AUTHOR ARCHIVES: Kris Oldland

Welcome to the latest edition of the Field Service News podcast. This month we are joined by Simon Spriggs, Account Manager Exel Computer Systems.

In this exclusive interview Simon talks openly about what we can expect and demand from Service Management software providers, including the differences between scheduling systems, how much customisation can be expected, what we should expect in terms of support during implementation of a new software and how to build a case for investment from your board.

 

 

 

Simon will also be joining Field Service News in the Field Service Solutions Theatre at this year's Service Management Expo being held in London's ExCel on June 17th, 18th and 19th. So if you want to here more from him then make sure you get your complimentary 3 day pass by clicking this link

[quote style ="boxed"]Find out more about Exel Computer Systems in the Field Service News Directory by clicking here

 

Please note that that promotion of this download is a joint venture between Field Service News and Exel Computer Systems and by downloading the podcast you agree to the fascinating terms and conditions which are available right here.

Trimble Field Service Management has announced will be showcasing its 'One Platform. One Solution' offering at this years Service Management Expo, held at London's ExCel on the 17th, 18th and 19th June.

The solution combines work scheduling and optimisation with fleet telematics and driver safety, all in one platform.

Trimble, along with ALK Technologies, a Trimble company, will be hosting live demonstrations of 'Work Management', offering attendees the chance to find out how this new, cloud-based solution can transform the productivity of a mobile workforce.

The solution includes intelligent scheduling tools, state-of-the-art Performance Management Analytics (PMA) and integration with ALK's CoPilot® Professional, which further empowers the worker in the field by combining market leading advanced optimised routing capabilities with on device GPS navigation.

Trimble's unique Performance Management Analytics (PMA) capability has been recognised as a top innovation at the show and will be included as part of the event's innovation trail, a must-see for those businesses managing a mobile workforce.

The first day of the Expo will see Trimble's Caroline Pennington, Market & Analyst Manager and editor of Trimble's recently-launched publication, Transforming Service Delivery: An Insight Report, exclusively presenting  some of the key trends and issues highlighted in the publication.

The report investigates the most pressing issues affecting field service organisations today and provides expert insight into how to transform your operations, from measuring service performance and mobile worker productivity to delivering customer service excellence and utilising data from the field effectively. Join Caroline for this insightful presentation at 12pm on 17th June.

Complimentary copies of the report will also be on offer at Trimble's stand O1470 and to celebrate the launch of the report, Trimble will be giving away a bottle of champagne.  Be sure to stop by and drop in your business card to be in with a chance of winning!

 

 

Cloud-based mobile application platform vendor, FeedHenry, has commented on BlackBerry’s decision to open up its BlackBerry 10 operating system to allow its smartphones to be directly managed by third party companies: AirWatch, Citrix, IBM and SAP.

FeedHenry, an AirWatch partner, believes that the announcement is a further signal that enterprises are looking for the flexibility to support employees using an array of mobile devices and operating systems. Consequently, enterprise providers need to deliver an end-to-end mobile experience that facilitates management of data and applications consumed on those devices.

Commenting on BlackBerry’s decision, Cathal McGloin CEO of FeedHenry, said,

“Rather than managing the device, enterprises are now focused on controlling access to sensitive data as it moves between the organisation and the device. MDM, app development and app distribution are linked by the common thread of data security. It makes sense to secure apps and multiple devices and manage user policies through the same platform. Releasing BlackBerry 10 APIs to the leading MDM providers helps enterprises in this task.”

At the start of 2014, former IDC analyst Stephen Drake, VP Business Development at FeedHenry, predicted that BlackBerry would become a cross-platform Enterprise Software Provider, “Where BlackBerry recognises its strength and value is in cross-platform mobile enterprise software solutions, starting with security, MDM and, in the future, mobile applications.

BlackBerry has approximately 100,000 BlackBerry Enterprise Servers across the globe in major organisations. The company is focused on retaining those customers with cross-platform offerings that have begun with an MDM solution and will include more completed mobile enterprise offerings for iOS and Android, such software offerings are core to its new direction.”

In February FeedHenry announced a partnership and platform integration with AirWatch, the world’s leading enterprise mobility management vendor, to enable enterprises to manage multiple apps and devices from a single platform. AirWatch was acquired by cloud pioneer, VMWare, in January 2014.

 

mplsystems, the multi-channel contact centre technology specialist, has been listed in the market overview section of Gartner’s new CRM Customer Engagement Centre (CEC) report (1) 8 and  in the vendor categories for both the Web Customer Self-Service and Field Service Management sections of Gartner’s 2014 CRM Vendor Guide (2).

The listing in the CRM vendor guide and in the market overview section of Gartner’s Magic Quadrant report follows the recent validation of mplsystems’ intelligentContact offering by contact centre operators voting in Call Centre Helper’s 2014 Contact Centre Technology award. Readers selected intelligentContact as 2014’s top technology, citing the flexibility of the mplsystems’ solution and choosing it ahead of offerings from vendors such as Aspect Software, Genesys, Interactive Intelligence, LiveOps, NewVoiceMedia, Noble Systems and rostrvm.

“Our disruptive technology is revolutionising the traditional marketplace, and we believe this further acknowledgement from Gartner confirms it,” commented Paul White, mplsystems’ CEO. “mplsystems’ intelligentDesktops give agents a single view of all customer data from across organisations while managing interactions from any channel - providing massive efficiency savings and Customer Experience gains. What really sets this technology apart, however, is that organisations can rapidly create their own desktops exactly as they need them – and no longer have to force their business processes around over-complex, off the shelf menu-driven CRM models. With deployment options ranging from single or multi-tenant cloud, as well as on premise, mplsystems is one of only a small number of vendors who can provide clients with the flexibility they need to fit in with their existing infrastructure.”

In 2013 Gartner changed its Magic Quadrant title from Customer Service Contact centre to Customer Engagement Centre, recognising the increasingly multi-channel nature of today’s customer contact. Gartner also acknowledges the growing role played by software as a service (SaaS) as the delivery model for these solutions, projecting through 2017 that 60% of core customer support for CECs will be in an SaaS model.

Trimble Field Service Management has recently announced that they will be attending Field Service Forum in Amsterdam from 3-4th June. A brand new event taking place at the Radisson Blu hotel, Trimble will join field service professionals from across Europe to network, exhibit and debate the challenges facing field service organisations today and explore the current and future opportunities for business growth.

Across the two days, keynote presentations will be offered alongside dedicated workshops, focus sessions and one-to-one meetings. A key sponsor for the event, Trimble will be participating in the show's 'Technology Forum' on Wednesday 4th June with a presentation on how to manage a field operation effectively and using emerging technologies to drive service excellence,  focussed on the manufacturing  and capital asset industries.

Across the two day event Trimble will be offering a live showcase of 'Work Management', offering attendees the chance to find out how the cloud-based solution can transform the productivity of a mobile workforce through intelligent scheduling tools and state-of-the-art Performance Management analytics (PMA).

Complimentary copies of Trimble's latest industry publication, 'Transforming Service Delivery: An Insight Report', will also be on offer at the Trimble stand. The report investigates the most pressing issues affecting field service organisations and provides insight into how to transform operations, from measuring service performance and delivering excellent customer service to handling change management and turning data into information.

The report is also available for complimentary download via the following link www.trimble.com/fsm/insightreport

 

Greggs, the UK’s leading bakery food-on-the-go retailer has reported productivity improvements of 60% in their service supply chain after implementing Aeromark Optimatics. In the first six months following moving to Aeromark’s smart technology, Greggs has seen the productivity of their directly employed service engineers  improve from 3.5 to 5.5 completed jobs per day.

In 2012 Greggs recognised improvements were needed to their Shop asset and service management system to allow them to use their own service engineers and outsourced service supply chain more efficiently.

“We needed a system that provided thorough visibility, quick data transfer and scheduling.” Said Chris Metcalfe, Shop Maintenance Manager at Greggs.

Following an intensive review of the market, along with creditable recommendations, Greggs opted for Aeromark Optimatics.“We needed a system that managed the whole process from our assets on site through to efficient scheduling of maintenance, to mobile apps and sub-contractor performance measurement. Whilst we evaluated alternatives, Aeromark Optimatics technology, along with the company’s approach for working with customers was way ahead of the competition.” Metcalfe added

Optimatics provides Greggs shop maintenance team with a single solution for asset management, dynamic real time scheduling of reactive work, integrated mobile workflows, vehicle tracking and seamless integration with subcontractors systems. “This system allows our planners to have full visibility of our engineers and jobs allowing for reactive jobs to be planned quickly and efficiently. The system shows how many jobs are outstanding and closed allowing for retrospective reports on SLA hits to be generated.” Said Metcalfe

Since the deployment of Aeromark Optimatics system, Greggs real time closure of planned and reactive jobs has improved through engineers data capture via effective integrated workflows.Roger Marks, Managing Director of Aeromark commented:

'In the current economy, businesses are looking for ways to lower wastage without having to commit to high capital expenditure. The right mobile workforce management and vehicle tracking systems can offer great value for relatively low investment, and start saving the customer money as soon as they are installed. The key is to find a solution that delivers accurate, reliable data and detailed, configurable reports in order to gain total visibility of your resources.

Greggs investment in the Aeromark Optimatics system has delivered quantifiable savings and continues to improve their customer service levels.

 

 

Running on the 17th, 18th & 19th of June this year The Service Management Expo (SME) is Europe’s largest exhibition catering for the field service industry and with a thirty year history has been a long established central event for field service professionals both in the UK and beyond.

This year the event moves to a new home in London’s ExCel centre and as part of UBM’s wider Protection and Management (P&M) Series benefits from sitting alongside sister events Facilities Show, Safety and Health Expo, FIREX international and Energy & Environment Expo. Having been integrated into the P&M series last year, attendees of Service Management Expo were able to take advantage of the wider range of companies exhibiting across the series as a whole.

However, Service Management Expo also firmly remains an important event in its own right. As the largest exhibition dedicated to the field service industry in Europe, Service Management Expo offers service professionals a unique opportunity to meet with a number of providers of field service software, specialised rugged hardware, fleet management technologies and more.

Service Management Expo also offers an excellent programme of free industry education in the Field Service Solutions Theatre, which this year is hosted by Field Service News editor, Kris Oldland.

The programme of this year’s Field Service Solutions Theatre, which is sponsored by Cognito, is available here and contains some fantastic sessions and speakers.

A few of the key sessions at this years Service Management Expo not to be missed include:

Day One: 12pm Transforming Service Delivery: Insights from the Report

Join Trimble Field Service Management for an in-depth look at some of the key trends and issues highlighted in our recent publication, ‘Transforming Service Delivery: An Insight Report’. The report investigates the most pressing issues affecting field service organisations today and provides expert insight into how to transform your operations, from measuring service performance and mobile worker productivity to delivering customer service excellence and utilising data from the field effectively.

Day One: 14:15 Panel Discussion- The Future of Field Service: A discussion on the emerging technologies that could change field service, as we know it.

A panel discussion hosted by Kris Oldland, Editor, Field Service News exploring the technologies that are likely to shape the very near future of field service, including Big Data, Internet of Things, 3D printing, U.A.V's. Panellists include Phillipe Emenger CEO Core Systems, Trevor Milsom Global Strategic Marketing Manager Trimble, Ian Mapp, Director Wyser Stewart, Cathal McGloin, CEO Feed Henry

Day Two: 11:00 The Manager’s role in creating performance improvement from training…

SGSA’s Isobel Van der Vegt explains why training is essential, training dollars are limited and the expenditure must be justified. Some training fails to deliver the expected performance improvement and therefore the essential Return on Investment. This presentation will highlight the role of managers in achieving three things: evaluating the effectiveness of training, calculating the Return on Investment and ensuring that training results in performance improvement. Securing budget and booking the class are only the first steps of the process but, by themselves, will not drive the changes in behaviour that we need.

Day Two: 11:30 Service Management Software Survey 2014 – The results

Field Service News Editor Kris Oldland, reveals the findings from an exclusive research project undertaken by Field Service News in partnership with mplsystems exploring what software systems are being used Service Managers today and whether they are meeting the needs of the industry.

Day Three: 10:45 Top tips for greening your fleet

Roddy Graham, Chairman of the Institute of Car Fleet Management will provide top tips for greening your fleet. He will consider what needs to be done to achieve substantial savings while boosting corporate social responsibility credentials. ICFM tips include gaining stakeholder buy-in, running a technologically neutral fleet, establishing CO2 targets and influencing driver behaviour.

Day Three: 12:30 Live Interview with Tim Jones, European Service Director, Waters Corporation

Kris Oldland, Editor of Field Service News will interview Tim Jones, European Service Director, Waters Corporation about his recent move to decentralise the dispatch responsibilities of his field service operations, how he approached it, why he made the move and whether it has proved successful.

 

 

Field Service News is currently working in partnership with software provider mplsystems on a research project which looks to establish a clear picture of what software is being used in the field service industry, what is working well and what needs are not being met by the providers in the industry...

The survey itself looks at four key areas of field service software; scheduling, integration & interaction, reporting and looking forward. Already we are seeing some interesting trends appearing five of which we explore below…

1. A large amount of companies are still using some manual processes:

In fact just under half (49%) of the companies that have responded to date are still using manual systems to manage the dispatch of their field service engineers. With the benefits of using some form of scheduling automation well documented this number is perhaps surprisingly large.

However, when we look at the biggest concerns around implementing a new technology at least one reason is clear. Cost of implementation is the highest barrier for companies looking to develop their service management solution with 46% of companies citing this as a predominant concern when implementing a new technology.

When we consider that just over half  (51%) of respondent companies identified optimised scheduling as one of the three most critical areas for investment it would certainly appear that it is a case of when not if these companies will be moving away from manual scheduling solutions.

2.Ratio levels of technicians to dispatchers remain relatively low:

Not surprisingly given the amount of companies that are still using manual systems the ratios of dispatchers to engineers is generally quite low with 77% of companies having a maximum of 15 engineers per dispatcher.

With dynamic/optimised scheduling being claimed by some vendors to be able to handle more than 40 engineers per dispatcher it would appear that there is quite a dramatic opportunity for improving the overall productivity of service divisions.

This is further evidenced when we look at the ratios of those companies using an optimised scheduling system. 44% of these companies operate with a minimum of 16 field service staff per dispatcher with 22% working with between 26 and 40 field service staff per dispatcher.

These figures could be important for companies looking to move their business towards a profit centre, particularly when we consider that in many instances labour costs are greater than any other in a business, so having more of your workforce placed within positions that can directly impact upon revenues could be an essential step to making the transition.

3. Most companies though are pleased with the current systems

Despite the failings listed above it appears that most companies are currently satisfied with their existing scheduling solution with 45% of companies ranking their system as either Good or Excellent compared to 20% who identified their current solution was either poor or very poor.

Of the issues that were cited when we asked “What is you biggest issue with your current scheduling system?” interestingly ‘a lack of visibility’ was one of the most often highlighted problems for many companies. Again have a clear transparent visibility into the location and activities of a mobile workforce is absolutely key to being able to improve the efficiency of the field service unit.

Other common responses included incorrect estimations on time allocated to jobs, lack of flexibility and also integration problems with wider systems.

4. Companies still have to work with multiple systems to accommodate the full customer life cycle

In fact integration issues are magnified by the fact that the vast majority of companies have to work with more than one system to provide them with a full solution to cover the entire life cycle of their customers. 81% of the companies responding to our survey so far are working with multiple systems, with 20% of companies using 4 or more systems as part of their solution.

With visibility and transparency being key issues field service companies need to tackle to improve their efficiencies, it is a simple premise that the fewer different systems they can utilise will be beneficial.

Based on the current findings, it would appear that companies either need to look towards consolidating their existing systems by migrating to one of the many new generation systems such as that offered by mplsystems, which can offer an end to end solution or look to establish better integration with their existing systems via development of or investment in API’s etc.

5. Over a third of companies find integrating systems a problem

This issue is further highlighted when we asked, “Would you say you have an integrated end-to-end service management technology solution?”  With 38% of the companies responding stating “They have a number of different systems across different divisions making communication between departments tricky.”

With this figure rising to 44% of companies when we look at those without any form of automated scheduling, it would seem that many companies in the industry face a decision in how they can enhance their current field service operations, and serious considerations need to be made, with a forward looking approach that ensures the investment in technology compliments any planned changes to business culture and strategy.

 

 

ClickSoftware have recently announced that Wärtsilä, a global player in complete lifecycle power solutions operating in both the energy and marine industries have opted to implement ClickSoftware’s flexible scheduling solution ClickWorkforce, which is available through the Salesforce AppExchange.

The implementation which is across a number of international territories promises to give Wärtsilä full transparency across their whole field services business, providing easier management and planning of its resources by consideribly increasing visibility.

Commenting on the implementation Dr. Moshe BenBassat, founder and CEO of ClickSoftware. “As the pace of business accelerates, more businesses are moving to the cloud to gain agility and meet fluctuating demand. ClickSoftware is proud to work with Wärtsilä to help them to manage an increasingly global and disparate business,”

Increasing productivity

“The depth and breadth of ClickWorkforce functionality means ClickSoftware provides a solution that grows with demand and scope of business to address the need of global enterprises.”

Wärtsilä  field service director Guido Barbazza added “For the Planning Board, cloud-based capabilities allow us to know where our staff and assets are at any one time, and then orchestrate them effectively,”

“This will help us guarantee the best assignment of skilled resources to jobs, enabling us to reduce administration work, improve processes and bolster time management benefits. We foresee that this will have a positive impact on our customer’s experience, bottom line, and boost job satisfaction among our employees.”

Wärtsilä, who support their customers throughout the lifecycle of their marine installations, power generation solutions and oil & gas systems, will deploy ClickWorkforce across all 70 countries that they operates in to manage and synchronise field services skills and resources availability.

A key element of Wärtsilä’s global field services integrated solutions, which include systems for professional skills management and workshops activities, is the resource scheduling.

By implementing intelligent field services management software, the company will now have access to real-time global field services skill availability, allowing for more optimised scheduling, improved asset resourcing and better capacity management.

The new system will increase the capability to draw in wider resources onto different projects from around the world. 

The power of connectivity

One of the major benefits Wärtsilä will see from the new implementation is that each of their field services unit will gain a clearer view of all ongoing activities and projects, enabling better sharing of resources including field engineers and specialised equipment.

ClickWorkforce enables companies to chat live and in context with their mobile workforce, and respond immediately to real-time activities in the field, all within the Salesforce1 Platform.

In just one click, companies have the ability to access a single view of the entire field services operation, give customers (internal and external) field services in real-time, chat with engineers and sales reps and managers to find the best solutions
, schedule engineers instantly based on location, skill and cost
and offer narrow, reliable appointment windows