently on our FSN Standard subscription tier you can upgrade your subscription by clicking the link below.

If you are yet to subscribe you can join 30,0000 of your field service management peers by subscribing to FSN Standard for free to gain access to a monthly selection of premium content or select either FSN Premium or FSN Elite for even more resources. Click the button above to visit our subscription page to find out more.

Webfleet Solutions and Bridgestone Develop Integrated Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) for Reliable Road Safety

Oct 12, 2021 • Fleet Technology • News • fleet technology • fleet management • Webfleet Solutions • EMEA • onpoint logistics

Webfleet Solutions, Europe’s leading telematics solutions provider, is introducing WEBFLEET TPMS to the market.

The joint development between the telematics leader and its parent company Bridgestone, a global leader in tyres and rubber providing solutions for safe and sustainable mobility, provides predictive tyre management integrated into the award-winning WEBFLEET fleet management solution.

Designed for heavy commercial vehicles, such as trucks and buses, WEBFLEET TPMS utilises sensors that continuously monitor tyre pressure levels and tyre temperature.

THE SOLUTION CONTINUOUSLY CHECKS TYRE PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURE AND ALERTS BOTH THE DRIVER AND THE FLEET MANAGER IN CASE OF ISSUES TO HELP PREVENT ACCIDENTS OR COSTLY DOWNTIME

The information is sent to the WEBFLEET Telematics Service Platform for analysis. When an issue is detected, WEBFLEET alerts the fleet manager in the office and/or the driver in the cab in real time. This allows them to take action before the issue evolves into a more serious problem that could lead to accidents, disruptions and costly vehicle downtime.

Paul Verheijen, Vice President Product Management of Bridgestone Mobility Solutions, said: “The majority of heavy truck breakdowns on European roads are caused by tyre-related issues such as underinflated tyres.

“Manual pressure checks are time consuming and slow leaks are very difficult for drivers to detect. WEBFLEET TPMS is not only digitising and automating this entire process, but it also directly enables the fleet operator to make fast, informed decisions to improve road safety and reduce tyre-related costs and downtime.”

The instant notifications that are triggered when abnormal tyre pressure or temperature is detected are colour coded. The colours reflect the severity of the issue, which helps users to determine the right course of action.

The WEBFLEET TPMS sensors are precise and easy to install, as they can be fitted without removing the tyre. They enable the TPMS solution to detect under or over inflation before it’s visible. While properly inflated tyres increase safety, they also offer better fuel efficiency and an optimised tyre service life. All of this translates to less CO₂ emissions and extended tyre life.

“With WEBFLEET TPMS, we are reinforcing our market leadership in connected transport solutions,” added Jan-Maarten de Vries, CEO of Bridgestone Mobility Solutions.

“By adding real time tyre insights to WEBFLEET, transport companies have control and visibility over their entire fleet operation – all from one interface.

“For years, business fleets have been using telematics solutions to understand and leverage their vehicle data. Now, we are using this telematics data to optimise tyre performance. Our TPMS solution is just the beginning of further innovations in connected tyre technology enabled by the combined strength of Bridgestone and Webfleet Solutions.”

Watch this videoto learn more about TPMS please visit: https://www.webfleet.com/en_gb/webfleet/fleet-management/tpms/

Field Service Businesses Bounce Back from Covid, but Soaring Costs Mean One-in-Eight Fears Failure Within a Year

Oct 11, 2021 • News • BigChange • field service • Covid-19 • Leadership and Strategy • EMEA

Demand for UK trades has boomed since the end of the initial lockdown in July 2020. Plumbers, electricians, building-maintenance firms and other trades making up the UK’s 1.3-million-business field-service sector have seen their workloads increase by 70 per cent year on year, according to a new report published by field service management software provider BigChange.

BigChange’s State of the Field Service Sector report, now available at Field Service News, reveals that three-quarters of trades businesses saw demand increase in the year to July 2021. Almost one in five (18 per cent) took on over double the work they did in the 12-month period before. BigChange’s research indicates that demand for Plumbing & Heating, Plant Hire and Drainage increased fastest.

THREE-QUARTERS OF UK BUSINESSES SAW DEMANDS AFTER THE FIRST STRICT LOCKODWN ENDED, BUT MANY ARE STILL SUFFERING THE IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC, COMPLIANCE ISSUES AND SOARING COSTS

Despite soaring turnovers (up 79 per cent on average) and average price increases of 47 per cent, fewer than half of trades businesses (48 per cent) said they were profitable in the year to July 2021. Debts have increased by 117 per cent among the worst performers in the sector, and one-in-eight firms fear they will fail within a year as Covid complications, compliance issues and surging costs continue to hit hard.

Most businesses surveyed (81 per cent) said that the pandemic had continued to impact their finances negatively in the last 12 months. 67 per cent said their margins had been squeezed by the cost of complying with new regulations, and rising prices for materials, fuel and labour are cited as ongoing problems by more than 70 per cent of respondents.

Richard Warley, BigChange CEO, comments: “While demand for the trades has boomed since the first lockdown, this backbone of the economy is not as strong as it might look. Only half of firms are profiting from this extra work. There’s a big difference between growing and growing stronger.”

“Many trades businesses have seen profit margins hit by a perfect storm of Covid, compliance and rising costs. One-in-eight fear they won’t last another year, partly because they’ve taken on more debt and racked up colossal overtime bills meeting customer demand.

“The strong, profitable businesses are succeeding by working smarter to stay in control of their operations, keeping a lid on costs, and making their teams more productive. They are using technology to improve management oversight, plan better and automate processes, and improving communication and response times as part of efforts to make the customer experience their new source of competitive advantage.”

You can access Big Change's State of the Field Service Sector white paper here:

How Companies Can Align Remote and On-Site Service Delivery into Their Portfolio

Oct 11, 2021 • Christian Kowalkowski • field service technology • Servitization • The View from Academia • Covid-19 • Digital Symposium

In this exceprt from that conversation, they discuss how companies can align remote and on-site service delivery into their portfolio of services and what role servitization can play in this.

Want to know more?

FSN Premium subscribers and FSN Elite members can access the full-length interview plus many, many more in the Field Service New Digital Symposium. If you have an FSN Premium account you can access the video on the button below. If you are currently on our FSN Standard subscription tier you can upgrade your subscription by clicking the link below.

If you are yet to subscribe you can join 30,0000 of your field service management peers by subscribing to FSN Standard for free to gain access to a monthly selection of premium content or select either FSN Premium or FSN Elite for even more resources. Click the button above to visit our subscription page to find out more.

The Difference between Customer Satisfaction, Customer Experience and Customer Success

Oct 08, 2021 • Christian Kowalkowski • field service technology • Servitization • The View from Academia • Covid-19 • Servitization and Advanced Services

In this exceprt from that conversation, they analyse in-depth the difference between customer satisfaction, customer experience and customer success.

Want to know more?

FSN Premium subscribers and FSN Elite members can access the full-length interview plus many, many more in the Field Service New Digital Symposium. If you have an FSN Premium account you can access the video on the button below. If you are currently on our FSN Standard subscription tier you can upgrade your subscription by clicking the link below.

If you are yet to subscribe you can join 30,0000 of your field service management peers by subscribing to FSN Standard for free to gain access to a monthly selection of premium content or select either FSN Premium or FSN Elite for even more resources. Click the button above to visit our subscription page to find out more.

Aquant Announces $70 Million Series C Funding Round To Revolutionize The Service Industry Using Artificial Intelligence

Oct 07, 2021 • News • Artificial intelligence • Digital Transformation • technology • Aquant • GLOBAL

Aquant, the leading Service Intelligence Platform that gives service leaders, reps and teams the most vital information they need for every situation, has raised $70 million in Series C funding. The investment will support the growth and advance its...

The funding round was led by Qumra Capital, Insight Partners and Pitango Growth. Previous investors Lightspeed Venture Partners and Angular Ventures also participated in the round, along with new investors Schneider Electric Ventures and Claltech.

Aquant has now raised a total of $110 million. The company will use the fresh capital to support its rapid growth and expand use cases as it strengthens its position as the service intelligence leader in every market for every company that provides service. To accelerate its global expansion, Aquant will grow its engineering, client services and go-to-market teams, adding positions in the US, Europe and Israel. The funding will also drive the continuous innovation of its Artificial Intelligence platform, including the development of cutting-edge technology that combines structured and unstructured data and harnesses the tribal knowledge of experts.

AQUANT'S RAPID GROWTH IS A DIRECT RESULT OF HOW IT'S HELPING COMPANIES OF ALL SIZES MAKE THESE TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGES.

“To win the service game today, it’s not enough to just solve problems anymore,” said Shahar Chen, CEO and co-founder of Aquant. "Companies must also provide a stellar service experience. And when providing a stellar experience, service becomes more than just 'maintenance' for customers – it becomes magic.” Using deep service expertise and specialized Natural Language Processing (NLP), Aquant understands all service data, combines it with tribal knowledge, and provides service leaders, technicians, and reps with the most vital information they need, exactly when they need it. Service has largely remained the same for decades, but is now at a turning point. Companies are seeking to transform the way they deliver service, with service leaders expected to deliver exceptional service to differentiate the brand. They are also being asked to provide customer insights, derived from service data, to help executives and front line managers make strategic business decisions across all lines of business, including service, product development, sales, and more.

Aquant’s rapid growth is a direct result of how it’s helping companies of all sizes make these transformative changes. The company gives service leaders needed insights into their business, enabling them to make proactive, data-driven decisions, identify at-risk customers, understand asset performance, identify compliance risks, and more. The AI-powered technology is also helping to erase the talent shortage by providing the entire workforce access to information that was previously siloed in databases or held in the minds of long-tenured technicians.

Leading market researchers like Gartner Research have noted the unfulfilled need to leverage service intelligence throughout the industry, citing the powerful potential of machine learning and data mining to increase field service efficiency.

Aquant’s proprietary service intelligence platform harnesses Artificial Intelligence to ingest unstructured data, tribal knowledge, and industry insights. This combination gives service leaders meaningful insights into the state of their organization, enabling them to make data-driven decisions. It also empowers service technicians to be at the right place with the right knowledge and the right parts at the right time to solve technical problems immediately. Making every Aquant-powered customer experience a magical service interaction.

“Aquant is revolutionizing service intelligence and is well-positioned to lead this large market given their domain expertise and data savviness. Their technology enables companies to focus on what they’re good at, alleviating one of the most serious business challenges today,” said Sivan Shamri Dahan, managing partner at Qumra Capital. “We’re very excited to partner with them as they continue their rapid growth in order to significantly improve service experiences.”

Service intelligence solves an increasingly problematic talent shortage in the field service industry, providing new hires access to decades of technical knowledge, account data and service history at their fingertips. As Baby Boomers continue to retire from technician roles and younger Millennial and Generation Z employees fill their positions, sharing knowledge and employing data effectively will be increasingly important.

“Customers trust Aquant’s AI-enabled offering, as unlike generic AI solutions, it is tailored to the service vertical’s needs and delivers clear ROI from day one,” said Idit Muallem-Yedid, partner at Pitango Growth, who's joining Aquant's Board. “Aquant's insights shed light on areas traditionally perceived as blind spots in service operations and experience. I am excited to be part of Aquant’s journey, as it continues to bring value to all stakeholders of the service experience and roll out additional solutions highly anticipated by its customers.”

"We look forward to working with our new investors as we enter an important growth phase," said Assaf Melochna, president and co-founder of Aquant. "The service industry is on the cusp of once-in-a-lifetime advancements, and helping these companies transform service by providing critical business insights is built into Aquant's DNA." The company works across a number of industries, including medical device manufacturers, food equipment manufacturers, capital equipment manufacturers, industrial automation and appliances. Its clients include Siemens Healthineers, The Home Depot, 3D Systems, and Sysmex, among others.

The Rapid Evolution of Digital Transformation

Oct 06, 2021 • Christian Kowalkowski • field service technology • Servitization • The View from Academia • Covid-19

In this exceprt from that conversation, they discuss how much the pandemic has accelerated mass acceptance and the evolution of digital transformation in the field service industry.

Want to know more?

FSN Premium subscribers and FSN Elite members can access the full-length interview plus many, many more in the Field Service New Digital Symposium. If you have an FSN Premium account you can access the video on the button below. If you are currently on our FSN Standard subscription tier you can upgrade your subscription by clicking the link below.

If you are yet to subscribe you can join 30,0000 of your field service management peers by subscribing to FSN Standard for free to gain access to a monthly selection of premium content or select either FSN Premium or FSN Elite for even more resources. Click the button above to visit our subscription page to find out more.

AUTHOR ARCHIVES: Field Service News

About the Author:

HealthCheck of UK Businesses Running Field Service Teams

This feature is just one short excerpt from a white paper published by BigChange.

www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.

This feature is just one short excerpt from a white paper published by BigChange.

www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.

IFS Extends Boomi Integration Capabilities for IFS Cloud

CUSTOMER DEMAND FOR INTEGRATION PLATFORM AS A SERVICE CONTINUES TO GROW

Further Reading:

Has the Pandemic Killed Servitization?

Want to know more?

Further Reading:

Webfleet Solutions and Bridgestone Develop Integrated Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) for Reliable Road Safety

THE SOLUTION CONTINUOUSLY CHECKS TYRE PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURE AND ALERTS BOTH THE DRIVER AND THE FLEET MANAGER IN CASE OF ISSUES TO HELP PREVENT ACCIDENTS OR COSTLY DOWNTIME

Further Reading:

Field Service Businesses Bounce Back from Covid, but Soaring Costs Mean One-in-Eight Fears Failure Within a Year

THREE-QUARTERS OF UK BUSINESSES SAW DEMANDS AFTER THE FIRST STRICT LOCKODWN ENDED, BUT MANY ARE STILL SUFFERING THE IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC, COMPLIANCE ISSUES AND SOARING COSTS

Further Reading:

How Companies Can Align Remote and On-Site Service Delivery into Their Portfolio

Want to know more?

Further Reading:

The Difference between Customer Satisfaction, Customer Experience and Customer Success

Want to know more?

Further Reading:

Aquant Announces $70 Million Series C Funding Round To Revolutionize The Service Industry Using Artificial Intelligence

AQUANT'S RAPID GROWTH IS A DIRECT RESULT OF HOW IT'S HELPING COMPANIES OF ALL SIZES MAKE THESE TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGES.

Further Reading:

The Rapid Evolution of Digital Transformation

Want to know more?

Further Reading:

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