The balance between achieving high levels of customer experience and delivering operational excellence that will drive service revenues forwards is a finely nuanced one. In this first excerpt from a video presentation run in partnership with...
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Aug 26, 2019 • Features • Software & Apps • Operational Efficiency • Video • first time fix • Service Execution Management • Outsystems • Customer Satisfaction and Expectations
The balance between achieving high levels of customer experience and delivering operational excellence that will drive service revenues forwards is a finely nuanced one. In this first excerpt from a video presentation run in partnership with Outsystems we heard from Rachel Brennan, who spoke about the importance of getting this balance correct. Now in the second excerpt from this presentation Phil Bartholow gives a tour of the Outsystems platform to show us how their customers are using the tools to improve their own service delivery
Aug 26, 2019 • Features • service supply chain • supply chain • Parts Pricing and Logistics
Kevin Little from logistics firm PiVAL International outlines three ways to keep on top of your supply chain.
Kevin Little from logistics firm PiVAL International outlines three ways to keep on top of your supply chain.
It seems that as every day goes by, the supply chain becomes immensely more complex to understand. It could be due to the rise of technology increasing visibility to the supply chain, the fact that it’s more process-driven due to the need to minimize the costs, and that it has become the highest priority to ensure successful business management.
So with all of these factors creating the supply chain complexities, how do you go about it?
It seems that as every day goes by, the supply chain becomes immensely more complex to understand. It could be due to the rise of technology increasing visibility to the supply chain, the fact that it’s more process-driven due to the need to minimize the costs, and that it has become the highest priority to ensure successful business management.
So with all of these factors creating the supply chain complexities, how do you go about it?
three ways to stay on track of the supply chain
First and foremost, understanding the supply chain’s efficiency is difficult to master, which is why there are service industries that assist with some of the distribution of services. But how can you stay on track of the supply chain? Here are three tips that we use, that are beneficial when wanting to stay on top of the curve.
#1. Adapt to Your Customer Demand and Go Mobile
To ensure you are staying on track of the supply chain, make sure you are able to adapt to customers' demands. Living in a digital world, customers now demand that all technologies associated in the field are intolerant of failure. Technology is one of the greatest liberators when it comes to your sales force. Utilizing this advancement means your company has more time acquiring and retaining customers instead of focusing on paperwork and waiting for responses.
#2. Outsource an External Partner
When your company decides to outsource an external partner, you are allowing yourself to focus more on your company’s core strengths and values. Thus, remaining ahead and on track of any trends relating to the supply chain. Instead of maintaining in-house infrastructure and expertise to manage every operation in your business, companies should consider outsourcing supply chain partners. By outsourcing a third party logistics company, you will be improving your business by speeding up service and improving your customer service. Additionally, the business will be saving both time and money.
#3. Increase or Maintain Your Visibility
The term ‘Supply Chain Visibility’ refers to your company’s ability to track every component and touchpoint the product has undergone, from the suppliers’ hands to yours.
You can obtain good visibility to your customers by giving your suppliers the ability to check your inventory in real-time, in order for them to gain a better understanding of current stock and plan ahead for future demand. Having a supply chain partner that presents good visibility and allows your team members to access details about your counts allows them to strategize freely, without risking too much distraction back-and-forth.
Allowing colleagues, customers and suppliers the power of visibility relieves pressure regarding communication and inventory planning for the future. Your supply must be responsible to stay optimized for many different market and supply conditions. Think redundancy and multi-channel supply chains.
Kevin Little is VP, Sales and Marketing at PiVAL International.
Aug 22, 2019 • Features • Artificial intelligence • manuel grenacher • SAP
The world of field service delivery is going through significant transformation currently and at the heart of that transformation lies Artificial Intelligence, Manuel Grenacher, GM of SAP Service Cloud writes... Many industries and domains are...
The world of field service delivery is going through significant transformation currently and at the heart of that transformation lies Artificial Intelligence, Manuel Grenacher, GM of SAP Service Cloud writes...
Many industries and domains are already using artificial intelligence (AI). When it comes to field service management, however, AI is still a new aspect in the field of service excellence. Imagine customers calling their service provider because an installation is malfunctioning; a machine has to be maintained, or an urgently needed spare part is needed. It is always essential that a service technician is on-site quickly – not any technician, but the one with the required know-how and tools.
To support this process, field service management solutions based on AI help to coordinate and organize customer requests. Additionally, the waiting time for customers until their problem is fixed can be reduced immensely.
Since traditional resource planning can no longer cope with the enormous volume of service orders that arise, AI is an ideal solution. Artificial intelligence uses customer information and data to empower service companies so that they are able to make strategic and informed decisions.
Thorough analyses powered by AI help to streamline project planning, staffing requirements, new products, inventory management, and customer service.
Automation reduces workloads
Due to an ever-growing number of work orders, the time pressure on service staff is increasing. Automated bot systems based on artificial intelligence, such as chatbots, represent a forward-looking solution in field service management.
Chatbots assist service technicians and customers alike by giving them 24/7 feedback based on the company’s FAQs or data sheets as well as manuals to solve minor machinery defects autonomously. Thus, first level enquiries can be answered immediately, and on-site visits can be reduced.
In addition to chatbots, artificial intelligence is key to the automation of workflows in service sectors. Field service management solutions based on AI can take over the role of dispatchers, for example: They analyze customer inquiries and assign jobs to the most suitable service technician based on their qualifications, location, and availability. Companies benefit from more efficient and faster operational planning of their service staff. Consequently, advantages for customers are improvements in the fields of time and expert service.
Multichannel support, a recipe for happy customers
Customers increasingly expect service companies to be available on all possible channels in order to receive the best support for their issue.
AI applications can be used to collect, analyze, evaluate, and forward requests received via e-mail, social media, webchat, telephone, or in personal conversations with employees, that can then choose between different answer options. If necessary, these answers can be personalized and individualized to the customer’s request.
An approach like this accelerates the exchange with customers and enables real-time as well as multichannel support.
AI algorithms enable personalized service
Field service management solutions can gather data and, as a result, companies can access vast quantities of information with every single customer contact. Furthermore, AI algorithms help to analyze the collected data and draw conclusions for future deployments of service technicians by extracting relevant pieces of information.
Additionally, they offer information about when a service order is due or which tools are required. Machine learning also helps to calculate how long the next service deployment will take. All results and findings are stored in the field service management software and other linked systems so service technicians can access customer information at any time and location to customize their service according to the client’s needs.
Artificial intelligence is one of the most important future technologies in the area of field service management to be used to increase service excellence and to please customers.
It enables and improves a smarter and more efficient workforce by delivering reliable customer support in real-time.
Manuel Grenacher is GM of SAP Service Cloud
Many industries and domains are already using artificial intelligence (AI). When it comes to field service management, however, AI is still a new aspect in the field of service excellence. Imagine customers calling their service provider because an installation is malfunctioning; a machine has to be maintained, or an urgently needed spare part is needed. It is always essential that a service technician is on-site quickly – not any technician, but the one with the required know-how and tools.
To support this process, field service management solutions based on AI help to coordinate and organize customer requests. Additionally, the waiting time for customers until their problem is fixed can be reduced immensely.
Since traditional resource planning can no longer cope with the enormous volume of service orders that arise, AI is an ideal solution. Artificial intelligence uses customer information and data to empower service companies so that they are able to make strategic and informed decisions.
Thorough analyses powered by AI help to streamline project planning, staffing requirements, new products, inventory management, and customer service.
Automation reduces workloads
Due to an ever-growing number of work orders, the time pressure on service staff is increasing. Automated bot systems based on artificial intelligence, such as chatbots, represent a forward-looking solution in field service management.
Chatbots assist service technicians and customers alike by giving them 24/7 feedback based on the company’s FAQs or data sheets as well as manuals to solve minor machinery defects autonomously. Thus, first level enquiries can be answered immediately, and on-site visits can be reduced.
In addition to chatbots, artificial intelligence is key to the automation of workflows in service sectors. Field service management solutions based on AI can take over the role of dispatchers, for example: They analyze customer inquiries and assign jobs to the most suitable service technician based on their qualifications, location, and availability. Companies benefit from more efficient and faster operational planning of their service staff. Consequently, advantages for customers are improvements in the fields of time and expert service.
Multichannel support, a recipe for happy customers
Customers increasingly expect service companies to be available on all possible channels in order to receive the best support for their issue.
AI applications can be used to collect, analyze, evaluate, and forward requests received via e-mail, social media, webchat, telephone, or in personal conversations with employees, that can then choose between different answer options. If necessary, these answers can be personalized and individualized to the customer’s request.
An approach like this accelerates the exchange with customers and enables real-time as well as multichannel support.
AI algorithms enable personalized service
Field service management solutions can gather data and, as a result, companies can access vast quantities of information with every single customer contact. Furthermore, AI algorithms help to analyze the collected data and draw conclusions for future deployments of service technicians by extracting relevant pieces of information.
Additionally, they offer information about when a service order is due or which tools are required. Machine learning also helps to calculate how long the next service deployment will take. All results and findings are stored in the field service management software and other linked systems so service technicians can access customer information at any time and location to customize their service according to the client’s needs.
Artificial intelligence is one of the most important future technologies in the area of field service management to be used to increase service excellence and to please customers.
It enables and improves a smarter and more efficient workforce by delivering reliable customer support in real-time.
Manuel Grenacher is GM of SAP Service Cloud
Aug 21, 2019 • Features • Management • Ageing Workforce Crisis • workforce management • FIeld nation • field service • Blended Workforce • FieldNation
There are three key considerations that field service organisations must take into account when building a modern workforce, including the changing demographics from Baby Boomer to Millennial, the impact of technology on field service operations,...
There are three key considerations that field service organisations must take into account when building a modern workforce, including the changing demographics from Baby Boomer to Millennial, the impact of technology on field service operations, and the growth of the ‘gig’ economy. In the first article in this series, run in partnership with FieldNation, we looked at why the field service landscape is changing, and in part two we discussed how you should approach building a modern field service workforce. Now we turn our attention to the technology that underpins such transformation...
Aug 21, 2019 • Features • Management • IFS • Sarah Nicastro
The field service landscape is evolving and it is important to ensure your field service engineers are equipped for the challenges ahead. Here, Sarah Nicastro, Field Service Evangelist with IFS outlines three core opportunities to do just that...
The field service landscape is evolving and it is important to ensure your field service engineers are equipped for the challenges ahead. Here, Sarah Nicastro, Field Service Evangelist with IFS outlines three core opportunities to do just that...
In the world of automation this and artificial intelligence that, the role of the field technician is often questioned. Will technology eliminate the need for technicians altogether? I think not. But the role and responsibilities are undoubtedly changing and will continue to do so.
The good news, for your technicians and for you, is that this world of automation and intelligence frees them up from manual, preventable tasks to do more value-added work.
The challenge is, this often isn’t a shift that comes naturally. In addition to the proliferation of technology, the entire field service ecosystem is changing. Customers have new and more sophisticated demands, companies are competing less on product and more on service, and data is now our most valuable resource.
With all these changes at play, it is time for you to consider the ways in which you need to upskill or reskill your technicians as their time is freed up in a way that will offer you competitive advantage or impact your bottom line.
As you incorporate tools like IoT, AI, and ML that reduce the drain of manual tasks on your workforce, consider these three areas in which it might make sense to upskill or reskill your talented technicians:
1: Hone Their People Skills
As customer focus becomes prioritised in every field service operation, one of the biggest challenges I hear tell of is the need for more soft skills. Technicians that are highly skilled and knowledgeable in repairing a certain product may not have historically needed to be all that people friendly. Those times have changed.
Today, service is the frontline of your brand – it is the impression that will matter most in how you are viewed in the eyes of your customers. It is a, if not the, major differentiator for organisations today. Therefore, you need to focus on improving the people skills for all your frontline workers.
These skills include communication, empathy, problem-solving, empowerment, engagement, and confidence – as well as a solid understanding of how to be respectful of someone’s time and property.
Going beyond those basics (which, believe me, many need to work on) you will want to consider how to equip your technicians with the skills and ability to be consultative, to suggestively sell/ cross-sell, and to become an expert at providing real-time insights.
2: Harness Their Knowledge to Train and Educate
When you find yourself successfully leveraging technology to the point you’ve reduced your demand for field visits, and you will, you’ll want to think about how you can re-deploy some of your most skilled technicians in an impactful way. One avenue is to mould your technicians to be master trainers and educators.
There are several applications for this – you could use expert technicians to train new field talent, you can enlist their customer-facing knowledge to educate product and sales teams, and you can even look to use skilled technicians to train and educate your customer base.
3: Develop Their Data Analytics Abilities
Data is the foundation that the future of field service is being built on. Service organisations that are embracing Servitization and outcomes-based service are determining not only how data can be utilised internally to provide more predictive service, but how data can be used to create new offerings and revenue streams with customers.
If you are collecting data from assets, you are undoubtedly sitting on a wealth of insights that your customers would likely be willing to pay you for. The hard part is finding out exactly what those offerings are, how to deliver on them, and how to monetise and market them.
This is where businesses are really evolving, and this evolution necessitates more masters of data. Depending on your industry and their skills, your technicians may be able to be leveraged in analysing and creating intelligence from data or in aspects such as determining what insights your customers would be willing to pay for, how those insights could or should be delivered, how best to market and sell these new offerings.
Sarah Nicastro is Director of Service Management Business Development at IFS
In the world of automation this and artificial intelligence that, the role of the field technician is often questioned. Will technology eliminate the need for technicians altogether? I think not. But the role and responsibilities are undoubtedly changing and will continue to do so.
The good news, for your technicians and for you, is that this world of automation and intelligence frees them up from manual, preventable tasks to do more value-added work.
The challenge is, this often isn’t a shift that comes naturally. In addition to the proliferation of technology, the entire field service ecosystem is changing. Customers have new and more sophisticated demands, companies are competing less on product and more on service, and data is now our most valuable resource.
With all these changes at play, it is time for you to consider the ways in which you need to upskill or reskill your technicians as their time is freed up in a way that will offer you competitive advantage or impact your bottom line.
As you incorporate tools like IoT, AI, and ML that reduce the drain of manual tasks on your workforce, consider these three areas in which it might make sense to upskill or reskill your talented technicians:
1: Hone Their People Skills
As customer focus becomes prioritised in every field service operation, one of the biggest challenges I hear tell of is the need for more soft skills. Technicians that are highly skilled and knowledgeable in repairing a certain product may not have historically needed to be all that people friendly. Those times have changed.
Today, service is the frontline of your brand – it is the impression that will matter most in how you are viewed in the eyes of your customers. It is a, if not the, major differentiator for organisations today. Therefore, you need to focus on improving the people skills for all your frontline workers.
These skills include communication, empathy, problem-solving, empowerment, engagement, and confidence – as well as a solid understanding of how to be respectful of someone’s time and property.
Going beyond those basics (which, believe me, many need to work on) you will want to consider how to equip your technicians with the skills and ability to be consultative, to suggestively sell/ cross-sell, and to become an expert at providing real-time insights.
2: Harness Their Knowledge to Train and Educate
When you find yourself successfully leveraging technology to the point you’ve reduced your demand for field visits, and you will, you’ll want to think about how you can re-deploy some of your most skilled technicians in an impactful way. One avenue is to mould your technicians to be master trainers and educators.
There are several applications for this – you could use expert technicians to train new field talent, you can enlist their customer-facing knowledge to educate product and sales teams, and you can even look to use skilled technicians to train and educate your customer base.
3: Develop Their Data Analytics Abilities
Data is the foundation that the future of field service is being built on. Service organisations that are embracing Servitization and outcomes-based service are determining not only how data can be utilised internally to provide more predictive service, but how data can be used to create new offerings and revenue streams with customers.
If you are collecting data from assets, you are undoubtedly sitting on a wealth of insights that your customers would likely be willing to pay you for. The hard part is finding out exactly what those offerings are, how to deliver on them, and how to monetise and market them.
This is where businesses are really evolving, and this evolution necessitates more masters of data. Depending on your industry and their skills, your technicians may be able to be leveraged in analysing and creating intelligence from data or in aspects such as determining what insights your customers would be willing to pay for, how those insights could or should be delivered, how best to market and sell these new offerings.
Sarah Nicastro is Director of Service Management Business Development at IFS
Aug 20, 2019 • Features • Management • Ageing Workforce Crisis • workforce management • field service • Uberization • Uberization of field service • Uberization of Service • Industry 4.0 • localz • Customer Satisfaction and Expectations
Field Service in the early decades of the twenty-first century has become an increasingly tricky beast to tame. Customer expectations are hurtling forward at breakneck speed to what some companies view as almost impossible standards to reach. The...
Field Service in the early decades of the twenty-first century has become an increasingly tricky beast to tame. Customer expectations are hurtling forward at breakneck speed to what some companies view as almost impossible standards to reach. The customer of today is not only better informed than ever before, but via the widespread amplification of social media, more powerful also.
In this series, run in partnership with Localz, we look at precisely what these new challenges of modern field service are and how your organisation can adapt and thrive in this brave new world. Part one in the series explored the concept of Customer Expectations 4.0 and now we discuss a new approach to FSM systems...
Aug 20, 2019 • Features • Software & Apps • FieldAware • SaaS
FieldAware’s Marc Tatarsky explains what field service companies should expect from the software companies they are working with...
FieldAware’s Marc Tatarsky explains what field service companies should expect from the software companies they are working with...
The global software market has gone through a revolution over the last decade caused by the accessibility and scalability of cloud applications. Cloud, and specifically, SaaS (software as a service), have driven this change through lower costs and faster implementations.
According to Right Scale’s annual State of the Cloud Report for 2019, 91% of businesses use public cloud, and 72% use a private one. Most enterprises utilize both options – with 69% of them opting for a hybrid cloud solution. Many more are making plans to move additional systems to the web, including moving their core business processing software.
If you are not familiar with what SaaS is, a quick Google search will reveal a definition and many of the SaaS advantages. As a baseline, here are some of the well-known and documented technology benefits you can expect to realize from using cloud software for your Field Service Management platform:
• Lower costs, faster ROI;
• Faster implementation and easy upgrades;
• More flexibility, scalability, and accessibility;
• Enhanced security and backup.
There is no questioning the value of the software side of the SaaS equation. However, even with all these benefits, some organizations still do not reap the full impact of SaaS when they purchase a new cloud-based FSM platform.
Why is that? Well, in actuality there are two 'S' in the SaaS equation – software and service. 'Service' typical explains how the software is delivered. Another definition for “service” is the full scope of the capabilities a technology provider brings to bear for clients to ensure an end-user organization is successful.
After working for more than 25 years in the IT and software industry, I have learned that matching the technical capabilities of a solution with an organization’s underlying business need is critical. However, the more significant determination of long-term success is the “service” a technology partner provides throughout the customer lifecycle.
So, if this is true, what “service” factors should a technology provider be evaluated on?
What is the Service portion of SaaS?
There are some vital services a SaaS FSM Platform provider must excel at to help field service organizations achieve the promise of quick time to value. These include:
• Robust & Accessible Research & Development (R&D);
• Integrated Client Service Teams;
• Knowledge Management & Transfer Methods;
The global software market has gone through a revolution over the last decade caused by the accessibility and scalability of cloud applications. Cloud, and specifically, SaaS (software as a service), have driven this change through lower costs and faster implementations.
According to Right Scale’s annual State of the Cloud Report for 2019, 91% of businesses use public cloud, and 72% use a private one. Most enterprises utilize both options – with 69% of them opting for a hybrid cloud solution. Many more are making plans to move additional systems to the web, including moving their core business processing software.
If you are not familiar with what SaaS is, a quick Google search will reveal a definition and many of the SaaS advantages. As a baseline, here are some of the well-known and documented technology benefits you can expect to realize from using cloud software for your Field Service Management platform:
• Lower costs, faster ROI;
• Faster implementation and easy upgrades;
• More flexibility, scalability, and accessibility;
• Enhanced security and backup.
There is no questioning the value of the software side of the SaaS equation. However, even with all these benefits, some organizations still do not reap the full impact of SaaS when they purchase a new cloud-based FSM platform.
Why is that? Well, in actuality there are two 'S' in the SaaS equation – software and service. 'Service' typical explains how the software is delivered. Another definition for “service” is the full scope of the capabilities a technology provider brings to bear for clients to ensure an end-user organization is successful.
After working for more than 25 years in the IT and software industry, I have learned that matching the technical capabilities of a solution with an organization’s underlying business need is critical. However, the more significant determination of long-term success is the “service” a technology partner provides throughout the customer lifecycle.
So, if this is true, what “service” factors should a technology provider be evaluated on?
What is the Service portion of SaaS?
There are some vital services a SaaS FSM Platform provider must excel at to help field service organizations achieve the promise of quick time to value. These include:
• Robust & Accessible Research & Development (R&D);
• Integrated Client Service Teams;
• Knowledge Management & Transfer Methods;
• Continuous Training & Support.
Let’s take a closer look at these service factors to understand how each can ultimately impact your long-term success.
R&D
A robust R&D organization is fundamental. Having significant and ongoing investment in development to ensure the solution is continuously improving and expanding is essential. Along with this investment, an R&D organization must be accessible and exposed to the customer base. This transparency ensures the solution and new features are based on actual needs and use cases. A technology provider’s R&D organization should not be in a silo. It should systematically gather and incorporate client feedback for product and feature enhancements.
Client Service Teams
Technology providers should have well established and defined client service teams such as Presales Services, Implementation and Professional Services, Customer Success, Training, and Support. These teams should be engaged at every step of the customer lifecycle to ensure success.
Beyond just engagement, these teams should operate in “lead-time” vs. “lag-time” mode. “Lead-time” mode means that they are integrated throughout the lifecycle and create hand-offs before any single phase is complete.
Operating in “lead-time” mode ensures each team is knowledgeable about the client’s business well before their activities fully take shape. This coordination eliminates any “lag-time” between phases. Lead-time mode speeds up knowledge transfer and hand-offs.
Knowledge Management
Beyond the clear capital savings, one of the best values of working with a technology provider vs. building an in-house solution is access to the provider’s best practices. After working with hundreds and thousands of clients and processes, standout technology providers create a library of best practices.
Appropriately integrated client service teams can methodically collect and share best practices, ensuring end-user organizations will reap the rewards. The results will manifest throughout the organization in better service and support, as well as improved product features.
Training & Support
Continuous training and support bring it all together and is an essential capability of any world-class technology partner. Every company is on a field service maturity journey. As products and businesses change, field service teams will need help to navigate and take advantage of the evolution.
Training and support, in conjunction with a “lead-time” based customer success team, will help ensure your field service organization is always getting the most out of your investment.
SaaS - backward and forward
Organizations are at different stages along the field service maturity journey - both from a technology and operational perspective. As companies aspire to improve and make the changes necessary to achieve ongoing success, their requirement to balance the “S” in the SaaS equation ebb and flow. It is critical for long-term success for these organizations to partner with a technology provider that understands the dual role of “S” in the SaaS equation. It is equally, if not more important that the provider fully invests in the “service” elements of SaaS.
Marc Tatarsky is SVP, Marketing at FieldAware
Let’s take a closer look at these service factors to understand how each can ultimately impact your long-term success.
R&D
A robust R&D organization is fundamental. Having significant and ongoing investment in development to ensure the solution is continuously improving and expanding is essential. Along with this investment, an R&D organization must be accessible and exposed to the customer base. This transparency ensures the solution and new features are based on actual needs and use cases. A technology provider’s R&D organization should not be in a silo. It should systematically gather and incorporate client feedback for product and feature enhancements.
Client Service Teams
Technology providers should have well established and defined client service teams such as Presales Services, Implementation and Professional Services, Customer Success, Training, and Support. These teams should be engaged at every step of the customer lifecycle to ensure success.
Beyond just engagement, these teams should operate in “lead-time” vs. “lag-time” mode. “Lead-time” mode means that they are integrated throughout the lifecycle and create hand-offs before any single phase is complete.
Operating in “lead-time” mode ensures each team is knowledgeable about the client’s business well before their activities fully take shape. This coordination eliminates any “lag-time” between phases. Lead-time mode speeds up knowledge transfer and hand-offs.
Knowledge Management
Beyond the clear capital savings, one of the best values of working with a technology provider vs. building an in-house solution is access to the provider’s best practices. After working with hundreds and thousands of clients and processes, standout technology providers create a library of best practices.
Appropriately integrated client service teams can methodically collect and share best practices, ensuring end-user organizations will reap the rewards. The results will manifest throughout the organization in better service and support, as well as improved product features.
Training & Support
Continuous training and support bring it all together and is an essential capability of any world-class technology partner. Every company is on a field service maturity journey. As products and businesses change, field service teams will need help to navigate and take advantage of the evolution.
Training and support, in conjunction with a “lead-time” based customer success team, will help ensure your field service organization is always getting the most out of your investment.
SaaS - backward and forward
Organizations are at different stages along the field service maturity journey - both from a technology and operational perspective. As companies aspire to improve and make the changes necessary to achieve ongoing success, their requirement to balance the “S” in the SaaS equation ebb and flow. It is critical for long-term success for these organizations to partner with a technology provider that understands the dual role of “S” in the SaaS equation. It is equally, if not more important that the provider fully invests in the “service” elements of SaaS.
Marc Tatarsky is SVP, Marketing at FieldAware
Click here to find out more about FieldAware
Aug 19, 2019 • Features • Software & Apps • Operational Efficiency • Video • first time fix • Service Execution Management • Outsystems • Customer Satisfaction and Expectations
The balance between achieving high levels of customer experience and delivering operational excellence that will drive service revenues forwards is a finely nuanced one. In this first excerpt from a video presentation run in partnership with...
The balance between achieving high levels of customer experience and delivering operational excellence that will drive service revenues forwards is a finely nuanced one. In this first excerpt from a video presentation run in partnership with Outsystems we hear from Rachel Brennan, who goes into greater detail about the importance of getting this balance correct...
Aug 19, 2019 • Features • Verizon • Verizon Connect • fleet • Fleet Operations • Fleet performance
Derek Bryan, VP EMEA at Verizon Connect says pro-cycling's approach to data analytics can be mirrored in fleet handling.
Derek Bryan, VP EMEA at Verizon Connect says pro-cycling's approach to data analytics can be mirrored in fleet handling.
Across countless industries, the rise of performance analytics has had a fundamental impact on how organisations assess the contribution of their most valuable assets. Thanks to advances in data collection and analysis, managers now possess an incredible amount of information that they can use to evaluate and inform how their employees and their inventory help support the business’s growth. Likewise, employees now have access to more powerful self-management tools than ever before.
You’d imagine that a Silicon Valley giant or a hot tech start-up would provide the best example of an organisation doing this well. But you’d be wrong. It’s actually professional cycling that throws up one of the best examples, thanks to teams’ innovative and relentless use of data. As seen in last month’s Tour de France, every single aspect of their organisation is tailored towards giving their employees out in the field – their riders – every opportunity to perform at the highest possible level.
If performance analytics can be applied with this degree of success within a sporting context – where there is always great scope for uncertainty – then why can’t it be deployed to the benefit of those who manage fleets of vehicles? There are numerous techniques and methodologies that fleet managers can adopt from top road cycling teams to help replicate their success.
These techniques are all founded on one underlying technology that can drive business benefits for fleets of all sizes. Fleet management solutions have become increasingly popular in recent years as a tool to help monitor the health and performance of both vehicles and drivers. Simply deploying a fleet management solution, however, isn’t sufficient. Driving improvements at an enterprise and manager level requires businesses to act on the intelligence and insights collected and generated by these platforms to change their ways of working. In doing so, they deliver productivity and cost benefits for the entire business.
Here are four learnings fleet managers can take from professional cycling to drive performance across their business:
1. Drive greater performance from your employees
Professional cycling leads the way in performance and data analysis. By profiling and measuring every aspect of a cyclist’s performance – from their physiology to their diet, to their riding style – professional cycling organisations identify exactly what they can do to improve a rider’s performance. Whether that be changing their equipment, encouraging them to adapt their riding style/position, or adding or removing an item from their list of approved foods.You’d imagine that a Silicon Valley giant or a hot tech start-up would provide the best example of an organisation doing this well. But you’d be wrong. It’s actually professional cycling that throws up one of the best examples, thanks to teams’ innovative and relentless use of data. As seen in last month’s Tour de France, every single aspect of their organisation is tailored towards giving their employees out in the field – their riders – every opportunity to perform at the highest possible level.
If performance analytics can be applied with this degree of success within a sporting context – where there is always great scope for uncertainty – then why can’t it be deployed to the benefit of those who manage fleets of vehicles? There are numerous techniques and methodologies that fleet managers can adopt from top road cycling teams to help replicate their success.
These techniques are all founded on one underlying technology that can drive business benefits for fleets of all sizes. Fleet management solutions have become increasingly popular in recent years as a tool to help monitor the health and performance of both vehicles and drivers. Simply deploying a fleet management solution, however, isn’t sufficient. Driving improvements at an enterprise and manager level requires businesses to act on the intelligence and insights collected and generated by these platforms to change their ways of working. In doing so, they deliver productivity and cost benefits for the entire business.
Here are four learnings fleet managers can take from professional cycling to drive performance across their business:
1. Drive greater performance from your employees
Using fleet management technologies, fleets can monitor how their employees are performing on the road, and pinpoint specific parts of their performance or schedule that can be improved to drive efficiency for the business. For example, a fleet manager could advise a driver to reduce their speeding or refrain from harsh braking, based on analysis of their driving style, to reduce fuel usage. They could also encourage their driver to turn off their engine when in traffic or stationary on a job to reduce the vehicle’s emissions and fuel costs. Seat belt usage or acceleration are other performance areas that can be monitored as part of a constant feedback loop with drivers. Maintaining this loop is critical to driving higher, more efficient performance across their fleet of vehicles.
2. Give your team the tools to win
Every cyclist is only as good as the cycle they are riding, and as a result, cyclists will often use different bikes based on the specific demands of a race or stage. This approach should be the same for your drivers in the field.
Fleets can benefit from this approach by using fleet management systems to provide drivers the right vehicle for the job, based on its requirements. This means using fleet management platforms to allocate drivers the right vehicle for the job (whether an HGV, LCV or even an SUV) based on the amount of space required for a delivery, or the tools required to complete a job. It could also mean making sure the vehicle has the required number of occupants needed for a specific task, or verifying that it is compliant with local emissions regulations in the area where the job is located.
Certain vehicles can also be allocated to jobs based on the technological tools within the vehicle’s cab, such as on-board dashcams or handsfree connectivity tools, to allow drivers on the road to benefit from technology without disrupting their workflows.
3. Take one for the team
Within the cycling world, the ‘peloton’ is well known for working as a group to allow cyclists to cycle as efficiently and use as little energy as possible. Fleets can do the same by using fleet management platforms to review their routing and scheduling. These solutions allow them to both allocate and schedule jobs based on the most suitable candidate and vehicle, and calculate the most efficient route. Doing this allows drivers to work in harmony to deliver an efficient and effective service to customers.
4. Commit to conditioning
Today’s athletes pay more attention to their own conditioning than ever before. Professional cyclists have almost every aspect of their physiology monitored by their team while they are on their bike, including their heart rate, current load levels and workload threshold.
This monitoring is essential to managing the performance of cyclists, and ensuring they are not overburdened, which can lead to injury. Fleet managers can replicate this process by making use of the vehicle monitoring/diagnostics tools within fleet management systems to keep tabs on the condition of vehicles in their fleet so that they are fit for the job at hand. If not, managers can proactively schedule maintenance of a vehicle and shift its workload onto other vehicles in the network to reduce disruption and help fulfil customers’ demands on time.
Today, the most successful businesses are those that monitor performance and maximise efficiency both inside and outside of its traditional four walls. Many sports have already adopted this mindset, and it’s time fleet managers do the same. When a vehicle leaves the depot, it should no longer be considered an external asset – rather, it should be considered as an extension of the business, and as critical a workplace as the desk of the CEO.
Today, the most successful businesses are those that monitor performance and maximise efficiency both inside and outside of its traditional four walls. Many sports have already adopted this mindset, and it’s time fleet managers do the same. When a vehicle leaves the depot, it should no longer be considered an external asset – rather, it should be considered as an extension of the business, and as critical a workplace as the desk of the CEO.
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