AUTHOR ARCHIVES: Kris Oldland

For our latest research project, which we ran in partnership with ServiceMax from GE Digital our focus was to see what the field service engineer of the near future will look like. We are now into feature three of our online coverage of the findings of this research where we look at some of the conclusions drawn from the first part of our analysis and highlight some of the key statistics the research revealed.

To recap in the first part of this series we looked at the research aims, the threat of the ageing workforce and the changes in training methodologies that are emerging. In part two we explored if and if and how field service companies are utilising their experienced field service engineers to train the incoming generation.

Now let's dive in to part three...

 

There is also a detailed white paper outlining the wider findings of this report which is available to fieldservicenews.com subscribers...

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Companies are aware of the challenges but are they reacting quick enough?

It is clear from our findings that the role of the FSE is undoubtedly changing.

Field service companies are today seeking much more rounded individuals, who are as proficient as dealing with face to face interactions with the customer as they are dealing with technical maintenance issues.

It is also clear that whilst it may have been exaggerated in some quarters the challenges of replacing an ageing workforce is very much a real threat to a large number of field service organisations. However, the fact remains that these challenges may also essentially be set resolve each other.

There have been numerous explorations and studies into the traits of the Millennial generation and one of the key observations that is often raised is that Millennials are on the whole a more confident generation than those that preceded them, who also value variety within their working lives - perfectly suited to a role that balances both technical and customer service elements perhaps?

Connected Assets, Machine Learning, AR and of course a solid FSM system can all empower field service engineers to be the brand ambassadors field service companies today are seeking.What is clear though is that the link between the two will be provided by technology. As discussed above, technologies such as Augmented Reality can go a huge way to bridging the gap between the experienced engineers that are in the latter part of their careers and those who are just entering the workforce. It is, therefore, a bit of a surprise that so few companies are actively embracing such tools as yet.

Perhaps, here is the real issue and the underlying challenge.

Technology really does provide an answer to most of all of the challenges discussed in this series so far. Connected Assets, Machine Learning, AR and of course a solid FSM system can all empower field service engineers to be the brand ambassadors field service companies today are seeking.

They also provide a platform for easing the transition from ‘a ‘Boomer workforce to a Millennial one by creating far more economically efficient means of extending the older FSEs productive career span, bringing them out of the field and allowing them to offer guidance remotely.

However, it seems that for many perhaps there is a lack of urgency.

There is a sense that for many companies it is a case of ‘yes - we see the challenge and we’re aware of it but aren’t actioning it just yet...’ One suspects that perhaps because the issue of an ageing workforce isn’t quite critical enough as yet and the fact that solutions do exist and are in-fact becoming fairly well established already, the danger doesn’t seem as particularly real as it should for many.

However, whilst the systems and technologies are certainly available to overcome these challenges, implementation and realignment of processes will take time and unless companies act soon, the ageing workforce crisis and rapid evolution of the FSE in a millennial guise may just catch them unawares and then the risk may just still live up to the hyperbole after all.

Some of the key statistics from the findings:

• 48% of field service companies believe the threat an ageing workforce poses to their field service operations is either significant or severe
• 18% of field service companies believe their exposure to an ageing workforce will be limited
• Only 10% of field service companies have redeveloped their training methodologies to be more attuned to Millennials entering the workplace
• 78% of field service companies are in the process of or are planning to overhaul their training processes
• 20% of companies actively use their senior engineers in a remote expert capacity to guide younger Field Service Engineers in the field
• 98% of companies are prioritising softer, inter-personal skills as key attributes more now than they have done in the past when hiring new field service engineers[/unordered_list]

Want to know more? There is also a detailed white paper outlining the wider findings of this report which is available to fieldservicenews.com subscribers...

Not a subscriber yet? Click here to apply for a complimentary industry practitioner email and get this resource sent to you instantly

(Please note that by applying for your subscription via this link you accept the terms and conditions here and a plain English version is available from our main subscriptions page here) 

 

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What will the impact of servitization and the move to preventative maintenance that it entails have on parts and inventory management? Erik Kjellstrom, Pre-Sales Manager, Syncron tackled this question at the Aftermarket Conference in Hamburg last October. Kris Oldland followed up with him after the event to find out more more...

As Erik Kjellstrom, Pre-Sales Manager, Syncron, stepped down from the stage having just given a presentation at this year’s Aftermarket Conference, I was looking forward to the opportunity to catch up with him for a number of reasons.

His organisation has been something of an anomaly in our sector of recent years. A pioneering lone voice that often were seemingly single-handedly trying to bring a dedicated solution to what was often the unloved piece of the field service puzzle – parts management.

Whether, it be pricing, inventory management or stock ordering, Syncron have successfully over the last few years been one of few brands to be associated with taking this part of the aftermarket conversation seriously. We’ve seen Syncron a lot at various conferences over the last 24 months and almost each time they’ve been armed with case studies and hard data that revealed just how much (and how easily) their solution has improved their clients P&L both in terms of top line revenue and bottom line profit.

However, this time around there was a twist to their approach. Having recently brought a new in module into their offering that is focused on predictive maintenance and based on IoT, were they shifting their focus - or was this development just a natural evolution that reflected the changing dynamics of the industry?

The central thrust of Kjellstrom’s presentation was that essentially there are a number of interesting trends appearing in the aftermarket industry – covering a lot of the ground that regular readers of Field Service News will be familiar with.

We are seeing futuristic concepts such as Drones, 3D Printing, Augmented Reality and Autonomous Vehicles all of which have all been on the horizon offering the promise of industry revolution for a while but are now really starting to come into the mainstream conversationTo begin with, coming from the technology perspective we are seeing futuristic concepts such as Drones, 3D Printing, Augmented Reality and Autonomous Vehicles all of which have all been on the horizon offering the promise of industry revolution for a while but are now really starting to come into the mainstream conversation. Alongside this with have already seen wide adoption of Mobile, Cloud and increasingly the Internet of Things amongst manufacturers and service providers.

However, the changes we are seeing in our sector are not just driven by technology alone.

Sweeping demographic change within the workforce, accelerated by the ageing workforce crisis being faced by companies across the globe and being exacerbated by the unprecedented differences between the incoming Millennial generation and the outgoing Baby Boomers, is of course another factor driving industry evolution forwards.

Finally, add into this mix our shift to a much more service and outcome orientated society as a whole - arguably itself the result of the generational shift alongside the technical advances referenced above and we are seeing companies turn their entire business models on their head.

Servitization has gone from fringe concept to buzzword across the last eighteen months or so as talk of ever decreasing SLAs and increasing First-Time-Fix rates has morphed into discussions around guarantees of uptime and the financial impact of unplanned downtime.

As such our industry is in a fascinating and exciting state of flux at the moment and it was this rapid development and the various drivers behind it that were at the heart of the Kjellstrom presentation in Hamburg.

Of course, such dynamic changes within the sector need to be reflected within the solutions provided and it is the shift towards preventative maintenance (itself a major stepping stone on the way to servitization) that Syncron have focused their latest efforts on.

“We have been working very much to support more reactive service models in the past in terms of inventory management and pricing but what we are now doing, both from a product stand point but also from a service offering standpoint, is we are working towards an uptime supporting module.” Kjellstrom explained when we caught up.

In brief, Syncron are integrating a new module into their current service network optimisation capabilities.

These capabilities in the past had all been centred on the parts management area of the Aftermarket sector – pricing, inventory management, and ordering. However, their new module is a predictive maintenance module they call Uptime (makes sense), which Kjellstrom explains is intended to ‘blend together the aspect of inventory management and pricing etc with an understanding of the actual assets that use these parts.

It seems a natural alignment to bring the asset and the parts management together in the preventative management worldIt seems a natural alignment to bring the asset and the parts management together in the preventative management world. Indeed, much of reasoning behind this development from Syncron echoes a similar line of conversation that ServiceMax put forward when they announced their integration with GE Digital’s technology Asset Performance Management (APM).

Essentially both Syncron and ServiceMax are approaching the same central maxim - just from two different angles. In a world of IoT and sensor-led preventative maintenance the asset is King and everything else should fall in line around and work back from that one premise.

However, where one does feel that viewpoints will change between the two organisations is in how the ecosystem is built. Through their recent acquisition list including Servicemax, it is clear that GE Digital have their eyes set on building a comprehensive and all encompassing new platform for age of the Industrial Internet.

For Syncron however, the focus for the time being at least, appears to be in line with their best-of-breed heritage.

“I think that a product such as ours and a Field Service Management (FSM) system are complimentary products.” Kjellstrom explains.

“We have many instances where we will see a FSM system or a maintenance system that runs in compliment to the more Aftermarket focussed, parts oriented solutions such as ours. Perhaps what makes Syncron a little bit unique is the way we work and how we blend together the aspects of network optimisation and parts optimisation which is often natively something that belongs in a FSM tool.”

With so many technologies evolving at once a clear case could be made for establishing a comprehensive technology ecosystem across a service orientated business and Syncron is set to be an important part of that ecosystem.

Yet, in a world that seems to be in constant Beta, not all developments are equal and Kjellstrom believes it is important to understand how different technologies can impact the way we work when building out your own tech strategy.

Certain technologies will bring refinement whilst others offer revolution.

“We definitely see more potential impact from some types of the technologies than others,” he comments.

“What we are really interested in are the questions like will 3D printing totally replace a need for service part inventory management – and the answer is no it will not, it may enhance it but it will not replace it.”

Does the development of autonomous vehicles mean that we will begin to see car sharing across a team of engineers“How about autonomous vehicles? Does the development of autonomous vehicles mean that we will begin to see car sharing across a team of engineers” he asks rhetorically before outlining that such technology could lead to servitizing the fleet at which point automotive manufacturers concerns about spare parts really begin to truly change and evolve into an entirely new set of thinking and processes.

“These are the types of questions that we are interested in, in terms of the emerging technology.” He explains.

“What we are seeing is that some of these new technologies are really pushing towards a more uptime related world, whereas some technologies are more likely to become tools for us to simply improve existing processes.”

However, whilst he believes the shift to Servitization and outcome based solutions will continue to grow, Kjellstrom also insists that the traditional break-fix market and the aspects of pricing, parts management and inventory which that function drives forward, will never fully disappear.

“I am sure that the shift in focuses to uptime guarantees are growing rapidly and eventually break-fix is going to become less significant but there is always going to be the type of customers where uptime critical assets are not relevant.”

Indeed, whilst we wait for the weighting between the old and the new to do a 180 flip, one thing is clear, for the short-term at least we need to be able to accommodate both – which means looking to the future today – something Kjellstrom and his colleagues have embraced which is clearly evident by their introduction of the new Uptime module.

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Ahead of his presentation at the forthcoming Field Service Medical conference being held in La Jolla, California next month, Matthew Boretti from Teleflex Americas shares his thoughts on technology innovation, healthcare consolidation, and how these are changing customer expectations in the medical device industry...

Which major field service and customer centricity trends have you observed in the medical device industry this year?

Our customers are continually being asked to do more with less. This is particularly difficult as they are already operating on razor thin margins, so they really need help beyond product solutions to help them find new ways to reduce costs while improving care to their patients in the same process. No easy feat. In short, they expect more from their suppliers. And, they are hiring bright people to drive these results, so suppliers must come to the table well prepared to have these discussions. They want to understand the value-added performance programs and education we can offer their staff.

Have your customers’ expectations drastically evolved in view of the latest technological innovations? How are you keeping up with all the changes?

They really have. And, I believe the reason their expectations have increased is they are consumers like everyone else, so they are getting used to one-click shopping through services like Amazon which also offers hassle free returns and same day delivery! It’s crazy how simple things are becoming and how the world of instant gratification and self service has become so prevalent. For this reason, Teleflex is investing heavily into customer experience design, which certainly involves evolving our systems and technology capabilities. Measuring results is critical. Fortunately, the technology makes it easier to track information.

Has healthcare consolidation impacted your operations in any way?

It has, both on the customer side and in respect to competition. As hospitals and hospital systems consolidate, we often see their desire to standardise purchasing decisions, which provides both opportunities and risks. We also see consolidation on the supplier side, which can change how we view our competition. We may have suppliers that were partners yesterday, who we now see as competitors.

What should field service leaders do to meet rising expectations of connected and empowered customers?

They need to find ways to respond more quickly to their customer needs and offer opportunities for low-impact self-service.

Which direction do you see your company heading in the next five years?

We need to design systems and processes that will deliver a radically simple interface with customers. We need to transform our culture into one where all employees view every interaction as an opportunity to exceed customers expectations. Ultimately, we need to create an environment where we are obsessed with making every interaction with our customers a positive experience.

We look forward to your presentation at the upcoming Field Service Medical 2018 forum. What do you think about this year’s program – which topics and sessions will be most helpful in helping you achieve the goal of being 100% customer centric in your field service operations?

I’m really excited about the program and the sessions being offered. It very much aligns to the trends and areas we see as important in our business. It will be tough choosing the sessions to attend given the many options.

Customer centricity is set to be a hot topic at Field Service Medical 2018, taking place in La Jolla, California, this coming February. Download the Field Service Medical 2018 Agenda to learn more.

Interested in attending? Field Service News subscribers can get an exclusive 20% discount to this event. If you are a field service practitioner then you can apply for a complimentary subscription by clicking here and we'll send you your discount code across on email straight away

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Our latest research project, run in partnership with ServiceMax from GE Digital has take a deep dive into how the role of the field service engineer is evolving. Across the next few months we will be publishing a series of articles both in print and online exploring the findings of this research.

In the first part of this series we looked at the research aims, the threat of the ageing workforce and the changes in training methodologies that are emerging.

Now in part two we explore if and if and how field service companies are utilising their experienced field service engineers to train the incoming generation.

There is also a detailed white paper outlining the wider findings of this report which is available to fieldservicenews.com subscribers...

Not a subscriber yet? Click here to apply for a complimentary industry practitioner email and get this resource sent to you instantly

(Please note that by applying for your subscription via this link you accept the terms and conditions here and a plain english version is available from our main subscriptions page here) 

Utilising experienced FSEs to train the next generation:

Of course, an optimal solution that keeps older FSEs in the work place longer and ensures their knowledge is transferred to those FSEs entering the workforce, is to implement training programs whereby the more experienced techs are directly involved in the training process.

Traditionally, the potential for such undertakings was limited somewhat by the very nature of a field service role. Some senior technicians could take on trainer roles perhaps, providing classroom style learning, but such positions are by default limited. Also, much of a young FSEs true training begins once they’ve left the classroom and are actively in the field. Again, some companies run highly successful programs, pairing up newer engineers with more experienced counterparts to deliver on-job training - doing so can be costly and an inefficient use of FSE resources - doubling up engineers on each job.

Over half (54%) of respondents stated that such an undertaking was certainly something that they are exploring but that they currently don’t have the technology/processes in place.However, emerging technologies - in particular Augmented Reality have shown huge potential to widen the possibilities of using older FSEs in a training and support role. This has dual benefit of both extending the FSEs potential career within the field service organisation whilst putting valuable insight, knowledge and experience in to the hands of less experienced engineers as and when they need it.

But are field service companies harnessing both the power of technology and the experience of their older engineers in such a manner?

We asked our respondents: “A number of companies are now using remote assistance technologies (e.g. Augmented Reality) to keep their older and experienced FSEs in the work place for longer, both as a means of training new recruits and also as a way of ensuring that the knowledge and experience of older engineers is not just walking out of the door. Does this apply to your organisation?’

The responses again somewhat reflect the findings of the previous question around training methodologies, in that whilst the majority of companies agree with the notion of using their older, more experienced FSEs as part of training and support programs and that technology was key to that process, most were still (at best) just beginning down that path.

In fact, over half (54%) of respondents stated that such an undertaking was certainly something that they are exploring but that they currently don’t have the technology/processes in place.

However, perhaps surprisingly just under a quarter of companies (24%) stated that they did not envisage implementing any such plans. This is a surprisingly large number given those companies who do not involve their older engineers in the training process risk seeing years of amassed ‘tribal knowledge’ simply walking out of the door in the not too distant future.

Looking forward it may well be that it is these companies, i.e those who have gotten the head-start over their competitors in such programs, will reap the benefits of doing so and it may well be at the expense of those who don’t.

However, with currently just 20% of companies actively using senior engineers in a remote expert capacity - it seems there could still be room at the top table, for a while at least.

Soft skills taking precedence?

Another major driving factor which is often seen to be impacting how we view the core skills of the field service engineer is the widely reported increase in customer expectations and demands - largely driven by disruptive companies such as Uber and Amazon raising the bar in terms of visibility and immediacy.

Today’s customers are empowered by technology, and easier access to information than ever before makes them more insightful and more expectant. They also have a louder voice than ever before thanks to social media, whilst the ongoing digitisation of all industries makes finding competing service providers a quick and easy process for dissatisfied customers.

And of course the majority (if not all) of this can now be done without the need to actually meet another human being in person. But what does this mean for the FSE?

Well given that in many instances the FSE may be the only face-to-face touch point your customers have with your customers, the old image of a FSE being a recluse, lurking in dark corners, happier tucked away fixing machines than speaking to those pesky customers who just get in the way - has thankfully made way for a new breed of confident, customer-friendly FSEs.

An incredible 98% of respondents stated that people skills were now a higher priority for them than they had been beforeToday’s FSE is armed with all the knowledge they need to hand courtesy of a modern FSM system. They’re confident speaking with customers at all levels of seniority and are true brand ambassadors and are as comfortable selling as they are fixing.

But, is this actually a true reflection of how field service companies are beginning to view their FSEs? Have soft skills become more important than technical skills? There is an argument that it is simpler to train technical skills and that good inter-personal skills are that much harder to teach - but does this hold any truth and are field service companies moving towards placing greater emphasis on soft-skills in their recruitment today? We asked our respondents ‘Is the need for softer, interpersonal skills – becoming a higher priority than before when recruiting new FSEs?

From the results it would appear that this is indeed a major trend amongst field service organisations. An incredible 98% of respondents stated that people skills were now a higher priority for them than they had been before with 46% of companies going as far as stating that people skills are at the top of their list when recruiting new FSEs.

Want to know more? There is also a detailed white paper outlining the wider findings of this report which is available to fieldservicenews.com subscribers...

Not a subscriber yet? Click here to apply for a complimentary industry practitioner email and get this resource sent to you instantly

(Please note that by applying for your subscription via this link you accept the terms and conditions here and a plain english version is available from our main subscriptions page here) 

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One of the most important presentations at this year’s Field Service Europe Conference was delivered by Rajat Kakar, VP, Head of Product Related Services Business, Fujitsu as he tackled the question of what leadership will look like in the future. kris Oldland spoke to him about some of the key points...

The world in which we are living is changing and it is changing rapidly. Digitalisation and ever increasing connectivity is having an immeasurable impact upon the way businesses operate and the workplace of the future is going to be a vastly different environment to what it is today.

The question is how prepared are you and your business to adapt to these changes? It is almost a given that those organisations that can see the road ahead and are plotting a clear roadmap for their own evolution, are the ones that will thrive. Those who wait until the changes come, and try to react to them then... they may well find it is too little, too late.

As Leon Megginson, a Louisiana State University business professor stated in a speech some fifty years ago stated “It is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself.”

This is why Fujitsu’s Rajat Kakar’s presentation at this year’s Field Service Europe conference held in Amsterdam is one that had attendees fully engaged - as it focused on the changes coming to all corners of industry and importantly how businesses must adapt.

If you think about leadership it goes into multiple dimensionsAnd of course at the heart of all organisational change must sit strong leadership - but what exactly does strong leadership in this brave new world of Digitisation, Automation and Artificial Intelligence look like?

“If you think about leadership it goes into multiple dimensions,” explains Rajat.

“We need to be thinking about how can we engage with and harness the next generation of people who are going to be driving service businesses forward and to do this we must start to think about things from the perspective of where the market is going to be developing.”

“Ultimately, everything comes down to this understanding of where the market is going - that is the first step. From there, if we can see how the market will evolve, then we can ask ourselves what kind of people do we need in order to be able to drive our businesses forward?”

For Rajat, globalisation driven by more effective connectivity is one such significant consideration.

“This opens up a complete new area, one which a lot of people have not really dealt with before,” he comments.

The service delivery mechanism is no longer just around the corner, the delivery mechanisms of the future will be in the global delivery centres“The service delivery mechanism is no longer just around the corner, the delivery mechanisms of the future will be in the global delivery centres. The delivery mechanisms will be possibly even be sitting in multiple countries depending on how you’re able to find your experts for the service element you want to be delivered.”

“These are the things we need to start thinking about today. We need to consider how we as companies are going to be managing our businesses moving forward.”

Of course, even today we are seeing how technology is changing the shape of our businesses and this is undoubtedly only set to increase in pace. We have been hearing talk about the fourth industrial revolution and of new business paradigms for many years now and concepts such as Industrie4.0 and Servitization are rapidly taking hold. However, Rajat asserts that this is just one aspect of the evolution service organisations should be aware of.

The fast changing face of the workforce will also add far reaching cultural changes to the way we work.

“The next element we must consider is that the workforce is changing which means that we will have a lot more experts moving into the market - you will be bringing on experts rather than developing them via the traditional organisational structures,” he explains.

It is clear that across all verticals, business leaders can expect to see wholesale changes as the combined drivers of technology and cultural shift make their impact known. One upshot of such impact Rajat predicts is a much more competitive and level playing field - which will be largely driven by the maturation of Big Data tools.

The ability to assemble data and then draw information from that data will become increasingly easier.“What I think is fascinating is that the barriers to entry will continue to become smaller,” Rajat states. “The ability to assemble data and then draw information from that data will become increasingly easier. What used to take a long time to achieve will be done in a quicker and more efficient manner.”

“To take an example, let’s look at the traditional Telco market. What happened traditionally was that you would have an infrastructure which had an clearly identifiable cost.”

“However, off the back of such infrastructure we will see a lot of small companies that are coming up who will actually achieve on the base of that infrastructure - but they could achieve a lot more, in a lot quicker way whilst avoiding much of the potential costs which a traditionally structured company used to have.”

“If you take for example a company which has been the traditional provider of telecoms such as AT&T or Telefonica you will see that more and more these organisations are getting into areas like content management.”

“This is because they can see that the traditional means of delivering news or programmes etc which generally came via traditional broadcasters are quickly becoming less and less valid.” Rajat adds.

What is happening is that via such digital changes those who had traditionally been in the market suddenly gain a lot more competitors“So if these Telco’s are able to harness the information from their customers to be able to do more direct marketing and direct advertising, and do all these things effectively, what is happening is that via such digital changes those who had traditionally been in the market suddenly gain a lot more competitors - there are a lot more smaller companies that are now able to compete.”

“Once we get down to this, the question becomes what kind of a service mechanism are you going to need to support these type of companies moving forward - because they are not looking for the traditional services, everything can be turned completely upside down.”

These are all hugely important questions you absolutely must be working through today, in order to build a leadership team that will flourish tomorrow.

“You have to face up to the fact that the type of leadership you have in place today may not be the right type of team to take you forward. Because if this leadership is not in tune with the upcoming changes to the market,then they are not in tune with how to make your business elements strategic.”

“Their ideas will effectively become lost in translation. Remember, you’re going to be needing different types of people and your going to be needing different types of skill sets if you want to stay ahead of the pack”

To quote another American University lecturer, John Allen Paulos, a Mathematician from Temple University, Pennsylvania, “Uncertainty is the only certainty.” and no one can tell exactly where the future may lie.

However, one can make an educated guess based on fairly substantial evidence - and for those attending Field Service Europe, paying attention to Rajat’s shrewd assessment of the future is sure to give you a head-start.

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New research reveals that 86% of companies now expect on-site post-sales services from industrial suppliers. UPS customer examples show how a new supply chain setup can improve technicians’ efficiency by up to 30 min per service and strongly improve the cash conversion cycle. Jean-François Mathieu, Marketing Manager, UPS Europe explains more...

The UPS Industrial Buying Dynamics Study is one of the few detailed studies available on the relationship between industrial buyers and suppliers.

It is a study that provides a unique understanding of how industrial buyers identify suppliers such as industrial distributors, manufacturers and e-marketplaces, their satisfaction with existing suppliers and their propensity to change suppliers in search of improved value and service.

Interviews were carried out with purchasing professionals and the study provides a detailed view across countries and sectors and one of the key learnings of this year’s study is that industrial buyer expectations of post-sales support are increasing across Europe.

In 2015, 78% of survey respondents said they expected on-site post-sales services from industrial suppliers; in 2017 that has risen to 86%In 2015, 78% of survey respondents said they expected on-site post-sales services from industrial suppliers; in 2017 that has risen to 86%, driven particularly by significant rises in expectations amongst UK and German respondents.

In fact, European expectations of post-sales support are now running well ahead of expectations in the US where 76% expect on-site support, although in China a remarkable 99% of industrial buyers expect on-site support.

In a world where sources of industrial supply have proliferated, the service offer from suppliers has become one of the most critical differentiators between competitors. Indeed, the UPS 2017 Industrial Buying Dynamics Study shows that while an effective returns process is the most important post-sales service, buyers now also expect a much wider range of services, with on-site maintenance and repairs cited as being important to them by over 70% of respondents.

This necessity of on-site maintenance and returns brings about logistics challenges for suppliers that may go beyond their traditional operational skill-set.

The survey shows that 60% of buyers typically need delivery for all orders within 48 hours or less, with little if any differences in figures cited appearing between respondents from disparate sectors.

The survey shows that 60% of buyers typically need delivery for all orders within 48 hours or less, with little if any differences in figures cited appearing between respondents from disparate sectors Over half of buyers need on-site service at least every three months, and nearly a fifth of buyers say they need on-site service at least every month. However, only a quarter of buyers say they actually receive on-site service within 24 hours, although that figure does rise significantly to 80% when we focus on a response time of 48 hours.

One company who have recently had to acknowledge this problem and find a means to overcome the challenge was Sealed Air, a leading producer of materials and manufacturing equipment for food safety, facility hygiene and packaging was recently facing challenges managing on-site service in Europe for their TASKI® floor cleaning machines.

They were managing their own supply chain through a network of 19 warehouses, supporting over 500 field service engineers providing aftersales services.

However, they had found that their service response time was continually beginning to slip below their buyer’s expectations – an issue that the senior management team at Sealed Air had quite rightly identified as one that was set to be costly both in terms of top line revenue, brand reputation and bottom line profit.

The solution that they put in place was to work with UPS in combining UPS Express shipping services with the UPS Access Point™ network to deliver parts to their field service engineers. With wait times for parts delivery massively reduced by utilising this approach, Sealed Air found that they were able to significantly improve their response times – which in turn improved their ability to meet customer expectations whilst simultaneously reducing costs by driving efficiency.

The UPS Access Point is a dropbox/locker network that features over 15,000 locations across Europe where buyers can collect or drop off parcels.

Meanwhile, UPS was able to consolidate the company’s network of warehouses into a single, centralised distribution centre. The new service infrastructure allows field technicians to order a part up until 1pm, and have it in hand early the next morning.

Field Service Engineers across Europe are typically able to find a UPS Access Point location within a few kilometres of their home or buyer, meaning that the time spent by engineers collecting spare parts has been reduced by approximately 30 minutes per service order. If each engineer was to process just one order per day then that would be an instant time saving of 250 work hours a day.

That equates to the same as adding in over 30 more engineers to the workforce!

Simply working smarter has allowed Sealed Air engineers to complete more service trips on a weekly basis, reduce the number of warehouses and inventory levels and to bring their post sales offering back on track – something which is vital for any organisation that wishes to remain competitive in this ever increasingly service-centric world.

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Our latest research project, run in partnership with ServiceMax from GE Digital has take a deep dive into how the role of the field service engineer is evolving. Across the next few months we will be publishing a series of articles both in print and online exploring the findings of this research.

There is also a detailed white paper outlining the wider findings of this report which is available to fieldservicenews.com subscribers...

Not a subscriber yet? Click here to apply for a complimentary industry practitioner email and get this resource sent to you instantly

(Please note that by applying for your subscription via this link you accept the terms and conditions here and a plain english version is available from our main subscriptions page here) 

Here in the first article of this series we look at the question of the ageing workforce and the entry of millennials into the field service workforce...

Much has been written about an ageing workforce crisis but how much of the worry is based on hyperbole? And what of the Millennial generation entering the workforce - is our industry ready to embrace them?

Our industry is rapidly evolving. Technology is continuously pushing the boundaries of field service efficiency whilst simultaneously customer expectations are becoming ever more demanding.

Companies like Uber and Amazon have disrupted the very concepts of what good service looks like, shifting the goal posts and creating a race across almost every industry vertical for companies to embrace service excellence.Companies like Uber and Amazon have disrupted the very concepts of what good service looks like, shifting the goal posts and creating a race across almost every industry vertical for companies to embrace service excellence.

At the same time digital transformation is the other major trend sweeping across our sector – one direct side effect of which is that increasingly the Field Service Engineer (FSE) is often the only face to face human interaction between a company and their customers.

So what does this mean for the FSE of tomorrow?

How is their role evolving? What are the skills that will be vital to their role and how do these differ from those that we have previously sought in our FSEs?

To try to find the answers to these questions Field Service News has undertaken a new research project in partnership with ServiceMax by GE Digital.

Across the last few months we’ve reached out to our readers across the globe to gain their insight in order to build a picture of what the FSE of 2022 (incredibly only five years away!) will look like and what role does the growing  importance of technology in field service delivery play in shaping the way we approach acquiring, training, and developing talent within the field service sector?

Across the next few months we will be publishing a series of articles based on the findings of this research and in this first article in the series we ask is the ageing workforce crisis actually really happening or is it all hyperbole? And what about the Millennial workforce entering the field service sector - are we ready to embrace and empower them?

About the research:

The research has been conduct via an online survey across the last two months and our respondents have come from all over the globe including; the UK, Germany, Netherlands, France, USA, Canada, Brazil and beyond.

There was also an equally wide split of industries represented with respondents coming from numerous sectors including; Oil and Gas, Manufacturing, Utilities, Telcos, Print/Copy, Med Tech and many others.

Finally, there was also a balanced representation of companies of all sizes with some companies having less than 10 field service engineers right through to companies with more than 800 engineers.

In total there were 126 respondents which is a large enough sample to provide a reasonable snap-shot of the thinking and the trends amongst field service management professionals.

So what were the findings? Let’s take a look.

The threat of an ageing workforce:

One of the biggest drivers for the rapid evolution of the role of the field service engineer is the fact that the core demographic of those working in field service roles is going through seismic change as we see an ageing Baby Boomer workforce reach retirement age being replaced by a new generation of workers, the Millennials.

Perhaps never before has there been such a significant difference between the generation leaving the workforce and those that are just beginning their working lives. From the way knowledge is gained and shared through to the key motivational drivers, ‘Boomers and Millennials are often chalk and cheese. One of the key challenges for field service companies of all shapes and sizes is how they adjust to this shift in thinking within their workforce and for many time is not on their side as they endeavour to make this adjustment.

There has been much talk of an ageing workforce crisis as the existing Boomer workforce reaches retirement age - perhaps magnified amongst field service organisations by the simple fact that field work can often be relatively physically demanding compared to more sedentary office based roles.

With this in mind our opening question in the survey was focussed on assessing just how real this ageing workforce crisis is amongst field service organisations. We asked our respondents ‘For your organisation how big a threat to your field service delivery do you think this issue will be across the next 5 years?’

The responses revealed that whilst perhaps there may be some hyperbole around the urgency of the issue - it still remains very much a concern for a huge percentage of companies.The responses revealed that whilst perhaps there may be some hyperbole around the urgency of the issue - it still remains very much a concern for a huge percentage of companies.

Whilst only 8% of organisations stated that for them an ageing workforce represented a severe threat i.e. that it is a major issue they are facing that could put their field service operations at risk, 40% of companies taking part in the research stated that the threat was significant for them and that unless addressed quickly they are likely to face major disruption to their field service delivery within the next five years.

In addition to this a further 34% of the respondents stated that they believed the challenge of an ageing FSE population was moderate that they acknowledged it as possible issue that they need to be aware of, although they didn’t anticipate it having a major impact on field service operations.

At the other end of the spectrum just under a fifth of respondents (18%) stated that the impact for them would be limited and that whilst there may be some workforce attrition due to FSEs reaching retirement age, it is unlikely to have any significant impact on their field service operations.

So, it would indeed appear that in the main the issue of an ageing workforce is at the very least a consideration for more than four out of five field service companies.

Changes in training methodologies:

This puts many field service organisations in a challenging position.

The need to recruit younger talent for FSE roles is clearly pressing, but given the aforementioned differences between ‘Boomers and Millennials are the existing on-boarding and training methods suited to this incoming generation?

Our next question was therefore focussed on understanding if field service companies did in fact feel the need to change their training methodologies and whether they were actively doing so. We asked our respondents; ‘Have you adapted your training and development strategies to reflect this?’

Only 10% of companies had stated that they had already redeveloped their training strategies to be more geared to the incoming Millennial workforce. Here the research revealed that whilst there was a clear understanding that changes to the traditional means of training FSEs does indeed need updating, it seems that there is something of a general inertia amongst field service companies to currently tackle such change.

In fact, only 10% of companies had stated that they had already redeveloped their training strategies to be more geared to the incoming Millennial workforce. However, just over half (52%) of companies taking part in the research are currently in the process addressing the issue in their organisation.

Further to this just over a quarter (26%) stated that they had yet to start making changes to their FSE training to reflect the shift from ‘Boomers to Millennials but accept that they need to do so and is something they are currently considering.

Meanwhile, 12% of companies do not believe they need to make any changes to their FSE training at all.

Want to know more? There is also a detailed white paper outlining the wider findings of this report which is available to fieldservicenews.com subscribers...

Not a subscriber yet? Click here to apply for a complimentary industry practitioner email and get this resource sent to you instantly

(Please note that by applying for your subscription via this link you accept the terms and conditions here and a plain english version is available from our main subscriptions page here) 

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Resource Type: White Paper
Published by:  Coresystems
Title: Transforming Field Service into a Profit Centre

 

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Want to know more? Access to this resource is available to Field Service News subscribers only - but if you are a Field Service Professional you may qualify for a complimentary industry practitioner subscription!

Field Service Professional? Click here to apply for a complimentary industry subscription to Field Service News and get the resource "Your Guide to Flawless Field Service - Perfecting Productivity" sent directly to your inbox now

(Please note that by applying for your subscription via this link you accept the terms and conditions here and a plain english version is available from our main subscriptions page here) 

 

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Synopsis:

Manufacturers in various industries are increasingly under pressure to make their customer service units profitable. In order to deliver great service, businesses need to focus on understanding what customers want. This can be achieved by investing in new tools that improve efficiency and quality. To keep customers coming back and deter competition, manufacturers need to develop business models and  customised services that are aligned to individual customer’s business goals.

For the customer, faster service delivery and less unplanned downtime mean a higher yield from capital investments, which then justifies high-value services.

Field service has traditionally been a drain on cash. However, with field service automation software, there is an opportunity for the first time to save money and increase profits. It’s not uncommon for  manufacturers to achieve efficiency savings of up to 30% while still increasing customer loyalty and growing brand value.

Field service not only transforms finances, but also the whole customer relationship. This white paper offers guidance as to how to make that transformation in your business effectively.

Overview:

The key topics discussed in this white paper include:

Why Does Field Service Need to Become a Profit Centre?

The world is changing fast: economically, socially, and politically. Businesses have to adapt to new competitive landscapes, including challenges caused by cheap suppliers from abroad or disruptions by startups that turn whole industries upside down. Customers are becoming accustomed to higher levels of personalised service, often assisted by technology that facilitates their lives.

These global trends present challenges, but also great opportunities for businesses to tap into.

By focusing on their customers and disrupting their own business models, businesses can create new revenue streams and distinguish themselves from the competition. If it is run as a profit centre, field service management can play an important part in this transformation.

How Field Service Can Become a Profit Centre

In this section we present five practical steps for turning field service into a profit centre. These steps are all about putting the customer first and empowering staff. You will learn how to move from minimal efforts and reactive repairs to focus on proactive, productised services, and relationship building.

The following points are covered in this section:

 

• Operational efficiencies
• Field service ambassadors sell more products and services
• New innovative business models
• Customisation and individualisation

Customer Focus:

Today, manufacturers have new means to impact their customer’s success. New processes and tools are available for the first time allowing manufacturers to interact with customers in new ways. These tools organise resources and processes and feed field service staff vital information and instructions. Engineers completing a service job will now be able to offer meaningful advice based on real-time data combined with their experience and collaboration. Customers will see the benefits of field service management software straight away.

They will not only appreciate the improved efficiency and quality of the service, but also the difference the service has made to their productivity. This can go as far as the equipment manufacturer becoming a business partner invited to advise on capital investment to meet production targets.

Operational Efficiencies:

By definition, less costs means more profit. By achieving more with the resources available, field service teams can reduce costs and improve cash flow by increasing efficiencies in information management, service delivery, and planning.

This can start by optimising some resources, such as:

 

• Planning service calls with a routing system, allowing more visits per day.
• Enabling fast access to historical data from digital archives, which reduces planning time.
• Reducing the cost of sale by planning pre-defined templates, software automation, and online resources to significantly reduce the time it takes to provide a quote to the customer.

Employees are more focused on efficiency when provided with the tools to empower them to increase this efficiency. Mobile data solutions mean engineers onsite can complete services faster because they have all the information they need at their fingertips.

Field Ambassadors Sell More Products and Services:

Field service engineers are in a perfect position to establish a valuable relationship with customers that facilitates up selling of services and equipment, at a very low cost of sale. They have access to the customer’s organisation where they can offer insight, advice, and guidance based on technical knowledge and years of experience. As ambassadors of your company field service technicians can have significant influence, but they must be supported in this role with the right tools and training.

New Innovative Business Models:

Services can be developed, marketed and sold like products. Adding in new processes and technology can also make them modular and easy to purchase, for instance from an online catalog. Innovative ideas can then help create services that adapt to customers’ own businesses. In fact, customers might find that they can create new products as an addition to your services – the ultimate form of brand loyalty.

Customisation and Individualisation of Services:

The world is becoming more customer-focused and individualised. Older manufacturing companies are traditional, but a new generation of staff is experiencing a fresh, digitally driven customer service world at home, and increasingly expects a similar experience at work.

Forward-looking brands now put much more emphasis on the customer’s individual requirements, and seek ways to offer more customised services that support business targets and staff KPIs. Brand loyalty and keeping ahead of competitors are key goals.

 

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Want to know more? Access to this resource is available to Field Service News subscribers only - but if you are a Field Service Professional you may qualify for a complimentary industry practitioner subscription!

Field Service Professional? Click here to apply for a complimentary industry subscription to Field Service News and get the resource "Your Guide to Flawless Field Service - Perfecting Productivity" sent directly to your inbox now

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When compared to traditional combustion engine vehicles, Electric Vehicles (EVs) can go a long way to reducing the overall costs for any fleet. Mark McKenna, National Sales Manager at Bluedrop Services Motor Fleet Insurance Brokers, suggests that once considering the whole life costs of an EV, investing in such a fleet makes sense.

However, there is always the initial hurdle of the upfront cost to a business. If you have the capital to hand you can make the numbers work, but for most companies it is hard to justify the initial outlay.

Perceptions of EVs running out of charge

One of the other issues around the adoption of EVs is the perceived idea that the vehicles won’t have enough stored power to last for a full day of business driving requirements. Many businesses also perceive that they require more mileage out of the vehicle than they would use in a day.

With the range of use on Electric Vehicles constantly increasing, unfortunately the anxiety around not having enough charge is not seeming to shift. The fact is that mileage range of an EV often fits nicely into the journeys actually being travelled by a fleet, but the mentality surrounding this issue is not changing.

Over time charging time will decrease

Soon however, charging will be so quick that this perception will no longer be a problem. It is all about changing mindsets and educating as well as allowing businesses to test the use of EVs so they can offset their fears. Those medium sized fleets that on the majority conduct shorter journeys would find EVs hugely beneficial, experiencing significant savings.

Additional savings surrounding EVs

Taxes, grants and congestion charges also offer a good sound argument for investing in EVs. The Government have introduced several incentives, making both electric and plug-in vehicles more attractive to both consumers and fleets.

These include low or zero road tax and the exemption from the London Congestion Charge, as well as the suggestion of a national scrappage scheme. Other countries, such as Norway are also offering strong subsidies for EVs, no VAT, free parking and allowing drivers to utilise bus lanes.

London has also recently introduced the Air Quality Business Fund to help companies adopt EVs. This is where businesses can apply for a share of £1 million to help deploy electric cars and charging points to reduce pollution in the capital. The fund itself aims to create five business low emission neighbourhoods. The winners of the fund will be able to use £200,000 to encourage inhabitant to walk, cycle or use public transport, as well as installing EV charging points.

Forward thinking firms as a result are giving careful consideration to the opportunities offered by EVs and are starting to weigh up the pros and cons of their investment. The savings in terms of tax breaks and grants, in addition to fuel cost savings are making a compelling business case.

Electrical charging infrastructure set to grow

The electrical charging infrastructure has long been something of concern in consideration to adopting EVs, however the Queen’s speech which followed the State Opening of Parliament set out the priorities of Government to include improving the national charging and hydrogen refuelling infrastructure.

The legislation will allow the government to require the installation of charge points for electric vehicles at motorway services and petrol stations. Such legislation is essential for making charging faster, cheaper and easier for businesses, helping to accelerate the adoption of EVs and discourage negative concerns.

But will electricity supply cause future issues?

It has also been considered that the rising uptake of Electric Vehicles itself may even start to form one of the challenges against them.

When you consider the fact that more and more requirements on the grid for electricity may cause significant shortages of supply, one solution could be the installation of off-grid power solutions such as PV or wind turbines to deal with the increasing demand on the energy infrastructure.

As the demand for Electric Vehicles continues to grow the impact on energy supplies and the transport infrastructure to meet future needs will be tested.

Whilst there are many challenges surrounding the uptake of EVs the opportunities continue to outweigh them with significant savings to business as well as going a long way towards meeting air quality requirements.

 

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