Service is the New Product

Apr 27, 2021 • Features • Artificial intelligence • White Paper • Digital Transformation • IFS • Covid-19

In the first article of a series of excerpts from a recent e-book published by IFS, we look at ground-breaking service capabilities that enable you to maximize customer outcomes.

This feature is just one short excerpt from an e-book recently published by IFS.

www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full e-book now by hitting the button below.

If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and registering for our complimentary subscription tier FSN Standard on a dedicated page that provides you instant access to this white paper PLUS you will also be able to access our monthly selection of premium resources as soo as you are registered.

Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content IFS who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.

Deliver Amazing Moments of Service

In today's customer-driven environment, service is more relevant than ever before. Why? Because it enables differentiation in a crowded, competitive market and is a key revenue driver for future business growth.

In recent years, service has also become the face of your business. As such, it is often the catalyst of customer frustration or adoration and an opportunity to show how you're using technology in intelligent ways, not just to track customer behavior or save on the buttom line, but also to create transformational experiences for your customers. We call these 'Moments of Service'.

These are the moments when everything comes together, when the hundreds of decisions, thousands of processes and people all align to deliver your company at its best. Whether you manufacture heavy industrial equipment, undertake complex construction projects, manage aerospace assets or operate a huge electric or water utility, it takes your entire organisation to deliver value at the exact moment when your customers are engaging and interacting.

Great Moment of Service connect you to your customers and drive greater brand loyalty. But delivering these kinds of experiences requires you to refocus your business on services and outcomes instead of porducts. It also requires next-generation technology that can predict and prevent asset downtime, automate manual activities inside and outside businesses, offer out-of-the-box innovation, and reduce operational costs.

But just how are industry innovators rising to meet these challenges? And how can the right technology help you embrace the service delivery models of the future, such as predictive maintenance and outcomes-based service capabilities, that will enable you to deliver amazing customer experiences?

"As a manufacturer, we must think about how to evolve our operations to ensure the customer outcomes of uptime and information are met. IFS has been instrumental in enabling us to differentiate on service and has prepared us for the future of service."

Dietmar Schmitz, Head of Product Development Service, Eickhoff.

Service is the New Product. And It Enables the Move to Outcomes

The Challenge

Delivering products, even ground-breaking products, is no longer enough to win the hearts and minds of your customers.

Instead, businesses need to deliver a customer's desired outcome for their product, equipment or asset, and often before the customer has even thought to ask for it. Whether it's B2B or B2C, all customers want greater value from their investment, and that means providing a service that works for them, exactly how they want it to. The additional challenge, however, is for service organizations to deliver this in a way that's sustainable and cost-effective.

The Solution

The global pandemic has driven companies of all types and sizes to adopt a customer-outcomes mindset, even for those outside of traditional service provision businesses. In all industries, we are seeing that customers and consumers are willing to pay a premium for better service and a guaranteed outcome.

As your business evolves from seeling products, to selling services as a product to providing outcomes-based service performances, value is delivered through the contract you provide - which safeguards and maintains the uptime of your customers' assets.

"It's inevitable: selling products as services will become a major component of businesses over the next decade."

Aly Pinder, Product Director, Service Innovation & Connected Products, IDC.

For all service organizations, regardless of industry, the move to outcomes provides peace of mind to customers while also giving you more recurring revenue streams and the ability to offer even longer - and ultimately more profitable - contracts. Shifting your entire organization to deliver optimized outcomes and experiences for your customers cannot be done overnight, and it cannot be done alone. Businesses need the right technology and an experienced partner to help them navigate the evolution from simply maintaining customers' equipment to optimizing its performance, extending its lifecycle, and being able to predict failures, enabling your team to take corrective action before your customer experience downtime.

Look out for the next feature from the e-book "The Future of Service Management Technology" next week where we look at two major service challenges to overcome when it comes to the service workforce.

This feature is just one short excerpt from an e-book recently published by IFS.

www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full e-book now by hitting the button below.

If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and registering for our complimentary subscription tier FSN Standard on a dedicated page that provides you instant access to this white paper PLUS you will also be able to access our monthly selection of premium resources as soo as you are registered.