Field Service Management (FSM) Software stalwarts ClickSoftware held their annual users conference in the leafy town of Richmond, Greater London earlier this month. Field Service News’, Editor-in-Chief, Kris Oldland was there to find out what the...
AUTHOR ARCHIVES: Kris Oldland
About the Author:
Kris Oldland has been working in Business to Business Publishing for almost a decade. As a journalist he has covered a diverse range of industries from Fire Juggling through to Terrorism Insurance. Prior to this he was a Quality Services Manager with a globally recognised hospitality brand. An intimate understanding of what is important when it comes to Service and a passion for emerging technology means that in Field Service he has found an industry that excites him everyday.
Nov 11, 2016 • Features • Augmented Reality • ClickSoftware • scheduling • Software and Apps • software and apps
Field Service Management (FSM) Software stalwarts ClickSoftware held their annual users conference in the leafy town of Richmond, Greater London earlier this month. Field Service News’, Editor-in-Chief, Kris Oldland was there to find out what the latest updates were and what the Roadmap for innovation looks like for the FSM software providers...
The location for this year’s ClickConnect users conference, the Richmond Hill Hotel, sitting at the top of the picturesque and historic town of Richmond, nestled on the Greater London border with Surrey, was in some ways a perfect metaphor for our hosts ClickSoftware, and their own position in the Field Service Management (FSM) software provider sector.
Richmond itself is in striking distance away (just 30 minutes by train) from the bright lights of the City of London, itself at the heart of European technology investment and innovation. Yet at the same time, it retains a slightly more refined, more distinguished reputation than other boroughs in Greater London. It’s certainly not cheap either (the average semi detached house price in Richmond is over £1 million) but then cheaper doesn’t always equate to better value. You know what you are getting in Richmond, you know the type of company you will keep. You’re hedging a bet by backing a market leader - and for many years the same could be said of ClickSoftware.
Indeed, ClickSoftware’s position as the leading player within the FSM market for many years was almost unquestionable, especially amongst the enterprise and those clients who had large, complicated scheduling challenges within their field workforce.
You’re hedging a bet by backing a market leader - and for many years the same could be said of ClickSoftware.
Add to this that there had been a recent change of ownership, with Tom Heiser taking the reins as CEO, following on from a private equity takeover, and there is an extra level of attention and a need to impress their core user base that would perhaps be less evident in some of their previous user conferences.
How ClickSoftware approached their own development plans and how it was portrayed at this event, was potentially a huge fork in the road.
Get it right, and they could continue to build on their rock solid reputation as an industry leader, get it wrong however, and it could leave them exposed just when the competition is hotting up.
After an engaging opening keynote by Heiser (which set the tone for an upbeat performance by the ClickSoftware team across the two days) it was straight into the nitty gritty - what developments had been added to the newly launched Field Service Edge, ClickSoftware’s Cloud only offering, as well as what was available for the older generations of ClickSoftware.
And it was in this session that they needed to genuinely impress. They did.
Across the next hour and a half Sassi Idan, SVP Products and Solutions gave us the overview of the latest developments that were either already available or would be available within the next two months.
Of course there were some obligatory discussions around integration but then we would expect any new release to feature easy integration and dedicated APIs.
The new solution ClickSoftware have brought to the table does appear to be pretty damn slick - offering clear visibility into work orders across the whole of the service supply chain
The new solution ClickSoftware have brought to the table does appear to be pretty damn slick - offering clear visibility into work orders across the whole of the service supply chain - something that can be a real frustration in particular for OEMs and their customers when service calls fall down between the cracks.
The set up of new contractors was also not only very fluid and simple, but the pricing on this solution is job based rather than licence based which could very well avoid tension between OEM and third party contractors as to who should have to pay for the licence. Smart thinking.
Another strong introduction was the announcement of an improved crew management solution, which allows for optimisation of work groups bringing together the right skills and location mix. This optimisation tool of course sits right at the heart of ClickSoftware’s traditional strength as a scheduling tool, but still the clean interface and intuitive UI that allows for manual control whilst still benefiting from AI provided suggestions for either fixed or dynamic crews was impressive.
However, it was when attention turned to the mobile app that a gentle shift in ClickSoftware’s approach to development was most visibly brought to the fore.
The new ClickMobile solution appears to have been clearly designed with the engineer’s workflow always in mind. Simple, yet intelligent additions such as camera integration and signature capture combined into a slick solution that includes the ability to send a PDF of the job details with full documentation of the work completed, directly to the customer straight from the app. It is little details like this that can really help the engineer to shine whilst on site.
Staying with mobility, ClickSoftware have also formed an interesting partnership with fleet management provider GreenRoad. The upshot is an integrated driver behaviour tool much in the vein of Telogis’ Coach or Microlise’s Clear, which provides in car guidance on how the vehicle is being driven via a mobile app. Whilst the app itself doesn’t break any particularly new ground, it offers good functionality and it’s inclusion in the wider ClickSoftware suite is a welcome addition that brings the focus of driver behaviour firmly into the FSM category.
The most impressive introduction of the day was still to come in the shape of a new Augmented Reality (AR) solution.
The solution, which is provided by FieldBit, again isn’t perhaps the slickest field service AR app we’ve seen - certainly similar tools from the likes of Scope AR, Help Lightning, and XM Reality all have greater depth of functionality than what was displayed during the live demonstration, but the fact that ClickSoftware’s AR tool is directly accessible from the job page in the ClickMobile app, which of course integrates seamlessly with the other elements of ClickSoftware’s suite of tools is a huge, huge benefit.
In fact, on reflection I think this is what left me walking out of that first session so impressed.
ClickSoftware have clearly been paying attention to the emerging industry trends, and whilst the various new elements introduced may not be best-of-breed, they’ve been brought together in an intelligently thought out system that can improve service delivery in a number of different areas. The product really is a lot, lot more than the sum of it’s parts.
Of course, all of this information was delivered within the first few hours, and across the next two days there were a number of interesting sessions including a series of round-tables and some interesting and diverse case studies including an excellent presentation from Garry Nash, of Costain CH2M which demonstrated some quite frankly incredible project management.
Other highlights included a great overview of Cloud infrastructure from Ian Massingham, Chief Evangelist, AWS and also Marina Stedman, Global Field Marketing Director, ClickSoftware gave an excellent if all too brief round up of a variety of research projects they had partnered on (including our own recent research into the use of Cloud as a FSM platform), which was both well delivered and genuinely insightful.
However, at a user conference such as this, whilst presentations, round-tables and even gala dinners and cocktail making classes, are an enjoyable side-show, really it’s all about the main event - which will always be what is new in the product.
And here they’ve done well. There will be competitors hot on their heels - it’s an incredibly competitive market right now, but here in Richmond, ClickSoftware showed they aren’t going to just step aside and let someone else take over the leaders baton anytime soon.
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Nov 10, 2016 • News • Mobile • IFS • Software and Apps
IFS, a global enterprise applications company, announced recently at the IFS World Conference 2016 the launch of IFS Mobile Workforce Management version 5.8.
IFS, a global enterprise applications company, announced recently at the IFS World Conference 2016 the launch of IFS Mobile Workforce Management version 5.8.
Among the enhancements in the new version are:
- Automatic shift generation—The new version supports automatic shift planning and rostering for individuals or groups based on constraints such as number of work hours, number of work days, and permissible shift patterns. With only one click, the solution then automatically plans shifts that are optimized for the company’s requirements and constraints.
- Self-learning scheduling—Leverages an extended data archive to allow for more educated and informed scheduling decisions based on historical data. The solution automatically learns to produce more accurate work schedules by analyzing a broad range of data including average job duration by activity type, customer and contract.
- New cloud deployment options—Features such as capacity planning and target-based scheduling can now run in scalable, multi-tenant Microsoft Azure environments to support occasional users and ensure maximum system availability for the solution’s Dynamic Scheduling Engine (DSE).
- Big data optimization—The new version offers even better support for large datasets, including support for aggregation and de-aggregation of planning data, extended options for filtering tasks and time-slicing as well as intelligent support for allocating processor time.
- Enhanced visual insights—A new cockpit view empowers users with customizable key performance indicators for quick and easy data access, driving efficiency and a positive user experience.
IFS product director for service-, asset-, and project-based solutions Jørgen Rogde added, “The new version of our dynamic work scheduling solution represents a major product investment aimed at helping our clients streamline and automate their scheduling processes while maintaining and enhancing the flexibility of the solution through new options for cloud deployment and big data management. It will help our customers use their resources more effectively, ultimately saving them time and money.”
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Nov 10, 2016 • Features • Management • Brexit • management • Nick Frank
Service Executives across the world should see Brexit as an opportunity for increasing their influence on companies growth plans writes Nick Frank, Managing Partner, Si2 Partners...
Service Executives across the world should see Brexit as an opportunity for increasing their influence on companies growth plans writes Nick Frank, Managing Partner, Si2 Partners...
We believe Service Executives across the world should see Brexit as an opportunity for increasing their influence on companies growth plans.
Most economic commentators believe that the medium term growth prospects for the UK and even the global economy have been severely dented, but these strengthening headwinds should also act as a wake up call for industry.
The more visionary businesses have redoubled their efforts to innovate and many are introducing Service Thinking into their growth plans. While digitization of products enables new ways of thinking and captured the imagination of many, there is nothing like the threat of hardship to accelerate change!
This is why the recent launch a UK National Strategy for Engineering Services by Chris White MP, Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Manufacturing group is both timely and needed.
Although a UK initiative, it is is very relevant to all globally developed economies.
Chris White recognizes that: “The developing trend of ‘servitised manufacturing’ is a specific example of UK innovation that has allowed early adopters to develop successful differentiated offerings in the global market.”
He goes on to describe a sense of urgency, which is very relevant to today’s situation!
The developing trend of ‘servitised manufacturing’ is a specific example of UK innovation that has allowed early adopters to develop successful differentiated offerings in the global market...
Policy makers recognise that within the context of a countries industrial strategy, many of the world’s leading companies have developed new service orientated business models in order to prosper.
Dave Benbow, Global Head of Engineering at Rolls-Royce PLC explains: “We have consistently delivered shareholder value through being market leaders in engineering services: ensuring that our engines are designed, manufactured and supported in-service to deliver power for our customer whenever required throughout their lifetime.”
But sustaining this success requires a back to back business philosophy with their supply base.
The fact of the matter is that mind-set change is not happening fast enough and needs to be accelerated!
To address this, a central theme to the National Strategy is the creation of an Industry Council to inspire UK companies to innovate new ways of delivering value through services.
The goal is to add 1.9% or £31.6bn to the UK economy. To put this in context this is more value added than the UK’s globally recognised legal industry. Industry leading companies will challenge their supply chain to reduce costs by 20% and increase asset availability by 20%: A 20/20 vision which they know has to be delivered to remain competitive.
As Managing Director at the global industrial services group Babcock recognises: “In numerous engineering and technology domains, we have found that by taking responsibility for ‘outputs’ – asset performance – we have been able to give our customers more value than the simple delivery of discrete products or programmes.”
This requires a massive shift in thinking, almost a re-invention of how we look at manufacturing and engineering. The new council will work in partnership with academia to develop skills and capability, from both a technology and business perspective.
It will interact with government to not only influence cross-industry thinking, but to flex it’s economic muscle to drive mind-set change in how the massive infrastructure projects such as the HS2 rail link will be engineered and delivered. It was after all Margret Thatcher in the 80’s who drove the Ministry of Defence to start the procurement of Outcome based availability contracts that has led to the UK’s commercial and academic leadership in this particular industry niche.
The strength of this approach is that the core team which includes Si2 Partners, is industry led.
The message for service organisations all round the world is that your role in value creation is being recognised.
Indeed as when driving fundamental transformation, the importance of Industry, Academia and Government working together to effect sustainable change cannot be underestimated.
The message for service organisations all round the world is that your role in value creation is being recognised.
Indeed the major global industrial players are beginning to push the service orientated, outcome based business models deeper into their supply chains. To accelerate change, executives can seize the opportunity of economic uncertainty to show how services are one of the strategies that organisation can deploy to sustain long-term business growth.
You can download the UK National Strategy for Engineering services and the supporting market data that underpins the strategy at http://si2partners.com/uk-national-strategy-engineeringservices-now-available-download/.
If you would like to be involved in the next phase of this initiative, then you can sign up for more information from Cranfield’s Through-life Engineering Services Centre who have been a key player in facilitating this National approach.
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Nov 09, 2016 • Features • Astea • infographics • resources • infographic • Service Innovation and Design
Brand new infographic from Astea shows how field service organisations can work towards innovating their service delivery mechanisms...
Brand new infographic from Astea shows how field service organisations can work towards innovating their service delivery mechanisms...
Want to know more? Click here to download the companion white paper to this infographic now
Want to know more? Click here to download the companion white paper to this infographic now
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Nov 09, 2016 • Features • Management • Aly Pinder • management
No man is an island, so don’t leave your field service technicians isolated if you want to ensure you keep delivering field service excellence writes Aly Pinder...
No man is an island, so don’t leave your field service technicians isolated if you want to ensure you keep delivering field service excellence writes Aly Pinder...
The nature of the field service team is an oxymoron. Field service workers often work independently in remote areas with minimal contact with the “home” office or other technicians during their day.
Often times, the only contact the technician has with others is with dispatch to schedule the next call.
Technicians often are no more of a team than your salesforce. Both are independent workers who must deliver on a combined effort. This type of structure will begin to show its cracks field service as we all prepare for the aging and retiring field workforce.
As technicians leave the business, their individual knowledge, expertise, and customer relationships will fade away.
Can your organisation afford to lose this wealth of knowledge capital?
So what can you do about this? A three-legged stool approach is needed.
First off, you need to do everything you can to keep your good and great technicians on your team for as long as possible. So whether you incentivise them to stick around longer in the field or provide them the flexibility to become remote support experts – keeping your expert technicians as long as you can should be your #1 goal.
[quote float="left"]Mentorship programs will continue to play a bigger role in service as we all prepare for the wave of millennials coming into the workforce over the coming years...[/quote] Secondly, you need to ensure you capture all of that great knowledge from your experts prior to their impending departure. Invest in the tools and technologies necessary to capture, store, and disseminate best practices from the field team to others in real-time.
And finally, you need to build a bridge between your expert workers and the next wave of technicians.
As seen in Aberdeen Group’s recent Field Service 2016: Strengthen the Team, Bond with Your Customers report (June 2016), the Best-in-Class were able to achieve these three goals by implementing a few best practices listed below:
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Measure your field technician’s engagement frequently. Knowing what drives your technicians is integral to ensuring you can keep them around for the long haul. The wrong incentives lead to the wrong behaviours or worse yet a premature exit from the team.
Engagement was historically something for HR teams to measure office workers or for the marketing team to gather from customers. But more and more Best-in-Class service organisations are beginning to monitor and measure their field service team’s engagement AND acting on what they gather. If you don’t know there is a problem, you won’t be able to address it.
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Establish mentors and coaches to pass along knowledge. Top performing service organisations identify top field technicians and ensure they can help mold the next crop of workers. Under performing organisations don’t even know who their top technicians are and thus don’t know they should both keep those employees and give them ways to help the entire team learn how to excel at service.
Mentorship programs will continue to play a bigger role in service as we all prepare for the wave of millennials coming into the workforce over the coming years (NOTE – the millennial wave has already begun).[/unordered_list]
Create a culture of continuous improvement
And as old dogs leave the business, it is even more integral that a culture of continuous improvement pervade to ensure your field team delivers more and more value to customers during every interaction.
The field team does not have to be built on individuals who work alone.
Connecting the team to knowledge, best practices, and continued learning is integral in 2016. Don’t leave your field workers on an island by themselves, a team is needed to excel at delivering service value to customers.
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Nov 08, 2016 • Features • Parts Pricing and Logistics
Kris Oldland, takes a look at the challenges and benefits of reverse logistics within a field service operation...
Kris Oldland, takes a look at the challenges and benefits of reverse logistics within a field service operation...
Whilst understanding the service supply chain is a fair challenge in itself, reverse logistics remains perhaps the most complex element of all within the puzzle.
In simplistic terms reverse logistics for service operations could perhaps best be defined when first thinking of how field service works. For field service operations a dispatcher will send an engineer out to a device that needs either repair or maintenance.
Whether it is a jumbo jet engine or a vending machine this type of dispatch is classic field service. Reverse logistics essentially flips this concept. With reverse logistics it is the product that comes to the engineer, rather than the other way around.
The challenges of reverse logistics
There are numerous challenges within reverse logistics – it is not as some would believe simply forward logistics the other way round!
For a start there is the significant challenge of both determining and then tracking the value of an asset.
Lets take a simple consumer example of the repair of a laptop a technician may be sent out to repair a motherboard with a value of say £500 and a the tech replaces the defective motherboard with a working one.
Working within a reverse logistics framework the defective motherboard is sent back to be repaired. However what is the value of the defective part? It is no longer £500 as it doesn’t work. Yet, it is also not zero as the cost of repair may be a relatively nominal amount for a sub-component.
There are numerous challenges within reverse logistics – it is not as some would believe simply forward logistics the other way round!
And this is just one small characteristic of reverse logistics that makes it such a complex field.
Then things get even more tricky when we add OEMs or third party repair int the reverse logistics value chain mix.
Staying with the laptop example, what if a retailer sold the device? They are likely to have their own service offering, and could do some initial diagnosis either in the field or in store, but if that first tier of maintenance isn’t sufficient then the part may be returned to a repair centre. And if at this point they are not able to resolve the issue then it may be that the motherboard needs to be sent back to the OEM.
In a reverse logistics chain it is vital to keep track of the unit at any given point within the service chain, as well as third party repair and record when the unit is in someone else’s hands. After all, the unit has value, and that value could even belong to the customer.
the ability to track products within a reverse logistics value chain, even when they are outside of your organisation is hugely important financially as well as logistically.
In short the ability to track products within a reverse logistics value chain, even when they are outside of your organisation is hugely important financially as well as logistically.
Why bother with reverse logistics?
Well primarily reverse logistics allows for companies to maintain high level service agreements and SLAs whilst not taking such a severe financial hit that can result from swap-out break fix repairs.
In a field service repair scenario, where the pressure is on to get the customer back up and running ASAP often the simplest, quickest and most efficient solution is to swap out a faulty part rather than repair it on site. Such an approach can lead to greater customer satisfaction alongside higher field service efficiency.
However, to simply dismiss non-functioning parts as scrap is throwing away money.
In a reverse logistics situation, where the device is sent to an engineer on the bench, a company are in a far better position to facilitate the fix.
In a reverse logistics situation, where the device is sent to an engineer on the bench, a company are in a far better position to facilitate the fix. Resources can be more readily consumed, component are more readily to hand.
Also due to the fact that there is less time pressure and potentially easier access to learning resource it is possible for an engineer with less skills to undertake a repair so labour costs can be potentially reduced whilst reclaiming value that may have been lost if the unit could not be repaired.
Is reverse logistics always a good idea?
Another consideration is whether the decision to make a repair is economically viable. Depending on the cost of labour and parts it may be more cost effective to simply send a new unit to the customer.
Depending on the cost of labour and parts it may be more cost effective to simply send a new unit to the customer.
Then if the expense of a repair reaches a specific tipping point a flag can be raised to highlight the fact the cost of repair outweighs the cost of replacement
Once we have reached this point of economic costs, we can determine if the part is economically worth repairing.
Selecting dedicated reverse logistics software
Whilst reverse logistics software can have significant benefits, selecting the right solution can be a challenge as it is not generally a broad product category that analysts and the IT media pay much attention to so side by side comparison can be hard to come by.
As with most software in related to service delivery it is critical to proactively ask questions that relate to you’re own specific business requirements.
With this in mind also remember a live demonstration is also hugely important. Don’t accept a simple overview in PowerPoint, as some less scrupulous software vendors have been known to misrepresent what the software, in its current state, can do.
In the case of reverse logistics software, seeing really is believing as it is a niche area and you want to ensure that your provider both understand the complexity of the process as a whole as well as your specific business needs.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line when it come to reverse logistic is quite bluntly all about the bottom line.
When it comes to reverse logistics return on investment is achieved through effective inventory and spare parts management. Some companies will see ROI by using reverse logistics to simply keep repairable units on the shelf until they are actually needed, saving money by avoiding repair on units that might not be used.
Field service requirements for reverse logistics are complex, and will change as relationships with customers, distributors and contractors evolve over time.
However, effective reserve logistics in a service and aftermarket context does rely heavily on software that is designed specifically for the task.
Field service requirements for reverse logistics are complex, and will change as relationships with customers, distributors and contractors evolve over time.
But those companies who can come to a full understanding of the impact of reverse logistics on the business will be able to review how their key processes can be streamlined and automated, providing visibility and control over repairable inventory whilst serving their customers better.
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Nov 08, 2016 • News • Case Studies • fire and security • Software and Apps • software and apps • surefire • Asolvi
Fire protection specialists Surefire have found a ‘surefire’ solution to their service management software needs: Tesseract...
Fire protection specialists Surefire have found a ‘surefire’ solution to their service management software needs: Tesseract...
Surefire Services is a UK company that sells, installs and maintains fire protection systems, including fire alarms, gas suppression and sprinkler systems, extinguishers and dry risers. Presently, its sales, installations and maintenance departments rely on three separate management systems involving basic software and spreadsheets. The company has decided it’s time to move away from paper, update its software and bring its three departments under one umbrella.
Our current system is too basic and we struggle with reporting as the software keeps failing
Surefire has opted for the cloud-based SaaS version of Tesseract’s service management software for two reasons. First, the SaaS version is managed in-house by Tesseract, which means instantaneous fixes and upgrades. Second, it keeps space free on Surefire’s server, which is home to a great deal of data.
“The reason we chose Tesseract is because their software is easy to use and reasonably priced,” says Kemp. “They also offer a sales module—the other companies we looked at didn’t. This will allow us to bring our three departments under one system, ensuring faster processes and a better flow of data.”
The plan is to launch Tesseract within the maintenance department first, followed by installations and then sales. Tablet devices will be rolled out to Surefire’s engineering team, eliminating the need for paper timesheets, worksheets and invoices and allowing Surefire to receive real-time, instantaneous data about each job. Staff will also be able to create Key Performance Indicator Reports, something they cannot do currently.
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Nov 07, 2016 • Features • Management • management • Blumberg Advisory Group • selling service
Michael Blumberg, President of Blumberg Advisory Group explores the nuances of marketing services and how to get it right...
Michael Blumberg, President of Blumberg Advisory Group explores the nuances of marketing services and how to get it right...
Want to know more? 20% discount for Field Service News readers on Michael Blumberg’s latest online course on marketing service more @ http://fs-ne.ws/pv2m305UvI5 claim your discount with the code “FSN1”
Service executives often struggle to grow their businesses when they try to apply product-marketing concepts to service marketing.
The 4 P’s marketing mix is one such concept that works great for products but not for services. It is based on the theory that the success of a company’s marketing program is based on how well the company manages strategies and tactics related to product (i.e., design, form/factor, etc.), price, promotion (e.g., sales, advertising, etc.), and place (i.e., distribution).
The problem is that these 4 P’s do not always apply to services. Service products are intangible and difficult to describe, so they can be challenging to promote. Another problem is that place has a fuzzy connotation in service marketing because there are multiple entities involved in service distribution.
The perception a customer has about a service provider is what influences their decision to work with that service provider.
In order to achieve results, service executives instead need to master three fundamental or strategic concepts about service marketing. First, perception is just as important as reality. The perception a customer has about a service provider is what influences their decision to work with that service provider.
Customers need to trust that their service provider has the capability to deliver service before it is actually delivered.
Second, customers pay more for services over the lifetime of a product than they do when purchasing the product itself. In fact, they may pay as much as 8-10 times more for services than what they originally pay for the product.
Clearly the dollars can add up. Finally, there is a relationship between “value in use” and time. Value in use is the cost to your customer in absence of the service. Some services are mission critical. If they are not performed in a timely manner, the customer may lose money by not having the service available. Seeing this connection allows service marketers to effectively price their services and articulate the value of what they provide.
By mastering these strategic concepts service providers will begin to observe a shift in the way they think about service marketing. In fact, only by changing their mindset can they hope to become more effective in implementing strategies that lead to higher revenues, greater profits, and increased market share. Service providers who go through such an evolution understand that the Successful Service Marketing™ mix is actually based not on 4 but on 7 key principles.
These principles are:
PORTFOLIO:
Often described in terms of a service-level commitment, such as 24/7with a four-hour response time. The more distinctions a service provider can make to define their service portfolio, the more likely they will be to fulfill the needs of prospective customers.
PROVIDER:
Tangible elements of the service infrastructure, such as a call center, self-service portals, enterprise systems and service technology that make it possible to deliver on the promise of the service portfolio.
PROCESS:
The steps customers must take to request the service, and the tasks that occur to deliver the service. For example, performing front-end call screening and diagnostics before dispatching a field technician.
PERFORMANCE:
Evidence that the service provider can deliver on your promise, such as KPIs, customer satisfaction results and customer testimonials.
PERCEPTION:
The ability to win business and retain satisfied customers is based on the service provider’s ability to influence the perception that current and prospective customers have of them. This goes beyond simply promotion through advertising, branding, and communications. It gets to the essence of who are service provider is, what they stand for, and how they portray themselves in the market.
PLACE:
Services distribution channels can be complex. Quite often, consumers can purchase service from one place, order or request it from another place, and have it delivered to them at a third place (e.g., onsite, depot, remote, etc.). Sometimes it’s the same company delivering this service. Other times it’s not. Regardless, the service marketing mix must deal with these complexities.
PRICE:
Of course, there is always the issue of price. The important thing to remember is that price is a function of value in use and perception that consumers have of their service provider (i.e., expertise, experience, capability).
There are just a few more concepts that service providers need to learn if they are going to win at service marketing. First, they have to know their market. Service providers obtain this knowledge through market research. If they know who buys, what they buy, and why they buy then they can sell more service to customers, to more customers, and get them to buy more often.
Market research also provides the insight needed to communicate effectively with current and prospective customers. It helps determine what messages, what images, what ideas will resonate with them and make them want to buy. Marketing is about taking a need and converting it into a want. You may need a watch to tell time but you want a Rolex because of the status and prestige associated with owning one. So when you have really good market research of who buys, what they buy and why they buy, you can construct your message in such a way that you turn a need to a want.
Many companies price their services on the basis of either cost-plus or competitive pricing strategies
A third type of pricing strategy is called value-in-use pricing. It involves measuring the economic value or loss to the customer of not having the service available in a timely manner. This can be significant. For example, a manufacturing facility may lose millions of dollars every hour its machines are down. Therefore, it may be willing to a pay premium for faster service.
Market research can help determine whether a service provider should pursue a cost-plus, competitive, or value in use pricing strategy.
The final aspect to winning service marketing is called invisible selling. This is based on the premise that companies win service business not by pushing their offers onto prospects, but by pulling customers towards them. One way is through indirect marketing as opposed to direct selling. Indirect marketing includes publishing articles or white papers that demonstrate that the service provider understands the problems companies in their market are experiencing and that they have solutions. Other forms of indirect marketing involve using social media and public speaking opportunities to influence others to seek out the service providers’ expertise.
When companies put all the elements of a Successful Service Marketing™ program together, when they fully understand the strategic concepts of service marketing, when they effectively apply the seven principles of service marketing, when they learn how to optimally price their services, and when they use market research effectively, they achieve phenomenal results. Their service-marketing program becomes successful, their sales take off, and their profits skyrocket.
Want to know more? 20% discount for Field Service News readers on Michael Blumberg’s latest online course on marketing service more @ http://fs-ne.ws/pv2m305UvI5 claim your discount with the code “FSN1”
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Nov 06, 2016 • Features • research • Research • IoT • servicemax • Servitization
In 2015 Field Service News and leading FSM software provider ServiceMax teamed up on a research project to assess the appetite for IoT as a tool for improving field service delivery.
In 2015 Field Service News and leading FSM software provider ServiceMax teamed up on a research project to assess the appetite for IoT as a tool for improving field service delivery.
One year on we followed up with a fresh research project into the area to see what trends have emerged and now in a four part series we bring you the findings of this latest research. In part One of this series we explored the headline findings of this year’s research against the context of the previous year’s results.
In part two we dug deeper into the study to explore what additional technologies are sitting amongst companies either planning to, or actively using IoT as a tool for field service delivery as well as what the cultural impacts of implementing IoT are and whether these are being considered by organisations.
In part three of this exclusive series we looked at the impact of servitization as a key driver for the adoption of IoT.
Now in the final part of this series we look at best practice for IoT implementation and some concluding thoughts on the research findings as well as hearing expert views on this research from Athani Krishna, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer and Dave Hart, Senior Vice President, Customer Success, ServiceMax...
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Best practice for IoT implementation:
Finally, let’s look at what we can learn from the group of respondents who have either actually already undertaken an implementation of an IoT solution as part of their field service management operations, or were currently actively in the process of doing so.
We asked respondents in this group to identify which steps they would take and in what order to make an IoT implementation as simple as possible whilst avoiding any common pitfalls.
The general consensus led to the following best practice steps:
- Research the concept - including attending trade-shows, reading relevant trade journals such as field service news etc
- Developing a business plan for how your service division will operate once IoT is implemented
- Identify relevant providers
- Seek professional advice (from either solution providers or consultants)
- Gain backing for the project from the executive board
- Select a solution provider
- Establish new business processes and role these out internally
- Connect assets in the field
What is particularly interesting about this set of findings is that the collected wisdom of those who have either gone through or are currently going through the implementation process is that there is a lot of work devising strategy and a sensible roadmap ahead of actually connecting assets out in the field.
Conclusions:
For those companies still not considering IoT there are some clear warnings here.
The general consensus is that those companies that fail to adopt IoT and adapt to a more proactive means of working are at risk of falling behind.
Indeed, even procrastination could be a risky game to play when we consider that there is a long suggested process in terms of best-practice implementations of which connecting assets (which could in itself be a considerable task depending on the size of your install base) sits right at the end of the road map.
78% of field service professionals believe there will be significant competitive gains for those companies who become early adopters of IoT as a field service tool
IoT seems like a clear destination for field service operations. It seems it is now just a matter of who can get there first.
Expert View: Athani Krishna, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer, ServiceMax
The Internet of Things as a concept is nothing new. I’d wager most people have been familiar with the novel applications of IoT since Cisco started championing the “Internet of Everything” ads several years ago. Nowadays, IoT is infusing itself into just about anything, from oil rigs and proton therapy machines to municipal trash cans and elevators.
But novelties aside, we’ve had a front-row seat to where IoT is truly proving its value – field service. And in this survey gauging the IoT appetite among largely UK-based manufacturing leaders, we’re seeing clear hunger.
It makes perfect sense – in a world where manufacturers face stagnant product-centric margins and pressures to grow their businesses, service is the natural next place to look. But we’re not talking about selling mere warranties and service plans – the stuff of yesterday. We’re talking about investing in IoT to remotely diagnose machine issues, guarantee uptimes and move to an outcomes-based selling model. That gives manufacturers more predictability in revenues and customers predictability in uptime of equipment.
“In a world where manufacturers face stagnant product-centric margins and pressures to grow their businesses, service is the natural next place to look...”
But what’s interesting is that while connectivity is the greatest benefit, it’s also one of the greatest hurdles. For companies, opening up systems for a connection to equipment vendors can pose security challenges. Networking & IoT technology companies understand these hurdles very well, and are working to make security better everyday. For this new reality of outcome-based services model to proliferate, companies need to understand that this is all a partnership.
As technology gets better, and early adopters embrace this new business model, I do expect this increasingly become industry standard – companies won’t see customers & vendors anymore; they will only see partners.
Expert View: Dave Hart, Senior Vice President, Customer Success, ServiceMax
Moving from a product-focused business to a service-centric operation can unlock growth potential like never before. But getting there indeed requires a cultural shift.
Just about half of those surveyed here admit that servitization - that is, delivering a service component as an added value when providing products – will have a disruptive influence on company culture. Now, understand there’s a spectrum when evolving service. Sometimes it’s limited to selling more warranties and contracts; that’s less what we’re talking about. What we’re talking about is leveraging IoT to get to an outcomes-based service model; indeed many of our customers have taken this approach or are starting to do. That’s where things get more complex.
From where I stand, having spent nearly three decades as both a field service technician as well as a service leader, the cultural impacts of infusing IoT are real and they are significant – and it’s likely, according to this survey, the impact will be greater than expected.
“Having spent nearly three decades as both a field service technician as well as a service leader, the cultural impacts of infusing IoT are real and they are significant...”
All of this means the C-suite must be intimately involved in an outcomes-based approach. Migrating to this business model equates to effectively turning the organisation on its head, and that is a very difficult exercise that needs a holistic approach from the top.
Our customer IBA, which manufacturers proton therapy machines for cancer treatments, has noted it doesn’t necessarily expect its field engineers to become R&D professionals but that it envisions a reality where on-site technicians efficiently share product performance knowledge with those teams. That will require a shift in thinking and process.
At the end of the day, too, managers, directors and VP’s need to consult those actually performing the services – the field technicians. Thankfully, 80 percent of those surveyed said they are already consulting with their service engineers with regards to this transition. That’s a good first step.
Servitization is not necessarily and easy plug-and-play journey. Change is hard, but taking the right steps to align prior to implementation will save hurt down the road.
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