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Resource Type: White Paper

Published by: Exel Computer Systems

Title: How do large Field Service companies gain competitive advantage?

About: Published by UK service management software and ERP provider Exel Computer Systems this white paper looks at some of the challenges that companies can face as their mobile workforce grows to significant size. Concisely written this white paper raises some interesting questions and provides some good advice both for companies with a large mobile workforce as well as those who foresee their organisation and thus their mobile workforce expanding in due course.

Download: Download the white paper by clicking here

Overview:

 Whilst many of the challenges for field service companies are shared regardless of company size or industry vertical, there are some challenges that appear specifically amongst those field service companies that operate with a larger mobile workforce.

 

Understanding these challenges and how to minimise their impact on your business operations is of course important for those field service managers and directors working for larger enterprises, however, it is also important for those managing smaller and medium businesses (particularly those with aspirations of growth) as the adoption of best practices now may mean your company can both potentially avoid such issues as you grow and also enable you to grow your organisation faster.

This white paper from Exel Computer Systems addresses some of these issues and offers some great insight into how to overcome them.

Topics include:

The need for clarity of data within larger field service organisation…

The larger the service team, the more data there is to be potentially collected and analysed by more people across the business. It is here that the often-overlooked area of reporting offers real competitive advantage.

The company which can quickly access its information in appropriate real-time, flexible formats, from multiple points across the business (from the board room to dispatch room) and, most importantly, which can also trust that information, has a real advantage over the company reliant on inflexible reports only accessible and understandable by a limited number of people within the organisation.

Not only is the former company able to be more responsive and agile at an individual job/asset level, it has the potential to be so at a strategic level by being able to analyse and spot any emerging trends and react accordingly. 

Maximising customer facing time

Another challenge facing large service teams centres around maximising customer facing time by intelligently scheduling the best use of each engineer.  [quote float="right"]As the size of the team increases, there is the potential to treat each engineer according to more generic rules which may work better some times and less well at others.

In smaller service teams, there are less engineers to manage and it is inherently easier to optimise their use. As the size of the team increases, there is the potential to treat each engineer according to more generic rules which may work better some times and less well at others.

 

When a company has an FSM system that provides the visibility and accuracy of data described above, each engineer can be treated on an individual basis by the user utilising the knowledge and data held within the system. Not only does this potentially increase the quantity of jobs achieved over a given time period, it also potentially increases the quality of customer service as the customer will invariably get a quicker response.

Greatly increased risk of stock obsolescence

There is also the not inconsiderable challenge of minimising mobile stock levels. A company of five mobile engineers requiring fully stocked vehicles compared to a fleet of 500 vehicles represents not just a vast difference in terms of tied up stock, it also represents a greatly increased risk of stock obsolescence. It is for this reason that companies with large field service teams are beginning to gain competitive advantage by building relationships with suppliers at a local level.

 

If successfully done, local suppliers can either work on an agile basis and replenish individual vehicles as and when required, or even arrange to deliver to a customer site to coincide with an engineer visit.

Improving diagnostics, remote repair and self repair

Companies with large service teams are beginning to gain competitive advantage by proactively encouraging customers to share what can often be mission critical data. One such example is in a service/repair context where customers can aid preliminary diagnostics by sending a picture or video of the asset/problem in question. In some cases, this is enough to enable a skilled service engineer to work remotely with the customer to resolve an issue much quicker than sending an engineer on-site. This can also be advantageous where different engineers have areas of specialist knowledge; an engineer on-site can instantly communicate with another engineer that may have more experience for advice and direction, again removing any unnecessary waiting.

 

For some companies where downtime of an asset can be measured in thousands or tens of thousands of pounds per minute, this is an advantage offering huge potential savings.
 

Download your copy of this white paper now!

 

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As the organisers of the Field Service Solutions Theatre at this year’s Service Management Expo, Field Service News was on hand to speak exclusively to a number of leading industry professionals straight as they stepped off the theatre podium. In this video series we are pleased to bring you the highlights from the Field Service Solutions Theatre.

Here we hear from Simon Spriggs account manager at Exel Computer Systems discussing the various types of scheduling system with a focus on assisted scheduling and why it is important for any field service company to be able to have the ability to get it right first time every time when it comes to dispatch.

Download the slides from Simon's presentation by clicking this link

 

The late Steve Downton was widely regarded as one of the service industries truly great thinkers. His forward outlook on how the industry can and must evolve has helped shape many best in class service organisations over the years and we are pleased to be able to offer you the opportunity to download this excellent white paper commissioned by Exel Computer Systems and written by Steve.

The paper explores exactly why fully integrated solutions can now be seen as the only effective way forward for those companies who are aspiring to achieve best in the class levels of service. It examines how the companies recognised for delivering service excellence are achieving success through taking full advantage of the technology available and utilising it to create effective and streamlined processes, taking full advantage of the ability to widen the individuals knowledge base and capabilities through a fully integrated approach.

The paper looks at the importance of the fully empowered customer, who have the power at their fingertips to assess not only your company but your customers as well. In todays environment it is essential to be seen as being efficient and effective. Customers’ expect a joined-up experience and offer little understanding if they meet with poor processes which ultimately lead to a poor customer experience.

However, integrated service delivery puts us on the cusp of a completely new way of doing business that actually provides value for the customer and the service provider alike. The paper highlights the importance of breaking down the siloes that are the legacy of outdated, old-style thinking and building clear transparency across the core operations of a business such as service, logistics and call centre.

When this is achieved and the service operation is fully integrated with the other elements of the organisation, a company can become ‘super charged’ in terms of reducing effort (cost/time) whilst simultaneously improving the service experience for customers and staff alike.

As the paper continues Steve outlines how such an integrated approach cannot only bring benefits in the present but can shape an organisation to become future-proofed for further evolution as service standards continue to develop, adapt and grow. The paper also explore the advance of mobile solutions, the key factors to understand when making the move towards a mobile mid-set and again looks to the future and the incoming generation of staff to whom mobile computing is nothing more than standard.

On the whole the white paper provides an intelligent, balanced and forward looking perspective on why field service companies should be looking to integrated solutions. Nothing less than you would expect from one of the industries sharpest minds.

Download your copy of this excellent white paper for free here