The Pros and Cons of Remote Service Delivery for the Field Service Company

Oct 13, 2020 • Features • Digital Transformation • Salesforce

In the previous feature in this series of excerpts from an exclusive Field Service News White Paper, sponsored by Salesforce, we looked at the pros and cons of remote service delivery for the customer. Now in the final feature in the series we look...

Want to know more? Field Service News Subscribers can access a White Paper on this topic on the link below.

If you have yet to subscribe click the button below to join 30K of your field service management professional peers and subscribe now to access this content and our entire premium content library now!

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Understanding Good and Bad of Remote Service Delivery for Field Service Companies

Having looked at the considerations from the customers perspective, now let us take a look at the pros and cons from the position of the service provider...

Pro#1: Reducing the Cost of Service Delivery

Ultimately the most significant benefit for the service provider when it comes to delivering service remotely is that it reduces the single biggest cost line on a service P&L – the truck roll. Not only is there the expense of getting the service engineer to site, including man-hours, fuel and vehicle maintenance costs etc., but the sheer amount of ‘windscreen time’ each engineer spends significantly impacts one of the most critical KPIs that field service organisations measure – engineer utilisation.

The cost of on-site service delivery vs remote service delivery is quite simply astronomical. By adopting a remote-first approach to service delivery, the service organisation can instantly improve profit margins, while potentially offering a faster and more efficient service to the customer.

Pro#2: Greater Geographical Coverage

Additionally, the adoption of remote services can allow the field service engineer to cover an infinite geographical spread essentially. Compare this to the average range of a field service engineer which, dependent on location, is usually viewed as a couple of hundred miles. In this respect, remote service delivery can offer a major benefit to the field service organisation.

Not only does it mean that there is greater flexibility in arranging and scheduling work calls as the restrictions of geographical regions are primarily removed, it can also potentially allow for further expansion of a service offering into an area that was previously physically impossible to access.

Con#1: The Loss of Meaningful Interaction with the Customer:

As we touched on above when reviewing the pros and cons of remote service delivery for the customer, where there is a distinct advantage for the customer to have a trusted advisor on site, this is very much a two-way street.

The on-site engineer is the ambassador of your business, and this is something that should not be overlooked. In an era of increasing digital touchpoints, the service engineer’s on-site visit is one of few, indeed potentially the only face to face interaction that your organisation may have with your customer. Statistically, we are, on average, 70% more likely to buy from someone we have met, and this is down to a matter of trust.

Having a real, physical presence when interacting with your customer is overwhelmingly more likely to lead to a more established, trust-based relationships than it will have a negative impact.

This is a massive aspect to be considered before adopting a remote-first approach.

Con#2: The Loss of the Eyes and Ears of the Engineer On Site

For the service provider, often it is said that the service engineer is the best salesperson within a company. Not only do they have the highly valued, but equally hard to achieve trusted advisor status within the eyes of the customer, but they can act as the eyes and ears of the sales department as well.

An engineer on-site may be able to notice competitor assets that are near the end of their lifecycle, or that your service organisation has also incorporated into your service offering, providing an opportunity for cross-selling of a new service contract.

When we couple subject matter level expertise, a trust-based relationship with the customer and the ability to see what opportunities for upselling or cross-selling are available for the engineer, this can prove to be a potentially potent mix when it comes to seeking out further revenue opportunities.

Look out for the next feature in this series coming next week where we explore the Pros and Cons of remote service delivery for the Field Service Provider...

Don't want to wait? www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below. If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and you can access the white paper instantly upon completing the registration form!

The End of Diagnostic Trees and Restrictive, Step-by-Step Procedures

Oct 12, 2020 • News • Digital Transformation • technology • Tweddle Group

Tweddle Group today launched its new Integrated Diagnostic Explorer software—or IDEx—to enable faster, more accurate diagnostics for a wide range of industries.

Why Service Leaders Need To Think About Standard KPIs In New Ways

Oct 12, 2020 • Features • White Paper • Digital Transformation • Aquant

In a new series of excerpts from a recent white paper published by Aquant we uncover how field service organisations and their workforce (really) measure up, and provide an analysis of how to use hidden KPI data to cut service costs and improve...

Want to know more? Field Service News Subscribers can access a White Paper on this topic on the link below.

If you have yet to subscribe click the button below to join 30K of your field service management professional peers and subscribe now to access this content and our entire premium content library now!

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 Aquant 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.

AQUANT BENCHMARK REPORT

What’s the cost of not fully understanding your service organization’s performance?

With this question in mind, Aquant’s data sleuths analyzed service records from more than 50 leading organizations, looking at the data with an eye towards how to improve service delivery.

Our team crunched the numbers and mapped out how the skill level of the workforce on an individual and organizational level impacts service delivery.

Here’s what we analyzed:

○ A snapshot of the industry overall and how companies measure up against each other
○ The skill level of the workforce on an individual level
○ The skills gap that exists between the highest and lowest performers within each organization

Why Service Leaders Need To Think About Standards KPIs In New Ways:

The industry is currently navigating multiple challenges including:

○ A retirement wave
○ Challenges recruiting experienced workers
○ Changes in customer demands, requiring new skillsets among the workforce
○ Pandemic-driven need to limit time spent on job site

This shift has left service leaders struggling to upskill junior employees and erase the knowledge gap that exists between the highest performing 25% of the workforce, and everyone else.

The insights in this report, gleaned from actual service data, sheds light on the most effective methods to upskill a workforce in a way that leads to rapid ROI while simultaneously increasing employee engagement and confidence.

If organizations can successfully uplevel the team, you’ll benefit from everything from lower customer churn to the ability to execute on more profitable service contract models, including outcome-based and predictive service contracts.

Key Findings:

The Knowledge Gap is Expensive

○ The bottom quarter of the workforce costs organizations 80% more than the top quarter

Misunderstanding KPIs is Costly

○ The cost to completely and accurately resolve a service issue is more than 30% higher than simply measuring Cost Per Work Order. Why the discrepancy? Because there are often multiple work orders involved to successfully fix the root cause of the problem.

Average Cost per Success: $2,085.61
Average Cost per Work Order: $1,553.69
The Opportunity
○ Service organizations whose workforces had a smaller discrepancy between Heroes and Challengers (a low skills gap) demonstrate higher performance overall versus those with a high skills gap
○ Small workforce improvements add up to big ROI. Here’s why:
- Boosting the bottom 25% of the workforce (challengers) up modestly to the level of your average performers (contenders), will result in a nearly 17% savings in service costs
- Additionally, helping boost your contenders up closer to your top performers (service heroes) will increase ROI by another 17%
○ If everyone had the knowledge and skills to perform like the top 25% of the workforce, organizations would save 38% of service costs.

Look out for the next feature in this series coming next week where we explore three more key technologies required for remote service delivery.

However, www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below. If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and you can access the white paper instantly upon completing the registration form!

RuggON Launches Vehicle Mount Computer Providing Exceptional Performance for Logistics and Heavy-duty Applications

Oct 07, 2020 • News • Digital Transformation • fleet management • Hardware • RuggON • Field Service Hardware

RuggON Corporation, a leading-edge mobile computing solution provider, announces the VULCAN X rugged vehicle-mount computer.

Based around a high-visibility 10.4-inch display, this versatile device upgrades any vehicle, and its crew, into a productive asset in the corporate IoT (Internet of Things) – reporting and responding to real-time events, reliably and rapidly. VULCAN X is ideal for cold chain, logistics, warehousing, and heavy-duty vehicles in agriculture, recycling, waste management, and mining. It is perfect for port and cargo cranes.

At the heart of the VULCAN X is a powerful computing platform designed on industry standards. Based on the 8th gen Intel® Core™ i5-8365UE 1.6GHz, this device is compatible with Windows 10 IoT Enterprise.

VULCAN X, AN APPLICATION-ORIENTED RUGGED COMPUTER FOR ANY RUSHED ENVIRONMENT

The fully rugged design makes the most of the IP66, MIL-STD 810H, and IEC-60721-3-5 5M3 certifications, ensuring the VULCAN X keeps working in the harshest environments, in a vast temperature range going from -30⁰ C to +55⁰ C. The VULCAN X is built to operate 24/7 and withstand salt spray and fog/frost. The vehicle mount has robust metal connectors to protect the I/O interfaces and ensure reliable and secure operation even under the most severe conditions. Smart power management with a broad power input range from 9 to 60 VDC helps the VULCAN X to fulfill diversified applications in almost any vehicle type.

VULCAN_vehicle_mount_computer_RuggON_o As digitization and automation are an integral part of the industrial evolution, 5G ready is no longer a buzzword for the RuggON VULCAN X. The modular design allows changing the I/O ports' location for easy installation and preventing damage to cables from bending and wear. The rich I/O options ensure maximum utilization under various usage scenarios.

The device features CAN bus 2.0B or SAE J1939 for seamless vehicle systems integration. It supports Bluetooth 5.0, dual-band Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 ac) with fast Wi-Fi roaming to prevent lengthy network dropouts in the field. Precise location positioning without any downtime is possible on cranes and forklifts. Materials handling can be managed easily with the VULCAN X through auxiliary RFID or barcode scanners that can be easily plugged into RS-232 ports for usage and recharging.

The trend towards automation and always-connected vehicles is making the human factor more critical – not less – and VULCAN X helps your valuable employees work smarter, safer, and more efficiently. The VULCAN X's high brightness auto-dimming touchscreen automatically optimizes visibility for day or night, indoors and out. The PCT touchscreen display keeps your staff in control in the most challenging conditions with its rugged design. The included RuggON DashON utility software and RuggonOTA service will keep your device in the best condition out in the field.

The Pros and Cons of Remote Service Delivery for the Customer

Oct 06, 2020 • Features • Digital Transformation • Salesforce

So far in this series of excerpts from an exclusive Field Service News white paper sponsored by Salesforce we have looked at why requite service is becoming a necessity for field service organisations as well as the tools needed to offer remote services effectively. Now in the third instalment in this series we look at the pros and cons of remote service delivery for the customer...

Want to know more? Field Service News Subscribers can access a White Paper on this topic on the link below.

If you have yet to subscribe click the button below to join 30K of your field service management professional peers and subscribe now to access this content and our entire premium content library now!

Understanding Good and Bad of Remote Service Delivery for Field Service Customers

Having established the fundamental pieces of technology required for effective remote service delivery, in previous articles in this series, let us take a moment to look at a couple of positives and negatives of such an approach for the customer.

Pro#1: The Importance of Biosecurity in a Post-Pandemic World

In the short term, this is almost certainly the most significant point for consideration all round.

Quite simply, we are all working together to try to get the world back on track as quickly as possible. Every organisation around the globe is currently evaluating how they can get their business back operating in some capacity while still protecting their staff and also in some cases, their customers as well.

While equally field service organisations may also be doing everything they can to ensure that when their staff go on-site and they aren’t breaking their customers’ bio-security, questions will inevitably be raised when a customer is the third, fourth or even fifth site visit of the day.

Will customers have the right to reject an engineer if they have been on multiple different sites earlier in the day?

Can the service provider vouch for the bio-security of each of those sites which are beyond their control? In the short-term at the very least, pragmatically, a remote-first approach to service delivery would be an advantage for companies getting back on their feet.

Pro#2: The Importance of Uptime vs SLA Response

The second pro of remote service delivery is not a new discussion at all. It is at the very heart of much of the advanced services or servitization discussion. Ultimately, what holds more value to your customer – the costly approach of sending an expert to their site to get things fixed, or getting things up and running, minimising downtime as quickly and as efficiently as possible? In regular times there was a much more balanced debate around this conversation.

If the asset that was down wasn’t mission-critical, then bringing an expert on-site could be an advantage. It could equally be a matter of trust – if one engineer has a relationship with the customer, then that customer may be prepared to wait for the engineer to be available.

The uptime here is less important than the customer’s preference. However, as with the first pro we mentioned, in the short term at least, companies will be looking to get as much of their business operational as possible with as little interruption to their operations. Therefore, the speed in which a remote service approach could offer resolution will be a huge advantage for customers for the duration of the recovery period.

Con#1: The Loss of a Trusted Advisor:

This is, of course, the other side of the coin to the second pro we referenced above. For many service customers, the arrival of a trusted and experienced professional on-site is not just an opportunity to get a problem resolved – it is also an opportunity to further tap into that expertise and ensure you are running your operation as effectively as possible.
It has often been a discussion amongst field service organisations as to how we can leverage the trusted adviser status of our field service engineers.

However, we must also consider this to be a two-way street. Often our customers take far more value away from the service call than the surface level resolution.

For many organisations, the loss of having the ear of a subject matter expert on-site is significant.

Con#2: Delays in Resolution for More Complex Problems:

This second con may at first glance seem counter-intuitive , especially when we consider that the second of our pro’s was a quicker resolution.

However, consider for a moment, that no matter how sophisticated the tools being used by the service provider are, if a problem is particularly complex or unusual, then the fault may never be identified at all. Every service management professional will understand the frustration of the dreaded no-fault-found (NFF) diagnosis – something that can be even harder to identify on an intermittent fault.

However, in a world of remote-first service delivery, it could be a reasonable prediction that NFF percentages may begin to rise. From the customer’s perspective, this means a lengthy remote service call, taking up his resources with no resolution. Potentially, followed by a repeat remote call, this time with a more experienced engineer but still no resolution and then finally an on-site call to diagnose the issue. All the while, the customer is becoming increasingly frustrated as their asset remains down.

Look out for the next feature in this series coming next week where we explore the Pros and Cons of remote service delivery for the Field Service Provider...

Don't want to wait? www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below. If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and you can access the white paper instantly upon completing the registration form!

Augmented Reality in Field Service

Oct 05, 2020 • News • Augmented Reality • Virtual Reality • Digital Transformation • OverIT • Managing the Mobile Workforce

The power of technology-enhanced remote assistance has become a mainstream concept in 2020 as we adapted to the needs of zero-touch service delivery during lockdown, yet the benefits of such tools go way beyond the confines of the pandemic. However, for those of us only just getting up to speed on this technology OverIT's Alberto Battistutti is outlines the core distinctions of some of the technologies at play...

Augmented Reality (AR) can be seen as an extension of the user’s environment, which gets enriched in real time with superimposed digital models and information, such as texts, graphics and multimedia. The aim of this technology is to “augment” or, in other words, to improve the physical world with contextual, significant and relevant information.

The antithesis of AR is Virtual Reality (VR), a technology radically changing the users’ perception of the world as it immerses them into an artificial, unreal and computer-generated environment. Elements are then separated from the actual world and replicated into a virtual one, in which users rely on their five senses to interact with objects and places.

Merged Reality (MR) can be positioned in the middle, as it integrates digital models into the physical world, enabling users to interact with them while remaining aware of the real environment around them.

The main differences are about the devices used and, therefore, the functions provided and the sector where such functions can be employed.

The rapid deployment of supporting technology and the fall in prices of wearable devices (as already happened to handheld ones) will increase the spread of AR, MR and VR solutions, now expected to be a “can’t-live-without tech” for every company.

BENEFITS AND APPLICABILITY OF THE THREE TECHNOLOGIES

AR, MR and VR apply to a wide range of business opportunities, way beyond the initial expectations of the general public, which were limited to the entertainment and video game industry. Indeed, they have marked a turning point in many different business processes, from sales and marketing activities to Field Service and remote support, from training & learning to the manufacturing sector.

AR, MR and VR have proven to bring value to the business of those companies adopting them, both in terms of reduced time for work execution, thanks to faster maintenance procedures, improved staff productivity and efficiency, as well as of increased workforce safety, thanks to hands-free activity, remote training and collaboration.

Products based on such technologies are key factors for all companies, regardless of the sector they are operating in, their size and business turnover. Utility and Industrial Manufacturing sectors are currently leading the way in this digitalization process, due to the intrinsic nature of the activities their operators are always exposed to. AR, MR and VR are able to “extend” the resources’ capabilities. supporting them through guided procedures while carrying out maintenance activities on production lines, arming them with pertinent information on plant assets and, last but not least, connecting them with other colleagues to receive or give real-time assistance. The continuous transfer of corporate knowledge is therefore now a reality.

TYPICAL USE OF AR, MR AND VR IN BUSINESS

Very common cases where such technologies have a staggering potential are: remote execution of maintenance activities, virtual collaboration, training and product presentation.

On-field resources often face unknown assets, thus asking the company to send an expert on site. It goes without saying that such procedure is costly and time-consuming; in short, inefficient. Likewise, maintenance and repairing interventions nowadays represent the most critical processes for companies. Augmented Reality can bridge the skills gap and reduce errors made by technicians, thus ensuring a rapid and efficient sharing of know-how as well as increasing the percentage of first-time fixes and giving more accurate diagnoses. By harnessing the power of a shared, Artificial Intelligence-driven knowledge base, the application automatically suggests all possible solutions generated from learning the procedures of previous interventions.

The information provided can be integrated with the Geographic Information System data, thus allowing users to view networks, assets and technical data, as to assess in advance the impact caused by the creation of plants and networks, while cutting down the time required to identify assets over the territory.

"Expert maintenance technicians are extremely rare to find and are usually forced to move across the world to respond to growing requests for intervention..."

Moreover, the assets’ digital twins can be manipulated in real time and enriched with further details, by anchoring notes shared by those remote users with the skills necessary to support the execution of field activities. Such functions extend competences and allow to complete maintenance and assistance interventions rapidly and efficiently.

The technology breakthrough reflects into increasingly sophisticated machines, requiring maintenance interventions performed by resources with a higher degree of specialization. Expert maintenance technicians are extremely rare to find and are usually forced to move across the world to respond to growing requests for intervention, thus extending machine downtime and increasing expenses for companies. In this regard, remote training on new procedures or complex activities is becoming more and more important. Implementing these functionalities proves to be game-changing for situations which are difficult or too expensive to recreate in reality.

It is worth noting how the current global emergency situation and the resulting restrictions have boomed sectors concerning remote collaboration and product presentation. These two particular uses of technology allow to minimize travels of personnel, both in case of operational and commercial activities, thus taking digital information wherever the business requires it, in total safety, and with even higher results than those achievable with traditional methods.

2020 - The Year of The Lemon… And Opportunity?

Oct 01, 2020 • Features • Digital Transformation

As the old adage goes, when the world gives you lemons make lemonade. However, knowing when is the right time to open up your lemonade stand is the key. Marc Tatarsky, FieldAware explains more...

The Impending Skills Shortage – What Can You Do Today?

Arguably, the strain on the technical service workforce, driven by the pace of tenured baby boomer retirements and a skills shortage pushed by an inability to attract younger, tech-savvy workers, is still one of the greatest threats facing service organizations. Field service teams of all sizes have recognized the skills gap as a threat to their stability. They know it’s both real and problematic. But most organizations haven’t had a preemptive plan in place to be actively or effectively tackling the issue.

The skills shortage debate has existed for some years now. We’ve found that many organizations are merely running in place. Throughout economic history, talented humans have been a source of innovation and advancement, with their skills being the impetus for economic growth. This reliance on talent is even more prevalent in the service industry, where the skilled technician is the most valuable asset. Ironically, although most field service leaders recognize the significant threat the talent shortage poses, many don’t have a game plan to attack the problem.

Historically, as organizations scramble to meet their talent needs, many have resorted to adjusting their education and experience requirements to fill roles. Also, they have adapted their execution model to leverage and retain seasoned resources. Is this a sustainable approach? Have we been presented with a new window of opportunity to address the challenge systemically?

Making Lemonade Out Of Lemons…

There is no doubt that 2020 has given us more than our fair share of lemons. However, is the operating and economic environment created by the global Covid-19 pandemic accelerating the opportunity to address one of the biggest lingering threats to service organizations?

How have the unexpected dynamics of the global pandemic altered the forces impacting the global FSM skills shortage? Is there an opportunity to embracing the changing dynamics and take the bushels of lemons provided by 2020 and make some lemonade by finally addressing the skills shortage in a manner that has a lasting effect?

Let’s take a look at some of the unexpected ramifications that have shaped the current field service industry due to reacting to and adapting to the global pandemic. Field service has adapted to the throes of 2020 by adjusting operating and organizational changes including:

Faster uptake of video conferencing
Broader acceptance of remote workers and diagnostics
Increased focus on field service automation
Rapid adoption of new collaboration tools
Increased unemployment

Each of these factors impacts an organization's ability to address different challenges associated with the skills shortage.

Faster uptake of video conferencing

In today’s forced socially distant operating environment, organizations and workers of all ages have been required to adapt to video conferencing to get even the most basic of activities completed. Whether it is daily check-in/status meetings, a group brainstorming session, or even an office happy hour, video conferencing has quickly become the norm leading the way for new work processes.

Broader acceptance of remote workers and diagnostics

In addition to organizations changing their operating models, customers have become more flexible and accommodating too. The level of customer acceptance of remote workers and diagnostics has increased dramatically, and service organizations have an opportunity to expand the scope of these types of activities as part of their response to skills shortages, among other things.

Increased focus on automation

Intelligent automation is an economic game-changer for field service organizations of all sizes, especially during these strained operating times. Executives recognize such advances will bring multiple benefits. Still one, unexpected benefit may be building a field service hub infrastructure that is nimble and able to address the skills shortage through the adoption of new technology while simultaneously creating an attractive work environment for tech-savvy workers.

Rapid adoption of collaboration tools

As is the case with video conferencing - organizations, employees, and customers are becoming more and more exposed to and reliant on collaboration technologies. The rapid (sometimes forced) adoption of screen sharing and remote learning tools, including AR and VR technologies, provides service organizations a new toolset to deliver services and creatively address skill shortages.

Increased unemployment

While this may be one of the most unpleasant realities of the global pandemic, the current unemployment environment provides many service organizations with a reprieve on workforce hiring pressure. With increased access to available talent, organizations can reposition their roles to attract tech-savvy talent and adapt their execution model to leverage and retain seasoned resources.

Is It Time to Open Your Lemonade Stand?

While the aging workforce has been an issue of growing concern due to the pace of baby boomer retirement, the current economic environment offers a window of unexpected opportunity to accelerate and shore up plans to address the skills deficit. While the idea of capitalizing on the global pandemic might seem counterintuitive, it may just be the catalyst needed to move the needle for many service organizations.

The Tools Needed for Remote First Service Operations:

Sep 29, 2020 • Features • Digital Transformation • Salesforce

In the last article in this series which is taken from a series of excerpts from an exclusive Field Service News White Paper sponsored by Salesforce we looked at how the world is moving towards remote service delivery as a default. We also began a look at the tools needed for delivering service remotely including Augmented Reality. Now we continue exploring those tools with a closer look at three more crucial pieces of tech...

Want to know more? Field Service News Subscribers can access a White Paper on this topic on the link below.

If you have yet to subscribe click the button below to join 30K of your field service management professional peers and subscribe now to access this content and our entire premium content library now!

Field Service Management Solution:

This is perhaps a very obvious layer in the field service management technology stack!

However, there are still some important considerations that should be discussed when looking at your FSM solution. While there are a wealth of options available to field service organisations when it comes to this fundamental piece of the puzzle, frankly not all FSM is created equal, and as systems become more advanced, there will be increasing demands and expectations of how your FSM tool plugs into other critical parts of the stack. Does the solution have a built-in AI, for example, such as Salesforce’s Einstein? Is it capable of reading IoT based asset data and utilising that to help with triage and on-site fault identification?

Does the solution have a modular approach where you can bring in other aspects of additional functionality where needed such as via the Salesforce AppExchange? Does the FSM tool act as a conduit for the smooth flow of data from one area of the business to another? Or does it act as a barrier? This last point is perhaps increasingly critical as we move forwards into a world of digitalisation. As the global economy continues to slowly recover from the impact of the global lockdowns of 2020, we look forward to the next couple of years where we are predicted to see a far greater focus on service and maintenance of existing assets. Many organisations are going to be seeking to increase asset performance, and service providers who can utilise their warranty and contract data to improve asset uptime, reduce costs, and drive revenue, are going to be the ones who flourish.

When it comes to remote service delivery, the FSM platform is what everything is built upon. It must be robust and ready to meet these new challenges.

Parts Management and Optimisation:

For all the effort that is put into optimising the field service engineer, there is decidedly less time spent on managing and optimising parts inventory. However, with many companies getting caught out during the lockdowns as borders temporarily closed and supply chains became restricted, this gap in the field service sector’s efficiency became considerably more noticeable. While, we all hope to see a future, where 2020 remains a once in a lifetime event, we cannot be certain we will never see such circumstances again. Our world is a connected world, a globalised world, and therefore, it is essential that we make our processes and systems more resolute and a robust parts management solution is a crucial area of focus. Visibility of stock can also help companies reveal considerable gaps in ‘lost cash’ tied up in assets that become lost somewhere in between the P&L of the service operation and the P&L of the manufacturing side of a business. Garage stock and van stock can amount to a huge amount across the entirety of a field service workforce.

Visibility into ‘what is where’ is vital for a field service organisation. This is perhaps even more relevant at a time where cash is sparse. Additionally, spare parts sales is a reliable revenue generator, even more so at a time when customers are ‘sweating’ their assets while we slowly edge towards a recovery. Against a backdrop of remote-first service delivery, the one factor that is going to slow the whole process down is an inadequate supply chain that delays getting the part to the customer on time. It is crucial when we talk about remote service delivery that we have built a strong layer of trust with our customers, and that means every aspect of the service delivery must be optimised – especially parts management.

Artificial Intelligence:

Let’s not make any bones about this; Artificial Intelligence (AI) is going to be at the heart of almost all field service operation in the not too distant future. Indeed, as digital transformation projects have been accelerated since the pandemic, that future is even closer today than it ever has been before.

This is why major organisations such as Salesforce and IBM have invested heavily in their own respective AI solutions and are set to be at the heart of innovation in the future. Particularly in field service, AI is essentially set to be the glue that binds all of the various elements of remote service delivery together.

Quite simply, it will touch each and every aspect of the service call from start to finish. If an asset begins to operate outside of acceptable operating parameters, AI will schedule a call. Suppose a contact centre agent is discussing an issue with a customer. In that case, AI will be able to prompt the agent through the right questions to identify the fault quickly and effectively and also suggest a resolution. Suppose an engineer in the field doesn’t have the skill-set to resolve a particular issue.

In that case, AI will be able to guide them to a knowledge bank that can guide them through the solution, or even connect them to a colleague who is not only available to offer remote assistance but has resolved this issue many times before. If a part needs replacing, AI will have identified where the closest part is and have it ready for the engineer when they get on site. AI is set to be the secret sauce in the mix of service excellence – and it is going to be the differentiator between clumsy and effective remote service delivery.

Look out for the next feature in this series coming next week where we explore three more key technologies required for remote service delivery.

However, www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below. If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and you can access the white paper instantly upon completing the registration form!

Beyond the Headlines: The ServiceMax/Salesforce Partnership

Sep 25, 2020 • Features • Digital Transformation • Salesforce • servicemax • Neil Barua • Stacey Epstein

As part of our ongoing series where we go beyond the industry headlines to dig deeper into the news that matters for field service management professionals, Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News talks to ServiceMax's Neil Barua and Stacey Epstein about the recent announcement of a deeper relationship with one time competitor Salesforce...

A Compelling Move by Two of the Big Names in Field Service Technology:

The last time I spent time with ServiceMax's Neil Barua and Stacey Epstein in person was nearly 18 months ago, where, in the desert heat of Palm Springs we shared a beer towards the end of a long day of discussions, presentations and interviews at the Field Service USA conference.

Fast forward to today, and the memory seems like a relic from a different time. Such casual catch-ups, indeed, even simple business conferences seem like a luxurious relic of another time. A time where we weren't restricted by a pandemic that no-one saw coming.

Yet, for all the pain, suffering and heartache COVID-19 has brought us, in the field service sector at least, in equal measure the pandemic has sharpened us, refined our offerings and pushed us singularly as an industry towards the adoption of what were, not too long ago, seen as best-in-class technologies, processes and strategies.

When a market is disrupted, we see innovation flourish. COVID-19 has been the most significant disruptor the world has ever seen.

"While others may want to talk about the great reset, I see what we are currently going through more akin to hitting the fast forward button..."

It feels like we are living in triple time at the moment. While others may want to talk about the great reset, I see what we are currently going through more akin to hitting the fast forward button (for those of us old enough to remember the halcyon days of analogue tape). In a major research project for which I am currently authoring the report, I see evidence of this. What we are seeing emerge around us in many ways is not the sudden emergence of new thinking and new technologies. It is the natural endpoint of a journey we have been on for a long, long time. We are just getting there a lot quicker than we ever thought we might, because, quite simply, we have to.

This sentiment is echoed in Neil Barua's words as we reconnect. "If you recall, when we last me 18 months ago, that was only the first week of my taking on the CEO role with ServiceMax although it feels like 6 years ago, a lot has happened since then."

It certainly has. The very world in which we all exist has changed. However, even without the backdrop of a global pandemic, you have a feeling this was going to be a big period of evolution for Barua and ServiceMax either way.

"I'm really proud of this team and what we have achieved since I've been here and candidly, the tail-winds of service transformation that you have been following for many years, if not decades, is now truly upon us and COVID, while the tragedy continues, has really driven the need for our customer base to adopt new tools to both be competitive and also to be able to serve the essential workers out there in a way that is modern that can support them out there on the frontline," Barua adds.

This is an important point. In our sector, we have always known that our field service engineers are the unsung heroes of our industry, long before the term 'essential workers' ever entered into our everyday lexicon. However, as that value is magnified even further, we must be able to offer our engineers the latest technologies. Technologies that not only allow them to do what they do best and keep the world working but to be able to do it safely and effectively.

"This announcement is the evolution of the reconnection with Salesforce that began back in February that is a far greater partnership..."

- Neil Barua, CEO ServiceMax

The role technology will play in allowing us to do that will, of course, be huge. So the recent announcement of a much deeper working partnership between two of the industry behemoths in ServiceMax and Salesforce was met with great fanfare. Add into the mix that we are now seeing Salesforce acquisition of ClickSoftware begin to bear fruit and we have something coming close to an FSM supergroup. There are a lot of very experienced, knowledgeable people now working alongside each other, pulling in the same direction. This can only be a good thing for the wider industry. To use a quote that I am particularly fond of, as JFK once said, 'a rising tide lifts all boats'.

"This announcement is the evolution of the reconnection with Salesforce that began back in February that is a far greater partnership," Barua explains. "We're taking a significant part of the eighty million dollars coming from Salesforce Ventures and began the continuous communication between the two companies to think about what more can we do beyond the transfer of money to make value for customers and to do more than what either company has ever done before.

"When we look at this market opportunity, Salesforce are really excited about the opportunity, it [FSM] is the fastest growing product in the history of Salesforce, we are also seeing extremely fast growth in our core busines and we decided to put our product teams together in collaboration," Barua added.

Yet, having seen the initial press statements from both organizations, and reading between the lines of those statements, which as with all such press announcements carry a slightly sanitized tone, polished by corporate communications departments, I couldn't escape the feeling that there was far more to the announced partnership than the standard industry collaboration.

"This is a time period where partnerships really matter, so we've reached across the aisle on both sides to make sure we do right by our customers..."

- Neil Barua, CEO, ServiceMax

Personally, knowing both companies and a number of the key players involved, I had a sense that this partnership ran far deeper than similar partnership announcements. This was more I felt than a formal agreement to share a go-to-market strategy. It seemed to be something far more engaged at the micro-level, rather than the usual surface-level macro approach.

I was keen to see if this truly was the case.

"We've brought together our R&D teams, our marketing teams and our sales teams and the announcement earlier this month, of ServiceMax Asset 360 for Salesforce, is an announcement of a really strategic partnership which unleashes the most complete field service solution in the market out there. It brings to the table the strengths that they bring to bear, particularly the appointment centric capabilities and all the platform technologies that they are evolving and building our asset-centric capabilities on that platform. Putting this together, there is no use case we cannot serve now. We now have execution in front of us to really take advantage of the strengths of both companies."

With this in mind, then it truly is a genuinely exciting proposition for the industry to see such a complete solution come to the fore. It is also perhaps the perfect example of a solution borne in 2020 – a year where in the face of all the adversity we have begun to understand the importance of true business partnerships. As Barua wisely comments "this is a time period where partnerships really matter, so we've reached across the aisle on both sides to make sure we do right by our customers."

Again, the cynical old journalist listening to soundbites about 'doing the right thing for customers' might just see a selection of play-book quotes ready to hand. Yet, there is an earnestness and excitement to the way Barua communicates that makes it hard to stay cynical. While undoubtedly like every great CEO, Barua knows what to say and how to say it, you also get a feeling that his words are built on a foundation of honesty and a belief in doing things the right way.

When I first met Barua, one observation I made was that there was a feeling of continuation from the preceding CEO's he had taken the mantle from. Initially being Dave Yarnold, and then during the GE period, Scott Berg.

That is not to say that under the stewardship of Barua the ServiceMax story isn't evolving, it most evidently is. However, the ethos that underpinned the organization's previous meteoric rise, a focus on understanding the challenges that their customers, and the field service sector at large face remains. That ethos has been key to ServiceMax's approach to building solutions to meet those customer needs which has remained consistent across the various chapters of this compelling story.

I also commented at the time, that I felt a large factor in maintaining a consistent ethos would be the return of Stacey Epstein, now CMO and Chief Experience Officer at ServiceMax to the fold.

Epstein was part of the early team at ServiceMax under Yarnold, who went on to become an impressive CEO in her own right, nurturing communications platform start-up Zinc to becoming an innovative tool that again addressed the needs of modern field service organizations.

"Integrated isn't even the right word, these solutions are all built on one data model leveraging all the same native objects... "

- Stacey Epstein, CMO & Chief Experience Officer, ServiceMax

ServiceMax's subsequent acquisition of Zinc was thus doubly important.

It not only brought another piece of the FSM puzzle into Servicemax's suite of solutions, but it also brought back another experienced voice and mind, one who understood the 'special sauce' that made ServiceMax such a success, back into their senior leadership team.

"I've been in this space for decades," Epstein reflects.

"Well before ServiceMax I was selling field service software for Clarify in the nineties. Field service has been around forever; probably people were going around in wagons and on horses to offer services for people! But I think technology has just continued to fuel the maturity of what field service teams can do. In the past everything was client-server, there was no such thing as mobile. So then it was all about optimizing and tracking parts.

"When ServiceMax came along, it was one of the first Cloud-based FSM solutions and the first vendor to offer a mobile solution. Then Salesforce started building, and Click had great scheduling, and now we have really combined all of this into one very integrated solution.

"In fact, integrated isn't even the right word, these solutions are all built on one data model leveraging all the same native objects." Epstein adds as she considers the point further.

"The things that companies were buying piecemeal before, they can now access on one platform, which will mean a much faster time to value for customers. There are more features out of the box, so there is less customization, and it puts our customers in the position to adopt the new things that come up, like ScopeAR's augmented reality tools, like Aquant's artificial intelligence tools and like the Zinc communication tools.

"If my core features and functionality, asset-centricity, resource -centricity, are all covered in a very robust platform integrated into my CRM then it is not a big step to leverage the cutting-edge tools that allow me to achieve a digital transformation.

"In some ways it is a maturity, but in another way is that it doesn't mean we are 'there' yet . In a sense it simply means that when new technologies emerge, companies are really ready to adopt."

This final point of Epstein's is a good reflection on the place that FSM technology has arrived at today. Much has been refined within recent years, the foundational building blocks of what we now perceive as an FSM platform are in place and proven to be robust and reliable. However, we are also entering a new era of FSM solutions, and thanks in no small part to the pandemic our arrival at this new point came sooner than the majority of us might have anticipated.

The next iteration of FSM will involve remote diagnostics, augmented reality, artificial intelligence and more. However, without a cohesive platform to build upon these tools cannot live up to the value propositions they promise. We are entering a new phase of FSM technology, and the partnership of Salesforce and ServiceMax will see both companies play a leading role in shaping how technology in our industry is set to evolve.

ARCHIVE FOR THE ‘digital-transformation’ CATEGORY

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Understanding Good and Bad of Remote Service Delivery for Field Service Companies

Pro#1: Reducing the Cost of Service Delivery

Pro#2: Greater Geographical Coverage

Con#1: The Loss of Meaningful Interaction with the Customer:

Con#2: The Loss of the Eyes and Ears of the Engineer On Site

Look out for the next feature in this series coming next week where we explore the Pros and Cons of remote service delivery for the Field Service Provider...

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Further Reading:

IDEX helps technicians isolate the root case quickly and accurately

Further Reading:

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AQUANT BENCHMARK REPORT

Why Service Leaders Need To Think About Standards KPIs In New Ways:

Key Findings:

Look out for the next feature in this series coming next week where we explore three more key technologies required for remote service delivery.

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VULCAN X, AN APPLICATION-ORIENTED RUGGED COMPUTER FOR ANY RUSHED ENVIRONMENT

Further Reading:

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Understanding Good and Bad of Remote Service Delivery for Field Service Customers

Pro#1: The Importance of Biosecurity in a Post-Pandemic World

Pro#2: The Importance of Uptime vs SLA Response

Con#1: The Loss of a Trusted Advisor:

Con#2: Delays in Resolution for More Complex Problems:

Look out for the next feature in this series coming next week where we explore the Pros and Cons of remote service delivery for the Field Service Provider...

Don't want to wait? www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below. If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and you can access the white paper instantly upon completing the registration form!

Further Reading:

BENEFITS AND APPLICABILITY OF THE THREE TECHNOLOGIES

TYPICAL USE OF AR, MR AND VR IN BUSINESS

"Expert maintenance technicians are extremely rare to find and are usually forced to move across the world to respond to growing requests for intervention..."

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The Impending Skills Shortage – What Can You Do Today?

Making Lemonade Out Of Lemons…

Faster uptake of video conferencing

Broader acceptance of remote workers and diagnostics

Increased focus on automation

Rapid adoption of collaboration tools

Increased unemployment

Is It Time to Open Your Lemonade Stand?

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Field Service Management Solution:

Parts Management and Optimisation:

Artificial Intelligence:

Look out for the next feature in this series coming next week where we explore three more key technologies required for remote service delivery.

However, www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below. If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and you can access the white paper instantly upon completing the registration form!

Further Reading:

A Compelling Move by Two of the Big Names in Field Service Technology:

"While others may want to talk about the great reset, I see what we are currently going through more akin to hitting the fast forward button..."

"This announcement is the evolution of the reconnection with Salesforce that began back in February that is a far greater partnership..."

- Neil Barua, CEO ServiceMax

"This is a time period where partnerships really matter, so we've reached across the aisle on both sides to make sure we do right by our customers..."

- Neil Barua, CEO, ServiceMax

"Integrated isn't even the right word, these solutions are all built on one data model leveraging all the same native objects... "

- Stacey Epstein, CMO & Chief Experience Officer, ServiceMax

Further Reading:

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