In the latest Field Service Podcast, Hilbrand Rustema from Noventum discusses the potential of Service Value Chain Optimisation, an idea he recently explored in an article for Field Service News.
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Nov 12, 2019 • Features • future of field service • management • Digitalization • The Field Service Podcast • Parts Pricing and Logistics
In the latest Field Service Podcast, Hilbrand Rustema from Noventum discusses the potential of Service Value Chain Optimisation, an idea he recently explored in an article for Field Service News.
In this special episode of the Field Service Podcast, Mark Glover speaks to Noventum's Hilbrand Rustema about a theory that could potentially change the service model: Service Value Chain Optimisation.
Hilbrand introduced the subject in a recent article for Field Service News, an idea so interesting we decided to explore it further in this podcast.
It is recommended you refer back to Hilbrand's feature while listening as it includes diagrams relevant to the podcast.
You can also contact Hilbrand about any of the content raised in this podcast via email at hilbrand.rustema@noventum.eu or connect with him on LinkedIn.
May 20, 2019 • Features • Data • Nick Frank • digital disruption • Digitalization • Servitization • Si2Partners • Service People Matter
In a world of digitalisation, servitization and a data driven economy, the fulcrum at the heart of your service delivery needs to be digital people writes Nick Frank...
In a world of digitalisation, servitization and a data driven economy, the fulcrum at the heart of your service delivery needs to be digital people writes Nick Frank...
Over the last three years there has been a huge emphasis on the need to invest in technology to stay ahead and be the disruptor.
As many leaders struggle to move towards the enticing digital visions being painted, we have seen a more nuanced approach emerge. We perceive that leaders are switching their emphasis back to creating a solution focused culture where people have the imagination and customer focus to create and deliver new value offered by digital technologies.
In the coming years we believe we will see companies focusing on three areas in the growth journey:
1. Digital Servitization: the notion of digitising the back-office processes and enabling data capture in the product infrastructure to enable new value through services
2. Data Analytics capabilities: Turning the data into insights through being able to turn Business Problems and opportunities into Data Solutions that leverage their company unique knowledge.
3. Trusted Advisor Mindset: Having the trust of customers and the communication skills to turn intangible data into valuable actions that drive growth.
Digital Servitization
Now more than at any other time, businesses are focused on how to use shifts in technology to reduce costs and find new value propositions. But understanding how it all fits has proven more elusive to business leaders. Those that are making most progress have broken the Digital Transformation process into more meaningful chunks. They typically have two areas of focus:
1. Installed-Base Digitalisation:
Designing the products and supporting operational infrastructures that generate data, so that it can be collected, analysed and then monetized through service-based business models. Generally, investments have been made in:
The tools we use to manage our business back office which sustain and improve margins /profits. Examples might be Service Management solutions, CRM and ERP. Generally, there are two aspects to consider in terms of system and process development:
Only when companies have reached a level of maturity in both Back-Office Digitalisation and Installed-Base Digitalisation, are they ready to, explore new business models such outcome based or subscription based services.
Data Analytics Capability - Business problem before Data Solution
The use of sophisticated Data Analytics technologies to gain insights into processes and product performance is slowly becoming part of management thinking. But again, progress is slow as many leaders are intimidated by the jargon and lack of understanding of the business case. We have found successful companies have followed these three steps:
1. Articulate the business problem to solve and why (Value)
Before investing in digital technologies, the most successful companies have a clear idea of the business problem to solve and the value it can potentially bring. Often there is some experimentation/prototyping that may occur to build knowledge of the business problem and confirm value. They look wider than their own business processes or customers processes, the hand-offs between the different stakeholders in their value chain. Often, they will use ecosystem analysis, the value iceberg principal or points-of-selling approaches to identify value opportunities.
2. Define the Data Problem
The next challenge is how to turn the business problem into a business data hypothesis. This would describe an expected or speculated relationship that we hope to determine through the analysis of data. For example, the hypothesis for a predictive maintenance solution might be: ‘We can identify the failure patterns for hydraulic system as well as general machine performance using pressure, oil contamination, temperature and humidity data from the PLC, such that we can predict failures and recommend corrective actions.
Why is this important? Data Scientists cannot tell you patterns that interest you without knowing the area of interest! Hence converting the business problem into a hypothesis is a key part of the process and applying the scientific method which is question led and iterative. But the hypothesis does not have to be correct.
It is very likely that it will change as more knowledge is gained about the data being analysed or definition of the business problem evolves. One must expect a certain amount of iteration from business problem to data problem as our knowledge expands, and this in turn helps deliver optimal business value. It is critical to be very clear about the business problem and the data required to understand it.
3. Pilot before Scale Up
Now that the data problem is defined, managers can understand where they may have organisational and infrastructure gaps for their project, and from this be able to identify the first steps of their roadmap to a data solution. It is important that these early steps include a pilot of the solution. The goal is to quickly understand if our solution is likely to be successful, and the actions to be taken to scale up across the organization.
Often in business we take it for granted that we have all the capabilities in house. However, in today’s world, where the use of technology is rapidly evolving, it is very easy to become ‘out of date’ from both a business mindset as well as technology capability.
To help leaders understand the strengths and weaknesses, Si2 have worked with The Data Analysis Bureau to develop a short 10 minute maturity self-assessment which will you help you identify your strengths and weaknesses as you move from Business Problem to Data Solution.
There are just 10 questions and you will get personalised feedback as to your situation and what you can do. Use this link to access the assessment.
Trusted Advisor Mindset
The biggest enabler of the ‘digital’ ideas we have discussed is not so much the technology but the mindset of your people. The Trusted Advisor mindset is more than just being able to talk to the customer, solve problems and sell ideas. It is a whole attitude where we focus on solutions, continuously moving customers towards their goals whether they be internal or external.
This is the type of mindset that has leapt onto the potential offered by digitisation, long before it entered the language of today’s business. Trusted Advisors have clarity on their role and an understanding of how to talk to customers so that they achieve a WIN, WIN, WIN:
• A Win for the customer so that every conversation they have moves them closer to their goal
• A Win for the company to develop customer loyalty and profitability
• A Win for themselves so they feel great about their job
What makes a Trusted Advisor different? At the very minimum they are good customer problem solvers. What starts to differentiate them from others is their ability to have meaningful conversations with customers that always seem to move towards solutions. They are able to provide options together with the benefits for various decision the customer might make.
They normally have a high level of personal maturity in that they do not try to tell customers what to THINK. Instead they influence them by what they SAY and DO, and because they consistently deliver, customers trust their advice. As the notion of a Trusted Advisor is widely used across sales & service, the job context is extremely important.
For example, in field service and technical support the Trusted Advisor role is more about providing options than closing deals. Whereas in sales it is more about how we build rapport and credibility within a consultative selling process.
Clearly understanding the context in which the Trusted Advisor mindset is being developed is vitally important to successful adoption. Service leaders who want to improve how their teams communicate with customers, might consider having the following conversations with their own people:
• Clarify what you mean by a Trusted Advisor and the role they play in your organisation. In particular the customer needs and what makes them successful, as well as your companies business goals. This is where distinguishing the difference between selling and advising will be absolutely critical to your success;
• Develop a Mindset where every conversation we have with customers moves them a step closer to their goal. It may not be the complete solution, but it is a step in the right direction no matter how bad and uncomfortable the situation is. This very basic philosophy is key to training your people to deal with conflict, as well encourage them to have dynamic and collaborative relationships through solution orientated language;
• Provide Tools and methods that allow us to actively listen, to talk more effectively, to manage conflict and resolve difficult customer situations. These tools are critical to helping us to prepare ourselves to be a Trusted Advisor in what can be challenging and stressful situations;
• Practice in real-life scenarios with your team to see how they react under stress. We are constantly amazed at how confident many service people are about talking to customers in a training environment, yet it all falls apart in a customer situation.
• Refresh: Developing how your team interacts with customers is not a one-off event and needs to be constantly mentored and coached.
Digital People Increasingly we anticipate that Service organisations will take a more balanced approach to Digital. Yes, they will invest in the technology, but they will do so with a clearer idea of the value they are trying to capture. They will understand that the key to new business models will be to have automated their back-office processes as well as how to capture and action data from the product infrastructure. They will increasingly focus on developing a solution orientated innovative culture which is the key to leveraging the opportunities offered by new technologies and paradigms of thinking.
Nick Frank is Managing Partner at Si2 Partners. If you would like to talk more about any of the topics discussed in this article you can contact him at nick.frank@si2partners.com.
Over the last three years there has been a huge emphasis on the need to invest in technology to stay ahead and be the disruptor.
As many leaders struggle to move towards the enticing digital visions being painted, we have seen a more nuanced approach emerge. We perceive that leaders are switching their emphasis back to creating a solution focused culture where people have the imagination and customer focus to create and deliver new value offered by digital technologies.
In the coming years we believe we will see companies focusing on three areas in the growth journey:
1. Digital Servitization: the notion of digitising the back-office processes and enabling data capture in the product infrastructure to enable new value through services
2. Data Analytics capabilities: Turning the data into insights through being able to turn Business Problems and opportunities into Data Solutions that leverage their company unique knowledge.
3. Trusted Advisor Mindset: Having the trust of customers and the communication skills to turn intangible data into valuable actions that drive growth.
Digital Servitization
Now more than at any other time, businesses are focused on how to use shifts in technology to reduce costs and find new value propositions. But understanding how it all fits has proven more elusive to business leaders. Those that are making most progress have broken the Digital Transformation process into more meaningful chunks. They typically have two areas of focus:
1. Installed-Base Digitalisation:
Designing the products and supporting operational infrastructures that generate data, so that it can be collected, analysed and then monetized through service-based business models. Generally, investments have been made in:
- Technology that enhances the product and company infrastructure to enable Digital Support, such as remote data collection, diagnostics or predictive maintenance.
- Capabilities and technologies in the organisation that enables Data Analytics, such machine learning, visual analytics and business intelligence technologies.
2. Back-Office Digitalisation:
The tools we use to manage our business back office which sustain and improve margins /profits. Examples might be Service Management solutions, CRM and ERP. Generally, there are two aspects to consider in terms of system and process development:
- Technology that enhances the product and company infrastructure to enable Digital Support, such as remote data collection, diagnostics or predictive maintenance.
- Capabilities and technologies in the organisation that enables Data Analytics, such machine learning, visual analytics and business intelligence technologies.
Only when companies have reached a level of maturity in both Back-Office Digitalisation and Installed-Base Digitalisation, are they ready to, explore new business models such outcome based or subscription based services.
Data Analytics Capability - Business problem before Data Solution
The use of sophisticated Data Analytics technologies to gain insights into processes and product performance is slowly becoming part of management thinking. But again, progress is slow as many leaders are intimidated by the jargon and lack of understanding of the business case. We have found successful companies have followed these three steps:
1. Articulate the business problem to solve and why (Value)
Before investing in digital technologies, the most successful companies have a clear idea of the business problem to solve and the value it can potentially bring. Often there is some experimentation/prototyping that may occur to build knowledge of the business problem and confirm value. They look wider than their own business processes or customers processes, the hand-offs between the different stakeholders in their value chain. Often, they will use ecosystem analysis, the value iceberg principal or points-of-selling approaches to identify value opportunities.
2. Define the Data Problem
The next challenge is how to turn the business problem into a business data hypothesis. This would describe an expected or speculated relationship that we hope to determine through the analysis of data. For example, the hypothesis for a predictive maintenance solution might be: ‘We can identify the failure patterns for hydraulic system as well as general machine performance using pressure, oil contamination, temperature and humidity data from the PLC, such that we can predict failures and recommend corrective actions.
Why is this important? Data Scientists cannot tell you patterns that interest you without knowing the area of interest! Hence converting the business problem into a hypothesis is a key part of the process and applying the scientific method which is question led and iterative. But the hypothesis does not have to be correct.
It is very likely that it will change as more knowledge is gained about the data being analysed or definition of the business problem evolves. One must expect a certain amount of iteration from business problem to data problem as our knowledge expands, and this in turn helps deliver optimal business value. It is critical to be very clear about the business problem and the data required to understand it.
3. Pilot before Scale Up
Now that the data problem is defined, managers can understand where they may have organisational and infrastructure gaps for their project, and from this be able to identify the first steps of their roadmap to a data solution. It is important that these early steps include a pilot of the solution. The goal is to quickly understand if our solution is likely to be successful, and the actions to be taken to scale up across the organization.
"Over the last three years there has been a huge emphasis on the need to invest in technology to stay ahead..."
Often in business we take it for granted that we have all the capabilities in house. However, in today’s world, where the use of technology is rapidly evolving, it is very easy to become ‘out of date’ from both a business mindset as well as technology capability.
To help leaders understand the strengths and weaknesses, Si2 have worked with The Data Analysis Bureau to develop a short 10 minute maturity self-assessment which will you help you identify your strengths and weaknesses as you move from Business Problem to Data Solution.
There are just 10 questions and you will get personalised feedback as to your situation and what you can do. Use this link to access the assessment.
Trusted Advisor Mindset
The biggest enabler of the ‘digital’ ideas we have discussed is not so much the technology but the mindset of your people. The Trusted Advisor mindset is more than just being able to talk to the customer, solve problems and sell ideas. It is a whole attitude where we focus on solutions, continuously moving customers towards their goals whether they be internal or external.
This is the type of mindset that has leapt onto the potential offered by digitisation, long before it entered the language of today’s business. Trusted Advisors have clarity on their role and an understanding of how to talk to customers so that they achieve a WIN, WIN, WIN:
• A Win for the customer so that every conversation they have moves them closer to their goal
• A Win for the company to develop customer loyalty and profitability
• A Win for themselves so they feel great about their job
What makes a Trusted Advisor different? At the very minimum they are good customer problem solvers. What starts to differentiate them from others is their ability to have meaningful conversations with customers that always seem to move towards solutions. They are able to provide options together with the benefits for various decision the customer might make.
They normally have a high level of personal maturity in that they do not try to tell customers what to THINK. Instead they influence them by what they SAY and DO, and because they consistently deliver, customers trust their advice. As the notion of a Trusted Advisor is widely used across sales & service, the job context is extremely important.
For example, in field service and technical support the Trusted Advisor role is more about providing options than closing deals. Whereas in sales it is more about how we build rapport and credibility within a consultative selling process.
Clearly understanding the context in which the Trusted Advisor mindset is being developed is vitally important to successful adoption. Service leaders who want to improve how their teams communicate with customers, might consider having the following conversations with their own people:
• Clarify what you mean by a Trusted Advisor and the role they play in your organisation. In particular the customer needs and what makes them successful, as well as your companies business goals. This is where distinguishing the difference between selling and advising will be absolutely critical to your success;
• Develop a Mindset where every conversation we have with customers moves them a step closer to their goal. It may not be the complete solution, but it is a step in the right direction no matter how bad and uncomfortable the situation is. This very basic philosophy is key to training your people to deal with conflict, as well encourage them to have dynamic and collaborative relationships through solution orientated language;
• Provide Tools and methods that allow us to actively listen, to talk more effectively, to manage conflict and resolve difficult customer situations. These tools are critical to helping us to prepare ourselves to be a Trusted Advisor in what can be challenging and stressful situations;
• Practice in real-life scenarios with your team to see how they react under stress. We are constantly amazed at how confident many service people are about talking to customers in a training environment, yet it all falls apart in a customer situation.
• Refresh: Developing how your team interacts with customers is not a one-off event and needs to be constantly mentored and coached.
Digital People Increasingly we anticipate that Service organisations will take a more balanced approach to Digital. Yes, they will invest in the technology, but they will do so with a clearer idea of the value they are trying to capture. They will understand that the key to new business models will be to have automated their back-office processes as well as how to capture and action data from the product infrastructure. They will increasingly focus on developing a solution orientated innovative culture which is the key to leveraging the opportunities offered by new technologies and paradigms of thinking.
Nick Frank is Managing Partner at Si2 Partners. If you would like to talk more about any of the topics discussed in this article you can contact him at nick.frank@si2partners.com.
May 17, 2019 • Features • future of field service • Jan Van Veen • management • moreMomentum • Digitalization • Servitization • The Field Service Podcast
In the latest Field Service Podcast, Jan Van Veen discusses why manufacturers unable to innovate their business model risk falling behind their competitors.
In the latest Field Service Podcast, Jan Van Veen discusses why manufacturers unable to innovate their business model risk falling behind their competitors.
In this special episode, Deputy Editor Mark Glover, speaks to moreMomentum's Jan van Veen who urges firms to take advantage of servitization and digitilastion and avoid stagnant business as usual behaviours.
Click here for material complimenting Jan's podcast including diagrams and charts. You can also contact Jan about any of the content raised in this recording and to find out how to get involved in Jan's new book, mentioned in the podcast, then click here.
Apr 15, 2019 • Features • Future of FIeld Service • BigData • Christian Kowalkowski • Digitalization • Servitization • The View from Academia
Dr Christian Kowalkowski, Professor Of Industrial Marketing at Linköping University outlines how two of the biggest trends amongst manufacturers, digitalisation and servitization, are in essence two sides of the same coin and why digitalisation...
Dr Christian Kowalkowski, Professor Of Industrial Marketing at Linköping University outlines how two of the biggest trends amongst manufacturers, digitalisation and servitization, are in essence two sides of the same coin and why digitalisation requires more, not less, service and customer centricity than ever before.
The growing digital disruption is blurring industry boundaries and altering established positions of firms. While manufacturers are investing strategically in data gathering and analytics capabilities and in cloud-based platforms, many firms remain concerned about how to best address digital disruption and enable digitalisation.
Last year, General Electric cut expenses by more than 25% at its digital unit responsible for Predix, its software platform for the collection and analysis of data, which previously has been hailed as a revolutionary driver for Industry 4.0. This move highlights the difficulties involved in adopting digital technology in an industrial business. Having worked with B2B firms in diverse industries on designing and implementing service-growth strategies, I have seen both highly successful and unsuccessful cases of what I call ‘digital servitization.’
Why is it so that even many firms that run a profitable field service organisation struggle to implement digitally-enabled services?
Before looking at some key challenges, let us first define what we mean by digital servitization. As a start, we need to distinguish between digitisation, which means turning analogue into digital, and digitalisation, which refers to the use of digital technology to change the business model. A tech-savvy firm with a product-centric mindset may have little difficulty in implementing digitisation, as when record companies moved from selling LPs to CDs.
However, rather than embracing the new digital opportunities that changed the way we interact with music, most record companies then clung on to a product-centric business logic of selling CDs.
Instead of developing business models based on Internet distribution they promoted new physical media like the Super Audio CD. Ironically, their defensive stance—manifested in such things as copy protected CDs—forced many people to illegal downloading in order to conveniently access MP3 music, thereby undermining their product-centric model even further. Digital servitization, then, refers to the utilisation of digital technologies for the transformation whereby a company shifts from a productcentric to a service-centric business model.
Of course, digitally-enabled services are not new; for example, Rolls-Royce’s archetypal solution TotalCare begun in 1997 and BT Rolatruc (since 2000 part of Toyota Material Handling) created its software system BT Compass in 1993, to help its customers improve their performance. Digital technology can be a double-edged sword however. For example, many manufacturers have been carried away by the technical possibilities of telematics without having a clear service business model in mind.
Rather than crafting a compelling value proposition based on enhanced customer performance, it was tempting to give the service away for free with the hope that customers eventually would discover the value of data access and be willing to pay for it.
There are however at least three problems with such a technology-centric approach. First, as the connected installed base grows and the costs of collecting and managing data increase year by year, it becomes increasingly difficult to defend the model unless service sales start to materialise. Second, giving services away for free always reduce the perceived value of the offering in the eyes of the customer. Why should they pay for something that was previously free of charge and that competitors may still be treating as a commodity and giving away?
Third, customers typically do not have the time nor the skills to interpret and act on the data collected. The real value of Big Data only comes once it is processed. By collecting and analysing data from multiple customers, a supplier may know more about the customers’ equipment and operations then they know themselves, which creates opportunities for new advanced advisory services.
The digital dimension of service growth requires purposeful and coordinated effort. As we know, while manufacturing and conventional R&D activities can be centrally managed to achieve efficiency and standardisation, services require increased local responsiveness and closer customer relationships.
"The real value of Big Data only comes once it is processed..."
During digital servitization, however, the central organisation must take a more proactive leading role to ensure platform consistency and data quality, to provide the requisite data science skills, to support local units, and to address cyber security issues. The 2017 large-scale cyberattack (NotPetya) on Danish shipping giant Møller-Maersk, which shut down offices worldwide, illustrates the dangers of inadequately managing the latter issue.
A service manager at Toyota pointed out over ten years ago that service development “is very much IS/IT. Instead of sitting and discussing how to be able to quickly change oil in the truck, there has become very much focus on data.”
Viewing data as “the new oil” is a claim oftentimes heard. Like oil, data is a source of power. It is a resource used to power transformative technologies such as automation, artificial intelligence, and predictive analytics.
However, unlike oil, data also has other properties. We are currently seeing a shift from scarcity of information (data) to abundance of it. Data can be replicated and distributed as marginal cost, and competitive advantage can be achieved by bringing together new datasets, enabling new services. But this also creates new tensions between companies regarding the issues of generation, collection, and utilisation of data. If a customer is generating massive amounts of data that the supplier is collecting, once processed, it can be used for better serving also the customer’s competitors. In other cases, we are seeing completely new companies emerging and collecting data on behalf of their clients.
Digitalisation is beginning to have a profound impact on even the most stable businesses. Customers increasingly expect that a single provider will integrate the system of which the products are part, and that they will do so through one digital interface. Whether the platform provider is one of the established OEMs or a new software entrant might not matter. Competition may come from unexpected sources, as for example when one of the leading international standards organizations in the marine industry recently moved into platform-based services.
Oftentimes, the most formidable threat comes from disruptive innovators outside the traditional industry boundaries. An executive in a leading incumbent firm stressed that her main concern was not the competition from any established player. Instead, what kept her awake at night was the prospect of Amazon entering—and reshaping—the market. While many share the concerns of being overrun by new competitors, the threat is most imminent to those firms that lack service leadership and a clear road map for service growth.
To conclude, no firm can afford not to strategically invest in digitalisation. However, as firms compete in the digital arena, there is a risk that focus shifts too much away from service and customer centricity to new digital initiatives and units. Ten years ago, many executives sang the praises of servitization.
Today, digitalisation is the poster boy for business transformation. Given the rapid pace of innovation, it may be tempting to launch new concepts as soon as the technology is available, rather than waiting until the they have been properly piloted and customer insights gained. To reap the benefits, firms also need to understand the interplay between back end and front end, investing in both back-end development for enhanced efficiency and better-informed decision-making, and front-end initiatives to enable new services and closer customer integration.
Correctly designed and implemented, digital servitization provides benefits for companies, networks, and society at large. Successfully seizing digital opportunities, however, requires more, not less, service and customer centricity than before.
Dr Christian Kowalkowski is professor of industrial marketing at Linköping University, Sweden, and the author of Service Strategy in Action: A Practical Guide for Growing Your B2B Service and Solution Business. Find out more here.
Feb 01, 2019 • News • Future of FIeld Service • Digitalization
Digital disruption is a key buzz phrase in many boardrooms and conferences and field service as a sector is no exception - so it is with much interest we read SavoyStewart.co.uk's analysis of Futurum's research into this area...
Digital disruption is a key buzz phrase in many boardrooms and conferences and field service as a sector is no exception - so it is with much interest we read SavoyStewart.co.uk's analysis of Futurum's research into this area...
Key findings:
- 1 in 4 businesses struggle to adapt and thrive from technology disruption.
- 36.9% of companies view technology disruption as an opportunity to improve and grow as a business.
- In order to stay ahead of the competition, 50.4% of businesses reported having a proactive ‘opportunity-minded’ approach to new and emerging technologies.
- Only 12% of businesses voiced their concerns of their ability to adapt to digital advancements over the next three years, despite 23.4% rating themselves as Digital Laggards.
Technology is often thought about in terms of physical devices that are electrical or digital. When in fact, technology encompasses far more than simply tangible objects. New and emerging technologies often impact the value of existing models and services, resulting in digital disruption, which leads to many companies re-evaluating and transforming.
Technology disruption is defined as ‘technology that displaces an established technology and shakes up the industry or creates a completely new industry’.
There is currently a high-stakes global game of digital disruption, fuelled by the latest wave of technological advances spurred by A.I and data analytics. As a result, business models within industry sectors are inevitably changing. Despite the fact 19.3% of companies feel that the pace of technological change has made them significantly more competitive in the past three years, a large majority of companies are still struggling to keep up with this change.
As a result, SavoyStewart.co.uk sought to identify whether businesses view technology disruption as an opportunity or threat, though an analysis of the latest research conducted by Futurum*.
Interestingly, it was discovered that 1 in 4 businesses still struggle to keep up with the times and thrive from digital disruption. Despite this, whilst weighing up the opportunity vs. threat of technological disruption, 39.6% of businesses feel that it provides them with new opportunities to improve and grow as a company.
Savoy Stewart determined this was down to the companies approach to technology adaption, with 24.4% surprisingly, admitting to having no approach. Positively, 50.4% of businesses reported to have a proactive ‘opportunity-minded’ approach, ensuring they remain competitive and up to date.
With 25.1% of business seemingly adopting a passive ‘wait and see’ approach, it is unsurprising that 30.7% of companies felt the impact of technological change over the past three years has made them less competitive.
The window of opportunity to gain competitive advantage generally falls inside a window of three years. It is, therefore, critical for business leaders to understand the value of technologically proactive leadership and operational agility. The faster a company can use technology disruption to their advantage, the more likely it is to surge ahead of its competitors.
Surprisingly, whilst 29.5% of companies stated they feel very excited about their ability to adapt over the next three years, only 18.3% rated themselves as ‘Digital Leaders’. These individuals are highly proactive and agile business leaders who are ahead in their strategic and operational anticipation of the technological change facing them and their organisation.
Thereafter, 35% of businesses feel somewhat optimistic about their ability to adapt. Which is not far off the 36.3% of companies that rated themselves to be ‘Digital Adopters’; easily adaptable and proactive in their approach to evolve with technology disruption.
Following suit, 23.4% are a little concerned about their ability to adapt over the next three years, indicating their company is adaptable but passive in their approach. Which is once again close in correlation to the amount of businesses that rated themselves to be ‘Digital Followers’ at 22%.
Lastly, 12% of businesses stated they are very worried about their ability to adapt to technological change. Which is interesting considering almost double (23.4%), rated themselves to be ‘Digital Laggards’.
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Sep 03, 2018 • News • contact centre • digitalisation • Digitalization • Energy • field service • field service management • Service Management • Software and Apps • utilities • Data Centres • Helen Finland • Tieto Smart Utilities • Customer Satisfaction and Expectations
Finnish energy company Helen has selected the Tieto Smart Utility cloud solution to support its retail and distribution business. The new services improve competitiveness and operational efficiency by digitalizing the company’s key processes and...
Finnish energy company Helen has selected the Tieto Smart Utility cloud solution to support its retail and distribution business. The new services improve competitiveness and operational efficiency by digitalizing the company’s key processes and increasing the customer experience. This change also enables an easy connection to the data hub, the upcoming centralised data exchange solution for energy companies.
Helen is one of the leading energy companies in Finland with more than 400,000 customer sites.
Tieto Smart Utility optimises Helen’s key customer processes, such as multi-channel marketing, sales and customer service processes, as well as invoicing. This change provides Helen’s customer with a wider range of services in digital channels and makes customer service quicker and more accessible, contributing to a better customer experience.
The new solution serves Helen’s corporate and consumer operations and will be taken in use in electricity business 2/2020 and in district heating and cooling in 10/2020.
“We were looking for a solution that optimally responds to our current and future business needs. The energy market is in constant motion, and we wanted to find the best possible partner that is solution-driven and committed in the long term to developing its process to fulfil our specific expectations,” says Marko Riipinen, Senior Vice President, Sales and Customer Service at Helen.
“We are happy to expand our long-term partnership with Helen and to have this opportunity to improve Helen’s competitiveness by means of digitalisation. The rapidly changing energy market requires a high level of digitalization that significantly increases Helen’s competitiveness and enable better customer experiences. The energy industry must also prepare for future changes in the energy market, such as the transition to a supplier-centric model. Our continuously developing service range ensures that our customers reach a high level of process automation in their operations, at a competitive price,” says Olof Ferenius, Head of Energy Utilities at Tieto.
Tieto Smart Utility also boosts measuring and market data exchange processes in network operations and offers the functions required for the construction of network connections and the management of field activities.
Tieto Smart Utility is a modular Software as a Service solution designed for Nordic energy companies. It meets the requirements set out for the energy market in current and future regulations. The scalable cloud service also meets strict information security requirements by using Tieto’s Nordic data centres.
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May 22, 2018 • Features • Management • 4 winnng habits • Jan Van Veen • management • Mining • more momentum • Oil and Gas • VP of Service • big data • Business Disruption • Chief Digital Officer • Digitalization • field service • Hackathons • Service Management • Servitization • Service Innovation and Design
In this latest of his Momentum Case Studies, Jan van Veen, co-founder of moreMomentum, interviews proven leaders across the globe who are successfully implementing the 4 Winning Habits to lead innovative, energised and engaged teams.
In this latest of his Momentum Case Studies, Jan van Veen, co-founder of moreMomentum, interviews proven leaders across the globe who are successfully implementing the 4 Winning Habits to lead innovative, energised and engaged teams.
Here the case study examines a global leader serving the mining and oil & gas industries. Much of their recent success has come because they take services very seriously, being seen as a knowledge partner to help their customers improve operational efficiency, reduce risks and increase profitability.
The challenges faced
The company operates in traditionally slow-moving industries with large incumbent players and has become a leader by creating a strong service business which now generates a significant portion of total revenues, deepens customer relationships and creates resilience during economic downturns.
However, it has now spotted that a potentially significant disruptive threat could emerge from ‘big data’ and data analytics technologies, enabling new types of services. In the past, they would have considered taking five years to develop new equipment to be fast for the industry, but now understands that when it comes to future services, the speed of innovation needs to be higher.
Senior management is very aware that customers will move away if they see a better way of doing things, so the company must adapt if it is to stay a market leader.
The Strategy
The company has entered a period of change. To meet the disruptive threat ahead it must be visionary: to redesign itself and its culture so it can move much faster to keep ahead, enthusiastically embracing digital technologies with a focus on the end-to-end customer experience. In fact, it has to re-imagine its relationship with its customers so that rather than selling products, it provides ways to help its customers improve their operational processes and even their business models.
The company has demonstrated success from the 4 Winning Habits for Momentum so far, but now they need to take it to another level. Here we will show how they are using each of the 4 Winning Habits in the implementation of its strategy, creating Momentum for long-term sustainable success.
Direction – the common cause that everyone can get behind
The company management has recognised that, at a time of change, a compelling vision describing their role to help customers be more profitable is important to pull everyone together in the same direction. It is being spread throughout the company using both traditional townhall meetings, the company intranet as well as new digital social sharing methods such as Salesforce, Chatter and Yammer.
It helps operational messages fit into context if there is a beacon for people to move towards if there is a vision of what the company will look like in five yearVP of Service Marketing: “It helps operational messages fit into context if there is a beacon for people to move towards if there is a vision of what the company will look like in five years, what the industry will be like, what our company will be like. Otherwise, you have isolated initiatives”.
To push the new company direction, the company has been busy hiring a new CEO, CMO and CDO (Chief Digital Officer), all with experience in driving innovation. The Board understands the need for change, but the company can be a supertanker which takes time to turn. However, it is also aware that the competitive landscape can change quite quickly.
Dialogue – open discussion at and between all levels to encourage new ideas
Digital initiatives are at the centre of this company’s reinvention, so senior managers are heavily involved in steering new ideas, to get behind them and also to prevent them from breaking current business streams.
Across the company, at least 75% of targets and incentives are collective, leading to limited silo thinking between teams since they’re all in the same boat. Where there is friction, it’s usually because goals have been set too narrowly and issues fall between the silos. As a result, there is much less politics than might be expected in a large company and a higher level of transparency on performance.
This all helps create a culture of trust with less finger pointing and blame.
VP of Service Marketing: “Rather than looking for blame, people look at how to fix issues and learn from mistakes. It works well due to open dialogue. People don’t feel threatened and are not so eager to hide problems”.
Decision-making – local decision-making empowerment
The company has always had a decentralised structure. Different markets are quite autonomous and allowed to make their own local sales decisions, choosing which sales and marketing initiatives in which to participate based on market needs. This has been a successful approach so far, but staff at all levels and across the business will need to now be included in the decision making processes if the company is to continue adapting at a fast enough pace.
Discovery – Looking for new trends, opportunities and threats (internal and external)
The newly established Digital Office is a powerhouse of new ideas to add new technology to client relationships, including tools such as the Internet of Things devices and data analytics. It has been set up to operate somewhat separately from the mainstream company in order to be free from ‘business as usual’ thinking.
Companies, middle managers actually, are often quick to kill new products they see as a threat to the status quo and that’s why it’s good to have a Chief Digital Officer, tasked to create change and disruptionVP of Service Marketing: “Companies, middle managers actually, are often quick to kill new products they see as a threat to the status quo and that’s why it’s good to have a CDO, tasked to create change and disruption. We might all be comfortable with how things are today and not want to change it but I’m damn sure there’s someone out there who wants to kill our business model, and will be aided and abetted by our customers if they see a better way of doing things”.
The company has even started trying new approaches to R&D, such as hackathons.
VP of Service Marketing: “When I first heard of hackathons I have to admit I was sceptical, but from what I’ve seen they actually allow people to look at problems in new ways and get people involved who would never normally be involved, and maybe redesign the way of doing things. And for big companies, that’s what we have to do, because our competitors don’t worry about the fact we have an established base and products, they’re actually thinking ‘How can I change the industry to make money? They don’t care if it destroys our business’”.
The company has also started involving customers in its processes, for example with surveys. They keep the company honest about its achievements, drive change and allow them to spot systemic issues. The voice of the customer can be very powerful.
Next Steps:
Change is an ongoing process at this manufacturing company, but they recognise the need to accelerate the pace of change to a new level and then make it ‘business as usual’ – a revolution in the mining sector!
The 4 Winning Habits for Momentum will be key. They are working on a clearer picture of the future state of the company, to give stronger Direction to the business units and local staff for local Decisionmaking.
Dialogue with staff will improve, so personal objectives will be better aligned to the strategy and not be so focussed on purely financial targets, but also learning, collaboration and Discovery of new opportunities. If they can do all this, then they will truly be creating a revolution in mining.
Outcomes
The huge growth in the service business at the company has brought enormous benefits for their customers, made the company a trusted ‘knowledge partner’ and expertly positioned them to forge ahead into digital transformation.
People buy from them now because of the advice they give and their approach to improving their customers’ businesses. For instance, mining equipment runs 24/7/365 and downtime can cost many €100,000s per day so, they have redesigned parts, consumables and field services to reduce the time it takes to change them, so reducing costs for their customers.
Energy efficiency has been another focus, as has the charging model – customers pay for service contracts by the ton, so they know their costs in advance. These changes epitomise the innovations that the company has achieved, and there are many more on the way.
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Mar 07, 2018 • Management • News • IDC • log me in • research • Digitalization
A new study from IDC and LogMeIn has revealed that fast and effective support will be a competitive differentiator for companies looking to win-over digitally transformed customers and employees.
A new study from IDC and LogMeIn has revealed that fast and effective support will be a competitive differentiator for companies looking to win-over digitally transformed customers and employees.
According to the study “Support Services as a Competitive Differentiator”, nearly 67% of consumers said that customer satisfaction was more important than price when doing business with a company, yet nearly 30% of companies still say that reducing the cost of support is more important than customer satisfaction. With the rules of customer and employee engagement changing, this disconnect is setting companies up for a negative long-term impact.
Increasing Customer Expectations
Today’s connected world demands that support and service teams take a greater role in driving customer engagement and loyalty. Digitalization, including the adoption of mainstream social platforms and the use of online forums, is acting as an accelerator on this shift. This is turning customer support improvement into an urgent imperative and making business practices increasingly transparent.
According to the study, customers rank better communication and fast problem resolution among their top priorities for customer support. While an overwhelming 89% of respondents believe that having a support agent they can communicate with is the most important aspect of a support experience, companies are challenged to meet this goal due to the various nuances of each user and individual devices. In fact, almost one-third of respondents said that support took a long time to resolve their issue while 24% said the problem was never resolved. With 64%, of consumers reporting that good support experience result in advocacy and additional purchases from the company and 60% reporting that they share bad experiences as well, residual impacts of customer support satisfaction have impacts far beyond a single engagement.
“Today’s digital disruption signals the need for a fresh support strategy. Service teams are being called upon to fulfil a greater purpose and are in a prime position to create success stories that can lead to better brand awareness, improve sales conversions, and ultimately, repeat business,” said Jennifer Cooke, Research Director, IDC. “As the research shows, the degree to which support is effective is now a competitive differentiator and companies need to approach it in a more proactive and predictive way or risk damaging relationships with customers, employees and partners.”
Expectations for Internal IT Are Also on the Rise
Negative support experience has a widespread impact on a company beyond just lost customers and revenue. Internal IT teams are under similar pressures from their end-users. In nearly all the topics surveyed, employee experiences and expectations of their internal IT teams matched those consumers have of customer support underscoring the importance of efficient support across the board. In addition, faulty internal IT support is costing companies in productivity of employees. When users don't receive effective support, 52% said that they waste time because they can't perform their jobs. In addition to not doing their jobs, 45% of the time they pull another colleague away from their own jobs and ask for help. The net impact is a dramatic decrease in productivity.
Developing an Effective Support Strategy
Companies are facing a variety of hurdles when it comes to developing a modern and effective support strategy. These challenges range from decreasing or stagnant budgets for support tools (41%) and lack of executive support (20%) to inability to scale with current tools and technologies (42%). Even for those that have made some changes to their internal processes or invested in technologies (50% of respondents), only 25% have been able to drive strong relationships due to the lack of adaptability and intelligence capabilities.
The survey did find that technologies like remote support are helping alleviate some of the pain customers associate with support today. Nearly 75% of organisations reported using remote support solutions within their environment and 85% of end users saying these technologies helped resolve their issues more quickly than other methods of support. As companies look to continue to mature their support organisations, they will need to look adopt these technologies as well as ones that will enable emerging artificial intelligence and automation to help meet the needs of changing users, devices and geographic locations.
“Customer service inextricably linked with the overall success of a company,” said Dave Campbell, Vice President, Customer Engagement and Support at LogMeIn. “This becomes even more apparent when discussing customer support specifically. In today’s competitive landscape, support organisations are being viewed two ways – as a competitive advantage or a detriment to success. As a result, finding the right balance of people, process and technology will be key for companies to mature their support strategy to a point where it will create long term loyalty, customer advocacy, and business growth.”
Methodology
In August 2017, IDC conducted two surveys to better understand how existing support technologies were meeting the needs of a changing user base. One survey focused on the end-user experience, and the other survey examined enterprise and service provider support programs and the tools they used, with the goal of assessing the current state of support, identifying areas of success, and uncovering areas that needed improvement. The 1,400 survey respondents were from a broad mix of industries, company sizes, professional roles, and geographic regions.
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