ARCHIVE FOR THE ‘features’ CATEGORY

In this new four-part series Field Service News Editor Kris Oldland takes a look at five key tools forecast to become part of the field service engineer’s toolkit in the not so distant future.

 
As a child of the eighties with a penchant for a bit of science fiction to me the year 2015 sounds very much like the distant future we might have heard about when watching Tomorrow’s World back when we were kids. And whilst not all things that we thought would appear in the future have arrived -  for example,  we are not all walking around in  shiny silver outfits and the hover car has yet to be invented  - there is so much technology that is commonplace today which is truly remarkable and has that futuristic feel.
 
Devices like satnavs, tablets and smartphones could all have come straight from the set of Star Trek and just a decade ago it would have seemed incomprehensible that devices like these would be regular items in both our working and our personal lives. These devices are now not only widely in use, they are hitting mass saturation.
 
And it’s little wonder really when we think how big the impact first smartphones, then tablets and other forms of mobile computing have had on the way we work , how we communicate, the way we interact with each other, and how we manage tasks - all empowered by the mobile Internet. And in no other industry has the impact of improved mobile computing been felt more than in field service.[quote float="left"]In no other industry has the impact of improved mobile computing been felt more than in field service.

>However, I truly believe that the leaps forward we have made in terms of technology this decade are just the tip of the iceberg and in the next few years we will see further technologies that are now starting to emerge become as commonplace as the smartphone, satnav and tablet, and that they will have an even greater impact.  Phrases like the fourth paradigm, industry 2.0 and the new industrial revolution which were once being whispered in corners are now being used by very senior and respectable people with more and more frequency and more and more confidence.
 
Just consider this a moment – we are talking about a leap forward in technology that is comparable with the shift in society created by the industrial revolution.We are talking about massive changes in the way we work, a wholesale sea change bigger than anything we have experienced in living memory - all empowered by technologies that whilst they may seem futuristic are already out there and being used in industry today.
 
So lets take a look at some of these technologies and how they can be put to work as part of the field service engineer's tool kit.
 

 

Wearables: smart watches

 
Having spoken about smartphones in the introduction perhaps the most obvious place to start is with wearable technology such as smart watches. Last year was widely touted as the year of the wearables yet it didn’t really live up to the hyperbole.
 
In fact it was quite the opposite... research from digital research firm L2 confirmed what a lot of people in the industry would already have guessed:  that whilst 75% of consumers are aware of wearable technology, just 9% actually had any desire to purchase and a tiny 2% confirmed they actually owned a wearable device.
 
So not quite the mega-impact that many industry experts had been predicted.
 
However, whilst the consumer world might not be ready for such devices there is a definite home for them in the world of industry and particularly in field service.Lets take the smart watch to begin with. As part of the recent release of IFS Applications 9,  smart watch integration is embedded. Other companies like ClickSoftware have also built smart watch apps into their field service solutions.
 
The ability to communicate hands free, whether it be receiving messages or making a call, has obvious benefits for the field engineer whether it is when they are driving between jobs or working on site on a repair. This is the first key benefit of a smart watch. And whilst much of this functionality is available either through bluetooth headsets or through the smart-phone itself being put on speaker for example,[quote float="right"]A smart watch brings together and streamlines functionality in a much more convenient manner.

The impact that smartphones have had on field service is widely recognised - smart watches simply take the power of the mobile phone and deliver it in a more convenient device that enables the engineers to work with both hands at all times
 
And for me introducing additional convenience and improving the overall efficiency of the tasks we are trying to undertake, is a large factor in whether an emerging technology will take root and I do believe that smart watches certainly tick many of these boxes and have the potential to do so and should absolutely be considered when selecting the right hard ware for our field engineers.
 
Look out for the next feature within this feature where we look at how smart glasses and unmanned drones could also become regular tools used by our 2020 field engineers.
 

---

 

Be social and share this article

Channel partners can impact on delivery of  appropriate levels of customer service and support.  Yet, establishment of a channel partner relationship can be a very difficult, time-consuming and highly political business endeavor.  Bill Pollock, President, Strategies for Growth, suggests five key steps to creating successful alliances.

Many services organizations have begun to use channel partnerships to enhance their ability to reach, and support, an expanded market base. However, the use of such indirect business channels requires that the organization takes its partnership role very seriously in order for it to bring forth the desired marketing and economic benefits. This becomes particularly true with respect to the potential impact of the channel partnership on the company's ability to ensure that its ultimate customers are receiving the appropriate levels of customer service and support throughout the entire customer service process.

The true test of any services channel relationship may be measured in terms of answering the following three questions:

1. First, will the channel partnership allow the business to more efficiently provide the products and services that correspond with the ultimate requirements of the marketplace and, consequently, are also valued by the dealer/distributor and VAR communities;
2. Will the partnerships into which the business enters be of value for all participants, providing leverage for each to gain additional market share and/or attain additional revenue; and
3. Will the ultimate customers (i.e., end-users, equipment operators, consumers, et al) receive sufficiently high, and consistent, levels of customer service and support.[/ordered_list] 

Most businesses that enter into such partnerships believe that within each channel relationship, they can provide valuable assistance to their partners by assisting them in:

• Creating a sales and marketing infrastructure whereby they can more easily deliver the product and service offerings that they wish to provide to their own customers;
• Facilitating the launch of new product and service offerings to both existing and prospective market segments;
• Continually expanding, and improving upon, each partner's respective product and service offerings; and
• Offering both an existing customer service infrastructure as well as guidelines for supporting their partner's customers with the desired levels of service and support.Place your list items here

However, the establishment of a channel partner relationship can be a very difficult, time-consuming and highly political business endeavor. As such, it is critical that a formal process is involved in moving forward. This process may involve the following steps:

1. Partnership/Management Meetings

The first meeting between an organization's key executives and its potential partners is critical to initiating the partnership process. The result of this meeting will also determine the direction and speed with which the two organizations will pursue reaching their partnership goals, including identifying the degree of interest in alliance between the companies; generating enthusiasm for the rollout of the product and service offerings to the partner's customers; developing a consensus on the objectives, next steps and timeframe; agreeing on the levels of service and support to be provided; and establishing a formal agreement.

2. Establish the Alliance

Establishing the actual alliance is what sets the partnership in motion. At this stage, the objectives become to conduct the internal (i.e., partner) launch; ensure that the sales forces are entirely aware of, and educated about, the joint product and service offerings; and that they are able to consistently articulate and deliver the benefits of the joint offerings to the targeted customers. It is at this stage of the partnership process that the policies and procedures for delivering "seamless" customer service and support, across all company/organizational boundaries, are also established.

3. Generate Market Interest and Demand

Once the initial steps have been successfully completed, the program focus should shift to the generation of market interest and demand. The primary goal of this step is to generate awareness of, and demand for, the product and service offerings from among the partners' joint customer bases. The primary issues addressed as part of this step are the identification of the key influencers and sources of information for the purchase decision makers; implementation of ongoing programs of communications with customers and other market influencers; formal market launch of the product and service offerings; gathering of feedback/response from external audiences; communication of that feedback/response to appropriate internal audiences; and development of customer testimonials and references to be utilized in ongoing marketing programs.

4. Identify Segment Priorities

Based on the results of the previous steps, the objective should now focus on the identification of the targeted customer segments that most value the partners' "new" product and service offerings, and what specifically are their needs and requirements for customer service and support. The key issues to be addressed here include defining a common set of needs and requirements to be fulfilled by the product and service offerings; identifying common characteristics with which to categorize and describe the key customer segments; focusing all marketing, sales and customer service activities on these defined priorities; and capturing new business development opportunities in other areas as they occur.

5. Refine Product and Service Offerings

The final step is actually the first step in revisiting all of the actions and activities that have led to this point. The primary mechanism for ultimately refining the product and service offerings, and the corresponding levels of required customer service and support, is to incorporate the principal issues of customer feedback and response directly into the partners' respective portfolios.

Overall, supporting the ultimate customer may involve all of the organization's channel partners. The most successful channel partners will be those that can maximize the impact of their relationships once they have successfully completed an effective process for selecting the most appropriate partners at the outset; arranging for the establishment of mutually beneficial partnership agreements on a contractual basis; developing and implementing a plan for working together; establishing reciprocal programs for ensuring consistently high levels of customer service and support; and jointly marketing and promoting the full portfolios of each of the partners' products and services.

---

Be social and share this feature

Artificial intelligence isn’t just the realms of Hollywood fiction these days and it could have a big impact on field service writes ClickSoftware Steve Mason...

With Ultron currently tearing up The Avengers and The Terminator set to reappear on screens this summer, artificial intelligence (AI) has once again become a big topic of conversation in the technology world. Whilst Hollywood does its best to present AI as a looming precursor to an apocalypse, those working with it now are having a more rational debate about the pros and cons on each side of harnessing the potential of AI.
 
For businesses, the pull of embracing AI is a powerful one. Much like the cloud before it, AI represents an opportunity to immediately tap into a resource. Cloud computing provided the option of upscaling and downscaling computing power in an instant. AI could potentially allow for businesses to tap into extra problem-solving capabilities. Combine both AI and the cloud, and suddenly businesses of all sizes have access to a bottomless pit of resource to call upon regardless of where they operate.

However, for the people working at these businesses, where would that leave them? Will jobs be at risk of machines coming in and taking them away? At a recent debate we hosted with leading academics in this area, the outlook was far less bleak. Instead of AI replacing humans in their entirety, instead merely help them add to their skill-set and challenge them to adapt to change.

 

 
Many of the mundane and monotonous, though hugely important, jobs that require the inputting and handling of data are not necessarily adding a great deal of value to businesses. During the debate it was argued that such time-intensive jobs can and should be handled by AI.
 
For example, any delivery or receipt of goods or services needs to have a trail to demonstrate its completion. This involves manually collecting and sharing that data to prove that is the case. Incorporating an AI function could significantly assist with this process by making the whole thing autonomous.
 
In its place, staff will be able to take on new roles and responsibilities. With that comes a more diverse range of skills needed.
Where some are worried AI could “hollow-out” the middle management of a business, it could well foster an environment where key employees in that middle role are given the opportunity to focus on developing new skills rather than having productivity eaten away by more of the routine tasks that are required of them.
&nsbp;
AI should be seen in the same way new equipment is. When PCs replaced typewriters, people simply began to produce more documents and take on further tasks. It was an adaption.
 
The same will take place as AI begins to be introduced. As has always been the case, it will be up to the individuals to work with the tools they are given and change what they do and how they do it to aid in the progress and success of the business.
 

 

---

Be social and share this feature

Whilst it may seem like we are taking giant leaps forward in field service right now, it's the many small steps that have led us to where we are writes Kris Oldland, in his May/June editorial leader.

One small step, one giant leap.

I sometimes wish I had been around when Neil Armstrong had uttered his immortal phrase. But if I had then perhaps I wouldn’t be reporting on what I truly believe is an equally important part of history.

We truly are living in an age of unprecedented technological advancement. Parallels are drawn with the industrial revolution and whilst some may baulk at such grandiose comparisons, personally I think history will show this to be an age that eclipses the shift from arable to industrial, an age that eclipses the space race, an age where our technology eventually becomes an integral part of who we are and of how we define ourselves as species.

But lets think back on those famous words of the world’s most famous astronaut.

One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

As I look through this issue of Field Service News I see so many giant leaps that are the result of many small steps forward. To begin there is my own feature looking at the Field Engineer’s Toolkit of 2020. In this I look at technologies I believe will become common in the not so distant future.

Five years ago each of these technologies would have seemed like the product of some outlandish, futurist fantasy. Yet all of the technologies listed are actually the result of the small steps forward that proceeded them.

Wearables for example are a hot topic right now, but they wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the smart phone, which in turn wouldn’t have existed if it weren’t for WAP. 3D printing, one of the most exciting and futuristic technologies around, is some forty years in the making. The Internet of Things is now coming of age but medical device company Elekta were shipping their devices with 56K Modems twenty years ago.

Des Evans, Former Chairman of MAN trucks, one of those companies that is often held up as an example of both a disruptive company embracing technology and a manufacturer evolving into a service oriented organisation, sums this up perfectly. “We were an overnight success ten years in the making” he explained when talking about the way MAN reinvented the road logistics sector.

Another company that are placed in the same bracket as MAN is Alstom, yet when I spoke to Alex Bill in their Power Generation division again the hot topic of servitization and outcome based services is old hat for these folks. They grasped the nettle, and they took their small steps towards a customer centric, advanced services model many, many years ago. The result? Many of their competitors are now trying to emulate their success, but are a giant leap behind.

 

Meanwhile, Professor Andy Neely writing for Field Service News for the first time, outlines his recent experiences in China where a number of manufacturing companies are also making giant leaps forward as they try to use service to position themselves as sector leaders. The moral of the story? Those companies that put their customers at the heart of their thinking are going to always come out ahead of the game.

I love the quote from Hewlett Packard for example where they state they are now the largest paper distributor in the world. They used to sell printers and they were focused on what they did and they did it well. For many years they tried to educate the world as to why they were the number one choice when it came to buying a printer. Then one day they realised their customers didn’t really care about printers. Really all they cared about was printing their documents in a cost effective yet high quality fashion.

So they stopped selling printers and started selling the ability to print.

A giant leap? Yes. But one made from very simple small steps.

Another example of small steps and giant leaps in this issue is the story behind IFS. I was lucky enough to be invited to their World Conference a few weeks ago in Boston.

It was a great trip. Not only because the city of Boston is steeped in history. Not only because I watched my newly inherited team the Red Sox win in my first ever baseball match. Not even because I had a beer in the Cheers bar where Ted Danson came to fame, where everybody new my name.

It was a great trip because I got to witness what I honestly think is the true coming of age of a company, who I believe, will be a significant influence in the next few years both in the Field Service industry and beyond.

Whilst the audience was definitely already onside, it was a bit like attending an SNP rally in Glasgow, the fact of the matter is that IFS Applications 9 generated some serious excitement. There is some very cleverly designed functionality and some serious architecture going on underneath (Especially the in-memory stuff that comes later this year) but once again this is one leap forwards that is built on a number of smaller steps.

When I spoke exclusively with IFS Managing Director Paul Massey I asked him to outline the key milestones in his time with the company and as we talked it through I realised that whilst the milestones like their one millionth customer were important, actually it has been a case of steady, well placed steps that has led them to where they are today. But now with the backing of partners like Microsoft and Accenture they are geared up for one more giant leap forward in the near future I feel...

Based on research by Capterra this handy infographic identifies the strengths of some of the key software providers you may find in the field service sector...

Within field service the IFS brand is well known, having gone through an aggressive expansion drive fuelled by key acquisitions of US based Metrix and UK based 360 Scheduling the brand has secured both headlines and customers alike within our industry in recent years. However at this year’s IFS world conference held in Boston there was a real sense that the ERP software provider has truly come of age as a key global player.

Hosted in Boston the three-day event combined some inspirational keynote speakers, a slick mix of presentation formats – including a US TV Style panel show and most importantly given the profile of the delegates an impressive array of technology for the attendees to get their hands on.

At the heart of the conference was the announcement of IFS Applications 9 which having be revealed on the first morning of the conference caused a significant amount of interest and excitement. Admittedly the audience was already fairly engaged with IFS’s product suite with an initial poll showing almost half of those in attendance were already considering moving to Applications 9, however, if the general reception to the series of new functionalities and tools announced was anything to go by, by the end of the three days that figure may well have increased further.

IFS Applications 9 revealed

After an initial opening keynote from IFS CEO Alastair Sorbie we were soon greeted with an impressive promotional video giving us a glimpse of what the next generation of IFS applications will include. Shots of a very modern, intuitive looking interface sitting across multiple devices, including interestingly a variety of smart watches ensued as the video rolled across the obligatory 100ft screen, accompanied by an upbeat dance track.

The message was very clear. IFS Applications 9 was something the Scandinavian based company were very proud about and they wanted the world to know it.

 

As Thomas Sald SVP Research and Development, IFS announced as he took to the stage as the video came to an end “It looks quite exciting doesn’t it? And it’s beautiful as well”.

Indeed this is perhaps the first initial response of IFS Applications 9. It simply looks great. It is a clean, modern, and intuitive looking user interface. The growing trend of customisation in enterprise technology is something that the development team of IFS have clearly given a lot of consideration to.

“We know that user experience is important to you as it is directly linked to your business.” Sald continued “A great user experience increases productivity, makes it easier to make the right decisions and helps in attracting and retaining talent. It also shortens the implementation time and creates enthusiasm for the new system.”

“User experience is important. Yes it’s looks good, but it is important because it supports your business and the people that run your business.”

However, there needs to be more to a new system than just a facelift. Fortunately IFS Applications 9 has introduced a number of new capabilities that also raise the bar in terms of the functionality of the software that could potentially some real benefits to those field service companies that elect to implement it.

The first of these introduced was the IFS Lobby.

IFS Lobby essentially provides a very clear and highly customisable view of a business or a specific project within a business, in relation to a specific job role or process. Being fully customisable IFS can bring the users at-a-glance information that they need for their own specific requirements and it can be tailored to each unique user.

The user is also then able to drill down into specific finer details relating to either their role or a specific project and it’s elegant UI is fully responsive making it accessible from desktop, tablet or even smart phone.

 

Such easy access to key information whilst out in the field could of course be equally as vital to enhancing and improving how a field engineer’s workflow as it could to making reporting at management level a far easier and less troubling task.

Another impressive benefit of lobby is the ability to observe and interact with other departments within the ERP structure and this leads neatly into the second big introduction of IFS Applications 9 – Streams.

Streams is basically an inbuilt notification system within IFS Applications 9. With a similar look to something akin to the lovechild of instant messenger and twitter it was a neat way to receive updates on tasks that require your action.

However, Streams doesn’t just sit in your Lobby waiting for you to spot the new notifications pop up. No Sir, with apps for both smart phones and smart watches available Streams is able to bring your attention to the task at hand as soon as it arrives.

What was soon becoming clear with the release of IFS Applications 9 was that the software is hugely customisable. From being able to quickly and effectively build your own Lobby that provides the key information you need at a glance through to tweaking the UI so that it looks more familiar and comfortable to you and your colleagues.

However, being able to make aesthetic changes and user level functionality is one thing but a true customisation, one which essentially changes elements within the base code, which are sometimes still both genuinely needed and well motivated is another entirely.

In the past a significant consideration if you have a customised version of any software, let alone something as mission critical as an ERP, is how much additional work is there to make the upgrade feasible due to the customisations in place. Often the amount of work to transition from one version to another can simply outweigh the benefits of moving to the new platform.

This is where the next major new element of IFS Applications 9 comes in. It is built on a ‘Layered Application Architecture’ which essentially removes such worries from the equation making upgrades as simple a process for customised versions of the system as those that have been run straight out of the box.

“We’ve broken the code into separate transparent layers” explained Sald “That means when we come with an update to IFS applications your customisations can remain unchanged. That’s going to save a lot of time.”

Indeed it is, and this layered architecture has been applied to all of the varying pieces of IFS Applications 9 such as the data models, the design models the business logic and the user interface which could be a potentially massive incentive for those companies looking to opt for a system which is set to grow with them.

 

The other big enhancement that could be a real game-changer for both IFS and ERP providers in general is the inclusion of an embedded CRM. As data becomes more and more important in field service both in terms of capturing it, interpreting it and most importantly removing barriers to accessing that data for those who need it is critical.

With the inclusion of Embedded CRM within IFS Applications 9 essentially users can now have an enterprise application that combines ERP and CRM into a single package so now the barrier of using a CRM as a separate application with it’s own separate database is removed.

However, whilst each of these components of the new release are important, it was undoubtedly the Lobby function that had caused the most excitement with the conversations in the coffee break clearly being centred around this new innovation, with a number of attendees clearly keen to get a hands on experience with it in the later sessions.

Playing with the Big Boys…

I mentioned at the beginning of this feature that this was the year that perhaps IFS have truly emerged as a major global player. And whilst IFS Applications 9 is truly an impressive step forward for the company, it was just element of the announcements revealed at the conference that led me to this conclusion.

Another significant factor is the announcements of a number of key strategic partnerships that signify just how far IFS have progressed in recent years and how important a player they may set to become in the various verticals they operate within.

The event itself saw a number of these partners including the likes of Oracle and Intel showcasing how they are working with IFS in the innovation and networking area.

However, there were two top tier partnerships that really caught the eye. The first of these was a co-operation agreement wit Accenture that was announced the day before the conference, which will see the two companies, strengthen there existing partnership with training and certification of over 100 consultants through the IFS Academy.

With IFS and Accenture jointly pursuing sales and delivery opportunities the core of the agreement will focus on growing IFS’s licence sales together with Accenture’s implementation and application management services. Such an approach could be key in opening up a path to top tier, blue chip organisations for IFS who have traditionally be more focussed on the mid-level sector.

Whilst this five year partnership may well prove significant for IFS, it was the other ‘diamond level’ partnership that was announced that is of likely interest to their customers both past and present.

That partnership was with Microsoft.

As a result of this high level collaboration IFS announced during the conference the global availability of IFS Applications as a fully managed service on Microsoft Azure, which could provide a much more flexible and cost effective way to take advantage of the IFS suite of solutions.

 

Optimised for IFS Applications versions 8 and 9, IFS Managed Cloud is a security-enhanced single-tenant cloud within the world-class Azure environment. Customers can decide how and when changes are made to IFS Applications, specify maintenance and upgrades to suit their business needs.

“Not everybody wants to go about the cloud in the same way” began Dan Matthews, Chief Technology Officer IFS as he made the announcement. “Some of you may see it as a virtual data centre, others may be working with a partner who are moving multiple assets to the cloud. Some of you may want the vendor to take care of everything for you”

It is to those in the last categories that IFS Managed Cloud is aimed at.

“IFS Managed Cloud marks a major milestone in our company’s history as it offers our customers a new set of options for deploying, running, and using our solutions,” Matthews commented in the accompanying press statement to the launch.

“We have designed IFS Managed Cloud to provide flexibility, improved security, and reliability at a level that would be very expensive to achieve in any on-premise installation. Coupled with the layered application architecture of IFS Applications 9 and the ability to utilize Azure’s global network of data centres, we are offering a truly future-proof cloud solution that reduces complexity, risk, and cost.”

So what about Field Service?

Of course whilst understanding the bigger picture is important, for those with field service operations the burning question is what have you improved for my team and me. In fact there were a number of major updates that were announced during the conference that related specifically to their IFS Enterprise Service Management (ESM)suite of products, which comprise of IFS Service Management, IFS Field Service Management and IFS Mobile Workforce Management.

In fact Cindy Jaudon, North American President for IFS went as far as defining IFS ESM as the most “comprehensive suite of service management solutions available.”

So what has been added?

For a start the latest iteration of IFS Field Service Management (version 5.6.2) includes a number of enhancements including running natively on Microsoft Azure which as well as being a robust and proven platform of allows customers to dynamically scale system resources based on actual usage.

There has also been a large focus on added mobility tools with some really nice enhancements including an automatic calculation of ETA using GPS data and the long awaited ability to record videos with the system. However, here it is perhaps the under the hood tweaks that were most impressive with initial tests showing that the new update is delivering 92% decrease in sync times and a 500% increase in maximum file sizes.

 

Notifications have had an overhaul too with the Android version now support the Android notification bar (a key missing feature for many Android users) and alongside the ability to accept or reject a job assignment directly from notifications just makes the user experience that much more streamlined than before. We also see the notifications system having a wearable option for the first time as well with integration with Samsung and other Android watches.

There is also the introduction of what promises to be an excellent automated knowledge management solution, which will make recommendations of which solutions are appropriate for a job as information is being entered by customer service staff or customers.

The system considers user rankings and actual usage. Additionally, solutions include attachments (FAQs, product manuals, etc.), service notes and sync with the mobile devices; efficiently extending knowledge management from call centre to field service.

In both IFS Field Service Management and IFS Mobile Management there is a focus on scheduling and IFS Mobile Workforce now features support for a number of increasingly complex scheduling problems including being able to now even cater for jobs that have different start and finish areas.

Alongside this there is increased support for dispatchers including simplified visualisation of the schedule, and manual, semi automated and dynamic scheduling options.

For management there is then the excellent inclusion of target-based scheduling which gives them the ability to set business-goals and KPIs within the system that automatically impact on the way the scheduling system allocates work whilst at the same time it can consistently monitor actual performance versus business targets such as SLAs and first time fix rates etc.

IFS Mobile Workforce Management also now incorporates an Advanced Resource Planning tool, which supports the manning requirements of more challenging and complex operations such as Oil Rigs, Ships, high-tech machinery and so forth.

Finally IFS Service Management boasts the same love and attention to it’s UI that has been seen across the whole of IFS Applications 9, plus improved remote warehouse capabilities, and again a focus on both scheduling and mobile.

Milestones

As I mentioned in the beginning, the IFS World Conference from the very start had a sense of celebration and pride about it all underscored with a deep lying confidence.

The technology showcased across the three days was undoubtedly impressive and at the forefront of the various industries it is designed for. And as we’ve touched on here through some strong strategic partnerships IFS may well soon find themselves playing in a bigger pond and attracting even bigger fish.

Another announcement made at the conference is that IFS have now got 1 million users on board.

 

It’s a big milestone but one that is all the more impressive if look back at their history and see that it took, 21 years to reach the 500,00 mark. A further 8 years to grow that figure to 750,000 and just a further 2 years to grow there user base by a quarter of a million users to hit the big seven figure milestone.

One thing is sure; IFS’s growth is now gaining some serious traction. They’ve got a product that can deliver and are rubbing shoulders with some very powerful friends.

Now wonder they’re feeling confident. The question is now just how big can they become? How long before we are talking about the next milestone? And just what will that Milestone be?

 

---

 

Be social and share this feature

Whilst telematics is now a well established part of field service operations, connected devices will open the way for even greater efficiency gains. With the TomTom .connect conference just around the corner just around set to bring together the IT and developer community together to further improve the efficiency of connected vehicles TomTom Telematics George De Boer outlines how connected vehicles are changing the face of field service... 

The face of field service is changing more rapidly than ever before. Technological innovations are constantly expanding the boundaries for what is possible and connectivity, in particular, is predicted to sit at the heart of this bold new generation.

Effective use of software and hardware has long been key to delivering top-class field service but developments are now occurring at breakneck speed and the quickest adopters will gain a head-start on the competition.

Telematics itself is nothing new in the field service industry. It has long been crucial for providing visibility into the activities of mobile workers, delivering data on everything from time on site and job completion to driving performance. But connectivity and the open platform will transform its use, allowing companies to easily overcome the physical distance between a mobile worker and the office with an increased number of automated, paperless processes.

 

Data from a range of sources, including routing and scheduling, CRM and mobile hardware, can be brought together on one platform to improve efficiency and increase the sharing of intelligence across different departments.

The power of the API

A number of big players in business technology, such as Salesforce and Mendix, have long operated an open platform approach. This basically means software developers are provided unhindered access to their platform for the purpose of developing scalable integrations and applications that add extra functionality to the core system.

As a result, technological platforms can be tailored to suit a multitude of purposes and offer specific solutions for a variety of different industries.

At this year’s Service Management Expo, TomTom Telematics will showcase its own three APIs that allow developers to create solutions that bring together data from different sources.

 

The WEBFLEET.connect API allows office software - such as routing and scheduling optimisation, ERP, transport management system (TMS), supply chain planning, and asset

management - to integrate with the WEBFLEET fleet management platform.

LINK.connect allows mobile hardware - including barcode scanners, printers or temperature sensors - to integrate with the in-vehicle LINK telematics device via Bluetooth, while PRO.connect allows the creation of mobile apps for use by drivers on the tablet-style PRO driver terminal.

Efficiency through apps

The outcome for field service organisations is greater efficiency in workflow processes, improved control over mobile workers and less reliance on paper for the recording of data.

To provide an example of how that happens in the field, workers can be given access to a single app on a centrally-controlled, tablet-style device that allows them to complete a number of daily tasks.

At the start of each day or week, vehicle checks can be made via the device, with the results instantly updated in the back office to ensure maintenance schedules are up to date and Duty of Care responsibilities strictly enforced.

Once checks have been completed, daily workflow is loaded onto the device and navigation provided to each destination along the worker’s route. Using live traffic data, the fleet management software can generate accurate ETAs for each journey, with automatic alerts sent to customers via text or email to advise them of arrival time.

On arrival, the worker can submit proof of delivery using the app’s signature capture functionality or by scanning with the device’s in-built camera or NFC chip. Once jobs are completed, status is updated in the back-office system, along with daily mileage records and worker hours, eliminating the need for laborious record-keeping processes.

Revolutionary processes right out of the box

One of the most important things about the recent growth of open platform technology is that companies do not need to invest large sums in IT consultancy to benefit from the latest advancements.

Development projects no longer need to be undertaken on a case-by-case basis. Once a developer or integrator has used an API to create an app, this can be made available to all customers out of the box. TomTom Telematics, for example, has more than 330 technology partners and lists all available applications in its App Centre.

In the field service sphere, these include integrations with Brother and Zebra mobile printers and route planning and scheduling software, such as Ortec and PTV Smartour.

 

The latter integrations can deliver significant gains in customer service, allowing companies to develop a new model of dynamic planning that changes according to the situation out on the roads.

Existing routing and scheduling software can take advantage of real-time traffic information, historic journey times and up-to-date ETAs from the telematics system to ensure schedules are immediately altered to take account of any delays in previous jobs or out on the road. Similarly, the future of field service is constantly changing but firms have the tools at their disposal to meet increasing customer service demands and tackle an uncertain economic landscape by striving for greater efficiency.

 

---

 

IT professional or Developer? Join TomTom Telematics and Field Service News at the .connect developer conference in Amsterdam June 9th

 

---

 

Service Professional? Join TomTom Telematics and Field Service News at the Service Management Expo June 16 to 18

---

Be social and share this feature

In our recent webinar run in partnership with ServiceMax, we explored two of the biggest topics in field service in 2015.

Firstly Nick Frank, Principal of Frank Partners explored how field service companies can harness the potential of IoT.

Whilst many of us may have heard the examples of the likes of Rolls Royce, General Electric or Alstom being held up as key case studies of how IoT can improve the way field service operates, Frank was able to bring us some really interesting examples of smaller companies harnessing the technology to improve their workflow busting the myth that such an approach is the sole domain of the blue chip international companies.

Our second speaker, Patrice Eberline, Vice President of Global Customer Transformation for ServiceMax looked at perhaps the greatest challenge field service companies have faced in decades. The threat of an ageing workforce.

However, as Eberline explained whilst there is undoubtedly a potential crisis looming, there is also an excellent opportunity. Whilst the baby boomer generation is preparing to walk out of the door, ma new generation, the millennials, are potentially a perfect fit for field service. In her presentation Eberline outlined exactly what traits millennials have that makes them so suitable for field service and what we need to do attract them to work for our companies and to field service in general.

 

---

 

Click here to download the webinar now!

---

This promotion is a joint promotion between Field Service News and ServiceMax. See the privacy policy here

 

---

 

Be social and share this feature

The main difference between being able to make unhappy customers happy, and happy customers even happier, is the point of initiation. At least with unhappy customers, even if you do not know why they were unhappy before contacting them (or having them contact you), you can rest assured that you will get the chance to learn very quickly writes Bill Pollock, President of Strategies for Growth^SM

Ironically, however, it may actually be a bit more difficult to make a happy customer even happier than it is to make an unhappy customer happy in the first place – and you certainly would not want to accidentally do something wrong that might make them unhappy instead.

It’s all a matter of listening, understanding, responding effectively and working under the auspices of an intuitive set of guidelines that should largely come as second nature to the vast majority of the organisation’s customer contact personnel (including yourself).

What we have seen from our research is that the best approach for making happy customers even happier is to focus on the following guidelines:

• Make sure that you and your customer services team understand how the customer uses its systems and equipment as part of their ongoing business operations – make suggestions occasionally on how they can improve efficiency, save some money, go green or reduce waste, etc.
• Take steps to better understand the difference between the customer’s wants and needs – provide them with targeted information and advice that they can use to concentrate more on what they “need”, rather than on what they think they “want”.
• Understand the customer's plans for future expansion, downsizing or consolidation – make the appropriate recommendations for updating and/or modifying their existing service level agreements, or upgrading to newer or different models and technology.
• Keep track of the things you have done in the past to make them happy – do more of the same, and learn what other things or actions would also make them happy.
• Customers love to feel they are getting something for nothing – any documentation or materials that you believe may help your customers to utilise their systems and equipment more efficiently, or provide them with additional product or service information, will generally be gladly accepted.
• Customers also love to hear what other users like themselves are doing with their equipment – so, without divulging any customer-proprietary information, occasionally provide your customers with examples of what some other companies are doing, again, to improve efficiency, save some money, or reduce waste, etc.
• Provide your customers with new product or service information before it is otherwise widely distributed or disseminated – customers always enjoy receiving information before it is distributed to the general public.
• Share your organisation’s thought leadership collateral with your customers – most customers especially like to be made aware of White Papers or Case Studies that help them to understand the enhanced value propositions of the equipment and services they are using, or how their peers have benefited in ways they may not have anticipated through the use of your products and services.
• Provide a more "personal" side of your communications with your customers in order to establish a closer, and less formal relationship – but, be careful not to get too "personal"; just close enough so they feel they can depend on you to act as their surrogate within the company whenever a problem becomes larger than what both you and they, can handle by yourselves.
• Strive toward making your relationship with your customers a true "partnership", rather than just merely a “vendor-customer" relationship – this is the true essence of Customer Relationship Management, or CRM.

Of course, all of these guidelines are merely just words written in a magazine article; the true test can only be exercised by you and your customer and technical support teams on behalf of the customer.

In any case, you should always feel comfortable in relying on your own instincts in order to initially assess the situation, determine the appropriate course of action, and override any of these (or any other) guidelines on the basis of your accumulated expertise and experience.

If you are truly going to succeed in establishing – and maintaining – a strong relationship with your customers, then you must first have both the capability and the confidence to use your own judgment in taking the specific actions that will make your happy customers even happier.

 

---

 

Be social and share this feature