Down the Stretch with Technology

May 10, 2016 • Features • optimisation • servicepower • Software and Apps • software and apps

Marne Martin CEO of ServicePower argues that to be a thoroughbred amongst your competitors you must seek out the best-in-breed technologies...

Spring is the start of the racing season in some parts of the United States, especially in Kentucky where the Kentucky Derby, the first race of the Triple Crown, is run the first Saturday of May.

The 2015 race was historic.

American Pharaoh, a horse owned by an Egyptian immigrant, with half a tail, took the Triple Crown on Saturday, June 7, 2015 by winning the last and longest of the Triple Crown races, the mile and a half Belmont Stakes.

He’s only the 12th horse in history to ever win all three races: The Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the longest, the Belmont Stakes. And, he won that last race decidedly, taking it in 2:26:65 minutes and 5 ½ lengths ahead of the 8 horse field, the fastest Belmont since 2001 and 6th fastest time since Affirmed ran it in 2:26 4/5.

Only Secretariat, the legendary race horse featured in the movie Secretariat in 2010, ran the Belmont faster at 2:24 by 31 lengths in 1973.

The Pharaoh stands happily at stud now at Ashford, a 2,200-acre farm in Versailles, Kentucky, where, even as unproven, first-year stallion, he commands a record $200,000 stud fee. Thoroughbreds are athletes in every sense of the word.

“To beat the competition down the stretch, we must execute flawlessly by enabling ourselves with the best tools and technology”

They train for years and face stiff competition. Some of them are born with an edge, like Secretariat, whom had a larger than average heart rumoured to have contributed to his racing success. But, most winners are the product of preparation and execution including the latest, best tools and technology. Field service organisation are exactly the same.

We must focus on preparing our people and executing seamlessly by enabling ourselves with the tools and technology that ensure success.

Out of the gate, we must seek out the best in breed field resources. New technologies like social, mobile, cloud and IoT are second nature to the emerging millennial workforce. Find field technicians comfortable with new technologies and provide them with complementary tools which improve their personal success. Collaboration tools like video chat, mobile applications and wearables help them help your customers. Satisfied field resources, trained to use their technology, with access to tools and information to get the job done will increase your first time fix rates and customer satisfaction.

To beat the competition down the stretch, we must execute flawlessly by enabling ourselves with the best tools and technology. Mobile workforce management software is not optional. I think most enterprise level organisations, with several hundred or thousands of field resources get this.

But the necessity of scheduling technology is still nebulous for some small or medium sized enterprises. Every business, no matter the size absolutely can benefit from real time route and schedule optimisation, mobile dispatch and field service management software. There are many options for route optimisation, but not all are the same.

Every business, no matter the size absolutely can benefit from real time route and schedule optimisation, mobile dispatch and field service management software. There are many options for route optimisation, but not all are the same.

While some vendors offer ‘scheduling’, that doesn’t necessarily mean they offer real time, intra-day route optimisation like ServicePower. ServicePower has invested significant effort into enhancing our scheduling software, filing 4 patents on Quantum Annealing, the first new optimisation algorithm in decades, which offers all businesses more efficient, faster route optimisation by harnessing the cloud and distributed computing.

For those small, medium and even large enterprises whom do not or cannot deploy a full on MWFM software, Optimization on DemandTM released this summer provides improve productivity and reduced costs without a full workforce management software deployment. Optimization On Demand™ enables field service organisations to book jobs for customers, then pass a set of appointments to ServicePower to optimize, on demand, into the best, least costly order.

Optimization On Demand™ provides a more intelligent tool set, without the expenditure of an entire workforce management or field service optimisation software solution. NEXUS FS™ provides field service organisations of any size an enterprise quality, wholly configurable, cloud-based field service management solution with a comprehensive mobile application.

It supports work order management, dispatch, scheduling, inventory management, time sheet reporting and geolocation, enabling focus on providing high quality service to customers, while benefiting from productivity improvements.

Technology is available/accessible at any level of business operations and is the key to winning the race, beating the competition. To cross the finish line, use of technology is key.

Optimised scheduling, mobility and field service management are all critical components of mobile workforce management software. But, to cross that line, field service organisations must deploy collaborative, operational intelligence and real time control consoles to monitor ongoing operations from across the enterprise.

Monitoring what’s happening today ensures high compliance levels and happy customers. Mining the data, using custom scorecards and predictive analytics enables teams to manage work, coach staff and fine tune processes to get over the finish line today, setting up a successful tomorrow. Do all this, and your organisation will have also won the Triple Crown.