AUTHOR ARCHIVES: Mark Glover

In the latest Field Service Podcast, Paul Joesbury, Commercial Operations Director at Homeserve, suggests the asset will eventually become more important than the engineer in service.

 

In this special episode, Field Service News' Deputy Editor Mark Glover, speaks to Paul Joesbury ahead of his debate at Field Service Connect next month where he will argue that the use of technology such as machine learning and AI will eventually negate the need for the human intervention.

You can find out more information about Field Service Connect which takes place on 15 and 16 May at Celtic Manor, South Wales here. 

Contract with GSA will see telematics tech rolled out to 217,000 US Government vehicles.

IoT and connected transport firm Geotab has announced a deal with General Service Administration (GSA) to equip over 200,000 of its vehicles with its fleet management technology.

The deal, which is the largest single-source telematics contract to date, will see the technology implemented into GSA Fleet, a division of GSA that provides vehicles to US Federal agencies.

Established in 1954, GSA Fleet conduct vehicle acquisition, leasing and disposal, maintenance control, accident management and loss prevention services and is one of the largest non-tactical fleets in America.

Commenting, Geotab CEO, Neil Cawse praised the US Government for taking the lead in fleet technology. "With GSA paving the way, we believe the U.S. government leads the world in the adoption of telematics in the public sector. Particularly within local, state and federal agencies where fleet vehicles typically account for a large portion of their annual budget, our intelligent integrated solutions have the potential to protect capital assets, reduce associated risk, improve accountability and decrease operating costs,” he said.

Application will enable Fleet Managers to monitor driver activity helping with tachograph compliance.

Verizon Connect has announced the launch of a digital tachograph tool that shares information with fleet managers including driving times and rest periods.

A digital tachograph is a device that records speed, distance and driver activity; data, which when used correctly, can ensure European Tachograph regulation is adhered to.When this data is used with Verizon Connect's fleet management platform users can save time, improve processes and remain compliant, the firm says.

“One of the biggest challenges for fleet managers is helping drivers understand their tacho status so customers aren’t losing time and money by pulling drivers off the road to manually download tachograph files from trucks,” said Derek Bryan, EMEA vice president, Verizon Connect. “Digital Tacho Live View provides the visibility necessary to access driver data quickly and easily, helping managers make quick and informed decisions, produce more accurate plans and receive advanced warning of infringements.”

TVCable Group, one of the leading service providers in Ecuador, has successfully finalised the implementation of the Comarch Field Service Management system, which now enables the operator to improve SLA compliance, decrease time to work order assignment, and improve service delivery time. 

Efficient management of services in the field requires effective coordination and motivated, customer-focused employees. However, even the most committed workers cannot ensure optimal service processes if they have to handle manual work on each step of service delivery. TVCable Group sought to ensure high quality of service for its customers, which was the main concern for the top management of the organization. For this reason, TVCable Group decided to implement the Comarch Field Service Management web and mobile applications, to bring benefits to managers, dispatchers and technicians in the field, and completely digitize service processes. 

The applied solutions have helped the company to improve customer satisfaction and service efficiency on several levels. The most appreciated result is the reduction of manual work, which translates into faster service delivery. With the implemented solution, the services are also delivered within the set SLA. TVCable Group can ensure 90% of installations within 24 hours, while the SLA for this type of service is 48 hours. Also, 80% of repairs are completed within nine hours, whereas the SLA here is 12 hours.

"The implemented Comarch Field Service Management software fully automates and truly streamlines our service delivery process. Since we deployed this solution, we have been able to eliminate a lot of manual work and, as a result, to coordinate field task assignment and execution more efficiently," says Marcel Ceruso, Director of Customer Service at TVCable Group. "This tool enabled our organization to achieve better KPIs, both operational and strategic. Decreasing our mean service time and providing it within the framework of a set SLA definitely improved our relationship with our customers.

"These changes could take place thanks to Comarch’s support throughout the analysis and implementation process, underpinned by their experience in the telecommunication industry. With their guidance, we have applied appropriate modules, configured the service workflows, and modernized the quality and productivity of the service," Ceruso added.

Beside the quantitative results, the company and their clients also benefit from the quality of the provided service. Customers receive updates via email, calls and text messages about service visits and their allocated technician’s location. The mobile app enables managers and dispatchers to control the quality of the technicians’ work. As a result, workers are motivated to follow the procedures and ensure the expected quality of service.

Ex-Astea employee David Giannetto to take up post of Chief Operation Officer at service management solutions firm.

WorkWave has announced the appointment of David Giannetto as its new Chief Operation Officer. 

The former Astea employee will be based in the company's New Jersey office and will be expected to bring his experience across SaaS and his knowledge of emerging technologies to WorkWave's customer experience and innovation strategy.  

In a statement, WorkWave's CEO Marne Martin, said he was looking forward to Gianetto's arrival. “I am thrilled to welcome David to our leadership team," he said. "With more than 25 years of bottom-line responsibility growing business-oriented service and technology companies, his arrival will enable us to continue to grow as a company, while providing the service industry with best-in-class SaaS solutions. The insights and expertise he brings to the table will help further our position as the dominant SMB SaaS solution for the pest vertical and other service industries.”

Hot on the heels of its launch last year, Field Service Connect 2019 focuses on the UK field service industry and its challenges, bringing fresh insights and differing perspectives to this often under-appreciated sector.

Set against a backdrop of rolling Welsh countryside, this invitation only summit will see senior field service executives debate, discuss and divulge their successes and challenges in 2019.

Customer Service and Mindset
There can be no doubt that the traditional interpretation of Field Service is changing: a fundamental shift is being made to focus on service and its incorporation and development into existing, more product-centric, business models. Where once it was enough to rely on a stellar product, now competition is fierce and margins are being squeezed this is no longer the case. Where excellent service is being provided and taken for granted in everyday life, it makes sense that this is now being expected, if not demanded, within business transactions.

A new age is dawning and customers are continuing to ask how a product and company ‘adds value’. Engineers in the field have access to, and interactions with, potentially hundreds of contacts within a specific customer base. So it’s no surprise that those customers will come to associate a product’s ‘worth’ based on the dealings they have had with these field service representatives. As the American poet Maya Angelou is attributed to have said: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”.

By 2020 customer experience is slated to overtake price and product as a key brand differentiator. 

Women in Field Service and Brand
With this shift to customer centricity there must also be a shift in perception. Traditionally seen as male dominated, a career in field service has not attracted women. However, with service coming to the fore this situation is starting to change and the skills that women offer are becoming more vital than ever. The ‘soft skills’ required for customer service roles are often attributed to women, but it’s not a question of gender, the focus must be on what skills can be brought to the table as a whole and how these can be used to improve a company’s field service offering.

"Traditionally seen as male dominated, a career in field service has not attracted women..."

In order to ensure that quality talent is acquired and retained Field Service must also diversify so that the next generation of bright minds can see themselves working in this sector. If a certain demographic is only ever highlighted and portrayed then it is no wonder that it is presumed that this is all there is. As you would market a brand, the same must be done throughout Field Service. Why would you choose this career? What is there to offer? What is the long term career outlook?

In order to keep up with rising expectations it will require a massive change in mindset, starting at board level and moving downwards, to truly transform a company ethos. For some this will mean a transformation in culture that has formed over decades but must now be changed rapidly if they are not to be left behind by the competition. This will be easier said than done; as change is happening so fast it’s fundamentally hard to move quickly enough! However, as the old adage goes, ‘just because something is difficult, it doesn’t mean it isn’t worth doing’.

Digital Transformation
Alongside the cultural shift needed to meet customer expectations, Field Service is also being driven by digital. Gartner defines digitalisation as ‘the use of digital technologies to change a business model and provide new revenue and value-producing opportunities; it is the process of moving to a digital business.’ ‘Digitalisation’ and ‘digital transformation’ have become such buzz words in recent years that some have lost sight of not only what it means but what they are actually trying to do.

Digitalisation is a tool by which to achieve an end goal, not the goal itself. Gartner predicts that by 2020 10% of emergency field service work will be both triaged and scheduled by artificial intelligence. With AI assisting with everything from scheduling to predictive maintenance to using past data to make future plans.

The human element within Field Service is still very much relied on and future technologies and solutions will be there to support these interactions - to make life easier and more efficient, not to replace humans altogether.

People still want to do business with people and until the customer becomes more Terminator than terrestrial this will probably always be the case.

You can find out more more information about Field Service Connect UK 2019, including how to register here.

KT Corporation (formerly Korea Telecom) awards firm contract to launch commercial 5G in April.

Ericsson has been awarded a commercial contract with South Korea's largest telephone company, KT Corporation (KT), to deliver 5G coverage to the country.

The deal follows KT's in November to use Ericsson as their overall 5G supplier and this new arrangement is set to align with the first wave of commercially available 5G ready smartphones in April, in what will be the world's first nationwide provision of 5G commercial services.

Korean consumers are known as early adopters of technology such as advances in mobility, gaming, streaming, infotainment, and interactive functionality. Commenting on the relationship with Ericsson Jinho Choi, Vice President, Access Network Design, KT, said the imminent arrival of 5G will affirm the county's lofty position in the technology sector. “Korea is one of the most competitive and technology-advanced markets in the world," he said. "By taking a global lead to enable nationwide commercial 5G services through commercially available 5G smartphones, KT is demonstrating our commitment to our customers and showing how we can drive a global 5G ecosystem where Korea plays a key role.”

A panel debate on the best digital tools for achieving top-end service, strayed from shortlisting technologies and focused more on the end-user impact. Field Service News’ Deputy Editor Mark Glover attended the session – part of Field Service Europe 2018 – and saw discussion range from strategy to data, but always swinging back to the customer.
Among the many highlights from Field Service Europe, held in Amsterdam before Christmas, was a debate attempting to shortlist digital tools that can contribute to a world-class service process.

Panellists included Miguel Angel Hernanz, VP Head of Global Service Delivery Transformation at Phillips Healthcare; Karen Mehal, VP Field Service Lightning at Salesforce and David Nedohin, President at Scope Augmented Reality.

Chairing the debate, Field Service News’ Editor-in-Chief Kris Oldland began by defining world-class service and more specifically what it means to customers used to high-end service delivery from the likes of Uber and Amazon. “Service is no longer how we compete with our direct competitors,” he told delegates. “We’re now constantly at competition with the best service experiences customers have ever had. We’re now moving into a world where customer satisfaction is perhaps no longer the right phrase anymore.    
"It has to be about customer experience and understanding what the experience is to the customer and working back from there. Only then can we really start thinking about what world class service is,” he posed.  

Oldland put it to the panel that technology and digitisation in service should be perceived as “one continuous eco-system that compliments and feeds off one-another" rather than separate tools. Hernanz, who recently oversaw a large B2B and B2C contact center service transformation at Phillips Healthcare, was keen to set the focus on strategy and away from the tools. “The different tools are enablers," he said. You should first of all take a look at your strategy and secondly re-define your processes end-to-end, then use the different solutions or tools that are available in the market to make it happen.”    

He continued: “The problem with digitisation and the variety of tools in the market is that you get overloaded with information; you find opportunities all over the place and you want it all and you want it now and that is a big mistake.    “You should start doing a proof of concept. You try it, you learn, you correct and you scale up; if it is scalable. Or you dismiss it and you try something else” he urged.    

Servicecloud’s Karen Mehal agreed: “If you don’t understand what your objective is, how do you know you’re getting there? she asked, going on to question the use of the term digitisation. “We digitised field service technicians with laptops 20 years ago, did we not? We gave them a laptop. That was digitisation."   

It's a good point. The industry can be guilty of getting swept up in buzzwords without fully understanding what they mean, and more importantly how they can impact on customer service. “What’s the objective?” Mehal continued, “Is it around your customer? Is digitisation serving your customer? If it isn’t, it really should be. Or are you just taking your ERP and digitising it?    

If the customer service is the end goal, then digital tools should be used to empower that process. Putting this theory to David Nedohin, the co-founder and president of an Augmented Reality company, Oldland asked how such a new and innovative technology such as Augmented Reality can cut through the excitement and intrigue to become a genuine ROI. “It’s about identifying what the problems are but to also make sure there are measurements to it,” Nehan explained. “For example, if you are currently sending out your field service team to help support your customer on a certain percentage of problems, what is that costing you right now? And if you could implement a technology that could help reduce a certain percentage of those, then what is the actual cost savings?    

“If they don’t have those numbers, we work with them to find out what those numbers are so there’s a business case that can be presented to management,” he says, before adding: “It’s a strategy they need to put together to understand exactly why they’re solving that problem. You have to start with the problem, you have to start with the use-case.”     

Concurring, Oldland suggested that technology should underpin a wider business plan of evolution. “Digitisation is not a one-off process,” he said. “In a sense, we’re talking about a continuous improvement journey, it’s just that the tools behind that evolve too.”    

“I see a lot of people get lost in that,” offered Mehan, who by her own admission is customer-facing, “They get lost in the shiny object, such as Augmented Reality. But if your strategy is around customer support, better customer service, wouldn’t it be better to use digitisation to look at someone’s asset now and fix it now, rather than scheduling someone to go out there and fix it?    

“Our world is no longer traditional. We’re not in a traditional world, we’re not in a traditional software world, we’re not in a traditional field service world. We should not be bound by EAPs or by software. We should by bound by what serves out the customer,” she argued. “My questions are: are you doing that with your digitisation. Are you really taking care of the customer when you’re doing your strategy?” She said.   

Philips’ Hernanz admitted working in large organisations ,where many different stakeholders have many ideas can be difficult. However, all these opinions come second to that of the most important stakeholder: the customer. “You need to put the customer at the centre and listen to them,” he said. “This is very important. You must find out what they need and then start building solutions which are suitable for today, but also for the future because the whole process is also an evolution.”   

 

"We're not in a traditional software world, we're not in a traditional field service world..." (Mehal)

 

 

One digital tool that has made a significant impression on this process is data and, in particular, big data. Filtering the most useful information remains the challenge, given the reams of information that smart assets churn out. “There’s no point in having data if it’s not providing the right insight,” Oldland said to the panel, all of whom agreed and acknowledged all the customer cares about is fixing what needs fixing.   

Referencing a client who made industrial cooking equipment for fast food restaurants including Burger King and Macdonald’s, Mehner told the audience that when their client's equipment – such as a bun toaster – produced a fault the restaurant would call out a contract worker ill-equipped to isolate and solve the issue. “This piece of equipment,” Nedohin explained, “now has 20 or 30 tickets associated with it because the technician doesn’t know how to diagnose the problem, let alone fix it. The message is clear: we need to find a better way of fixing the assets.”    

The restaurant now uses remote support tools to directly contact the manufacturer, who can identify the model, the fault, diagnose the problem and send the right technician with the correct parts and asset knowledge   “There is data with this such as preventative maintenance,” Nedohin said. “But the customer doesn’t care, all they care about is getting the equipment working. That data is important to somebody and that somebody is in the manufacturer's office.   “The person at the end just needs to know what to do,” he concluded, summing up a key take away from the debate.   

Enlightened delegates left the session without a list of digital tools but an idea of what to do before you choose them. Data collection, Augmented reality can all complement a process, but without a strategy that also encompasses your customer’s needs, those tools may as well be blunt.  

New research reveals Third Party Logistic Suppliers are scoring low in customer satisfaction rates.

A survey into companies attitudes towards their Third Party Logistic Suppliers (3PLs) has shown less than a fifth (18%) were happy with the service they were receiving.

The survey, conducted by supply chain and logistics consultancy SCALA, sought opinion from both companies and 3PLs with the topline results highlighting significant discrepancies between the satisfaction levels 3PL customers have with their Third-Party Logistics suppliers, and the perceived satisfaction rates of the 3PLs themselves.

The findings showed 3PLs had an exaggerated sense of satisfaction and optimism when it came to their own perceived customer satisfaction rates with 38% believing their customers are “very satisfied” with their performance, which is more than twice their customers’ actual levels. However, 15% of 3PLs also conceded that their clients were very dis-satisfied.

John Perry, Managing director at SCALA, said both parties could learn from the survey's findings. “Two things are clear from this research," he commented. "Firstly, customers of 3PLs need to be more vigilant in their approach to tendering, awarding and managing their 3PL contracts. Secondly, 3PLs should be doing more to increase satisfaction levels amongst their customers and identifying better ways to accurately gauge the state of their customer relationships.

You can download the full report here.