Kevin McNally, Sales Director, Asolvi takes a look at how technologies such as Cloud and IoT are levelling the playing field and giving small and medium-sized businesses the opportunity to deliver service standards that meet and exceed those of the traditionally dominant enterprise-sized organisations...

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One thing is certain in today’s field service sector, that never before has service delivery been so empowered by the technology that now underpins field service management.

Cloud is, of course, one such technology and the introduction of the Software as a Service (SaaS) model that it gave life to has undoubtedly changed the way that smaller field service organisations can operate.

Cloud has given them access to SaaS-based Field Service Management (FSM) solutions that in the previous CAPEX world of the late twentieth and an early twenty-first century would have been simply too cost-prohibitive for them to access.

IoT, has the potential to go even further and not just enhance the way field service operations are undertaken, as Cloud and Mobile have done, but entirely revolutionise the fundamental ways in which we approach field service delivery.This is one very clear example of how technology has very much levelled the playing field for smaller field service companies.

Another key technology, IoT, has the potential to go even further and not just enhance the way field service operations are undertaken, as Cloud and Mobile have done, but entirely revolutionise the fundamental ways in which we approach field service delivery.

The long-standing break-fix methodology, which has been at the core of field service operations by necessity since the inception of field service itself, can be circumvented and replaced by proactive preventative maintenance.

In a world of IoT, the service provider is no longer dependent upon the customer to report a fault, the asset itself can identify that it needs maintenance and the service call can be arranged in advance of the failure.

IoT absolutely offers the keys to a far better future for field service - for both service provider and customer alike, but for smaller to medium-sized companies are we entering once again into an era of cost-prohibitive technology?

Has the playing field so neatly levelled off by the introduction of the Cloud, once again become skewed in favour of the enterprise-sized organisations?

The importance of Cloud:

As I alluded to in the introduction there is no denying that the emergence of Cloud computing has been a core driver in the ability for smaller field service companies to be able to compete with their larger competitors.

This development is mostly the result of the introduction of SaaS-based subscription-style licensing which makes access to such systems possible.

It seems like a long, long time ago that Tesseract, an Asolvi product became the first company in the world to offer their full FSM solution in the Cloud and on a SaaS model. Indeed, today almost all FSM providers now offer their solution in such a manner.

Many aspects of introducing an FSM solution can become more challenging the larger an organisation isThis means that the smaller companies can have access to tools like scheduling, stock and parts management and mobile work management applications for their field-based staff to access via a mobile device.

Yet, they also have the advantage of being more agile, more streamlined and less weighed down by legacy systems and processes that their larger peers undoubtedly face.

In fact, many aspects of introducing an FSM solution can become more challenging the larger an organisation is. For example, optimised scheduling engines need to be ‘taught’ the rules under which they are to operate – the larger the workforce and the more diverse the skill-sets within that workforce, the more ‘lessons’ that need to be fed into the scheduling system for it to operate as intended.

In terms of FSM solutions, the shift to the Cloud has absolutely changed the competitive dynamics within various industries in favour of those smaller companies who are savvy enough to embrace cloud-based FSM and unencumbered by challenges such as the above which larger companies may face.

Can IoT work for SMBs?

Earlier, I outlined the potential seismic disruption that IoT is set to have on field service delivery as a whole.

Yet, when we hear about those companies that are harnessing the power of IoT, invariably we often tend to look at examples of companies who all tend to sit within the largest bracket of organisations.

Rolls Royce, GE, Sony et al have often dominated the headlines in terms of the successful application of IoT platforms that have radically changed their approach to field service. So one could be forgiven for thinking that IoT is perhaps something only the largest organisations are capable of implementing – but is this necessarily the case?

The reality is that there are a growing number of SMB-sized field service organisation who have embraced IoT to become a truly disruptive force within their respective sectors.The reality is that there are a growing number of SMB-sized field service organisation who have embraced IoT to become a truly disruptive force within their respective sectors.

Take for example regional German IT and document management services provider IBS Bürosysteme (IBS).

By utilising a machine-to-machine solution called Evatic Consumable and Meter Management (ECMM) they have been able to boost productivity, dramatically eliminate washed toner and streamline their processing. They have done this by integrating ECMM with their fleet management solution and directly processing data from all of the printers within their fleet, generating consumable replacements and subsequent invoices automatically.

This provides a clear win-win scenario in that their customers’ are receiving an improved service and massively reduced downtime, whilst IBS are able to improve their own efficiencies both within the field service and consumables areas of their business.

However, for those companies that embrace IoT, the rewards can be even greater than mere efficiency and cost savings.

As an example of a smaller company truly utilising the power of IoT let’s take the example of Espresso Service – a third party service provider operating within the coffee sector.

They have taken an active approach to utilising IoT data from across the fleet of coffee machines that they service and in doing so have not only been able to improve their own service delivery but have subsequently been able to develop additional advanced services based on their ability to translate the data from the assets they serve into truly meaningful insights that help their customers better understand how the assets are being utilised.

This allows them to tailor their own marketing and business strategies to be closer in line to how their own customers wish to be served.

It is in examples such as this where we see the true impact that IoT can and will have on industries of all sorts.

IoT naturally paves the path towards preventative maintenance, thereby simultaneously reducing the cost of each truck roll whilst improving customer satisfactionFor whilst as we’ve discussed IoT naturally paves the path towards preventative maintenance, thereby simultaneously reducing the cost of each truck roll whilst improving customer satisfaction, it is within the data generated by connected assets that we will find the most valuable new revenue streams.

As seen with Espresso Service, being able to offer customers advanced services that are based around the insight from data collected within their assets, can open up potential new revenue streams while firmly embedding an organisation within their customer’s business ecosystem.

Yet, while the data is the tool that underpins such advanced services, it is an organisation’s ability to think beyond the bounds of the currently accepted status quo of what good service within their sector is, and to seek what the new normal should be and bring that forward to their client base, that is the critical genetic component of almost all disruptive companies.

This is certainly not a trait that belongs exclusively to enterprise companies.

Indeed, a strong argument could be made that it is the entrepreneurial environment that exists within many smaller organisations that can allow such ideas and concepts to be nurtured and ultimately flourish.

Another factor for consideration here is also that examples such as that of Espresso Service are largely reflective of an organisations ability to truly understand the market they serve and their customers needs within that market.

In today’s world where service has become a core differentiator, this can allow the SMBs to flourish should they embrace the current technology available to them.Again, here we see an advantage that many smaller companies may have over their larger peers in that the relationships they often have with their client base are that much more intimate – giving them perhaps better opportunity to really get under the skin of what their customers’ most challenging issues are and making them better placed to develop strategies and solutions that can solve the issues at hand.

The rapid development of technology we are seeing today means that smaller organisations are now able to access technology that can push their service standards on par and above those of the larger, traditionally dominant companies within their competitive sphere.

In today’s world where service has become a core differentiator, this can allow the SMBs to flourish should they embrace the current technology available to them.

Want to know more? The bad news is the full white paper is only available exclusively for fieldservicenews.com subscribers.

The good news is that if you are a field service practitioner then you may well qualify for a complimentary industry practitioner.

The even better news is we will send you a copy of this white paper when you apply as a welcome!

Click here to apply for your complimentary industry subscription to fieldservicenews.com and access the white paper now!

Note: Please do take the time to our T&Cs (available in plain English at fieldservicenews.com/subscribe) and note that this content is sponsored by Asolvi

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Bill Pollock, President & Principal Consulting Analyst at Strategies For GrowthSM, takes a look at the biggest two tools being used for field service management and explore the merits of each...

In today’s business environment, too much attention is often focused on new technologies on the horizon, and whatever else might be “hot” in the blogs or other social media, rather than on the core attributes of substance and sustainability.

However, when it comes down to selecting the right Field Service Management (FSM) solution for your organisation, one thing remains very clear – it must “fit” your organisation with respect to functionality, application, accessibility, scalability and – of course – cost.

While some organisations may prefer an all-encompassing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution that addresses all areas within the company (e.g., manufacturing, engineering, distribution, sales, marketing, etc.) in addition to services, others may prefer to use a Best-of-Breed FSM solution that serves as a custom “fit” to its services operations.

Differentiators that Distinguish Best-of-Breed vs. ERP solutions:

There are many definitions of Best-of-Breed currently being used in the global services community, ranging from “best in segment”, to “best anywhere”, to “best currently available”, and so on.

However, much too often, “best in segment” may not necessarily reflect “Best Practices”; “best anywhere” may be too elusive, and “best currently available” may not be quite good enough. With so many alternative definitions, some organisations may eventually end up not quite knowing which “best” they should be aspiring to.

Further, what may be “best-of-breed” in the manufacturing sector may not even be relevant in the medical device sector, and vice versa.

The complexity of the concept of “best” as it pertains specifically to a field services organisation can cloud the ability of management to choose either the precise goals to target, or the appropriate technology solutions that will be required to attain them.

Research has shown that the ability to pick and choose the specific components to support an organisation’s FSM activities offers a much more tailored solution that is able to address all facets of this service-centric process.Research has shown that the ability to pick and choose the specific components to support an organisation’s FSM activities offers a much more tailored solution that is able to address all facets of this service-centric process.

That is not necessarily to say that an ERP solution will not, or cannot, support FSM – rather, that a robust, application-specific, Best-of-Breed solution may be able to do it better.

Further, many ERP solution providers go-to-market with messages that proclaim “everything your organisation needs to support its services activities”. However, the “everything” that is offered by some of these vendors may only follow the 80/20 rule; that is, providing only “80% of the FSM functionality required”, but delivered by a “brand name” company typically as an add-on to a more extensive – and expensive – ERP solution.

On the other hand, a Best-of-Breed FSM solution typically offers 100% – or close to it – of the specific functionality required by the field services organisation from a services-oriented solution provider that truly understands the user’s needs from the requisite functional specs; to the terminology and buzzwords to the requirements for installation and training; and ongoing technical and customer support.

In addition, Best-of-Breed solution providers in the services segment have typically supported clients in their field for decades, gaining a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the market space including who the key and niche players are (i.e., vendors and users), how customers’ service organisations operate, what specific functionalities are required (and available), how usage has been and will be evolving over time, and what the key pain points are for all parties involved.

Most of today’s Best-of-Breed vendors represent the ones that have been successful in differentiating themselves beyond the enterprise-wide capabilities of the ERP generalists and the 80/20 CRM vendors.

Evaluating and Comparing Best-of-Breed vs. ERP Alternatives

Just as “you cannot tell a book by its cover”, it is uncertain – and unwise – to try to assess a solution provider simply by its marketing collateral.

Just because they say they can do it all, does not necessarily mean they can – and just because they say they support the field services segment does not mean they are specialists in doing so.

Many organisations have found that the difference between a generalist and a specialist can make all the difference in the world.

That is why it is so important to make sure that when selecting an FSM solution provider, the organisation evaluates all vendors with the same high level of due diligence – that is, assessing and comparing all vendors using the same criteria, and holding them to the same standards whether they are ERP generalists, FSM Best-of-Breed specialists, or anything else in-between.

Whether Best-of-Breed or ERP is better for your organisation will ultimately be your call – however, the results of a thorough needs assessment and long list/short list evaluation of potential solutions (and vendors) will take you to the point where you can make the right decision.

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Leading Author and founder of Alexander Consulting, James ‘Alex’ Alexander puts forward a series of strong arguments for the reasons why product-focused companies can and must sell services. This is essential reading for the service director struggling to get their voice heard in a product-centric organisation...

Leading field services in a product company is not for the weak of heart. You must deal with executives who feel that products are the only ingredient in the recipe to organization success and that services are a bothersome, necessary seasoning like garlic in a casserole.

Like trying to convince a toddler that vegetables are good for them, you must constantly demonstrate your value internally, while confronting a product-thinking, product-is-everything culture.

Where to begin? I suggest that the best defence is a good offence. Research and review, prepare and practice, and then request individual or group sit-downs with your executive peers to address the question, why sell services anyway? Your future may depend upon your persuasion.

Why sell services anyway? Following are the benefits to articulate and motivate.

1. Sell More Initial Deals

Here is a bit of blasphemy to a product executive: Most customers view products as commodities! Regardless of how truly unique or elegant or innovative, your products are from your perspective, in most all buying situations, customers see no meaningful difference in the top two or three products in any category, across all industries, across all geographies.

Yes, I understand this may not be 100% factual, but from the perception of the customer, it is true. Hence, the old adage comes into play: Perception is reality. Kind of a sobering thought. 

Once customers have determined their shortlist of the two or three potential products or bundles of products that they will seriously consider buying, they almost always cast their product ballot based on what they believe are the best services that surround the productOnce customers have determined their shortlist of the two or three potential products or bundles of products that they will seriously consider buying, they almost always cast their product ballot based on what they believe are the best services that surround the product—services that will best ensure the product works as promised, keeps working, and does so with a minimum of hassle and added expense.

It is important to note that, in many cases, they will pay a premium for your offering if they understand the higher value your services bring to them. In essence, they vote with their pocketbook.

Furthermore, if your salespeople were strategic and sold an assessment early in the buying process—before needs were clear and products were specified—the probability of you getting the product business, later on, is greatly improved, giving you the chance to shape the final recommendations early while building relationships with people key to the final purchase.

GIST: Selling services effectively from the get-go will land you more initial deals.

2. Handle Fewer Train Wrecks

Sadly, sometimes products are positioned to the customer with these words coming out of the salesperson’s mouth: “Our products don’t break.

You don’t need any additional services,” or “It is so easy to implement our software. Just read the manual and you can do it, no worries.” This is all a bunch of baloney, especially if you are dealing with a fairly complex situation, an important customer process, and/or the customer has little if any familiarity with the implementation.

Rare is the product that will not need some type of service in its life cycle, whether a tailored implementation, ongoing maintenance, software updates, refurbishing, and on and on. Not positioning this reality of life with the customer upfront is negligent selling.

Services appropriately sold up front greatly improves the probability that:

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• The product will work the way it is supposed to work the first time.
• Greater functionality of the product will be utilized.
• Irritated customers ringing the bell of the fire engine, escalating their concerns up your organization ladder, will be greatly minimized.

[/unordered_list]  

GIST: Selling services upfront saves your organization time, hassle, and money over the long term.

3. Sell More Products and Services Later

Experience also shows that when deals are sold with services up front, more products and services are sold later on.¹ Services greatly improve the chance that installation and implementation will be done correctly the first time, and services and support improve uptime and productivity.

Delivering services means dealing personally with customer personnel and, done properly, starts to build trust-based relationships. These customers are very likely to buy more of your products (and more services, of course) and are well on the way to being loyal, highly profitable customers for life. 

Figure 1 shows a real-world example of this revenue opportunity beyond the initial product sale. By selling services correctly early on along with the product, this company had a very realistic opportunity to add 2.7 times the original product revenue through incremental services. In this example, the product sold for approximately $100,000, so the potential for more services revenue was approximately $270,000. Plus, the customer was much more likely to buy this company’s product at the end of the equipment’s life.

GIST: Want to be a true total solutions provider? Services are the key.

4. Enjoy Predictable Revenue Streams

Want to see a CFO’s eyes light up?

Watch their face the first time they grasp an understanding of the predictable, repeatable sales that come from a services business built upon service and support contracts coupled with a finely tuned professional services capability.

This is pure joy to a bean counter. The services annuity stream makes life a whole lot easier for all of management, as it helps take the guesswork out of business financials and becomes an early warning, leading indicator of organization success or failure.

GIST: Strong services help you manage your business more effectively

5. Differentiate Yourself

Depending on the maturity of your industry, your competitor’s strategy, and your competitor’s dealings with distribution, services can differentiate you in a really big way. The more complex your products, the more they cost the customer; and the more mission critical they are to your customer’s business, the more the value-packing promise of services. Leading services researchers note from their studies that more and more companies in tough competitive markets are looking at services to yield competitive advantage.²

If your competitors don’t have full portfolios of strong service offerings, or if they don’t know how to sell them, this is a huge opportunity for you if you embrace the challenge. Give your customers what they need, want, and will pay for while locking out everyone else.

GIST: Services are the drivers of market dominance.

6. Create New Markets

Business consultants like to talk about adjacency strategy,³ the strategy of building upon an organization’s core competencies in one market to transport those capabilities to an adjacent, but different market space.

For example, a company with specialized battery technology designed for the automotive industry could potentially attempt to build upon that battery expertise to develop and sell to the marine market. The same possibilities hold true with services. For example, an energy utilization assessment developed for the automotive industry could be adapted for the marine market.

Taking advantage of your past experience and expertise can crack new markets and expand profitable revenue.

GIST: Services adjacency strategy can be a powerful component of any growth blueprint.

To summarize, services have proven themselves to be able to contribute significant value to many, many product companies through profitable growth of both products and services. Properly executed, strong services capabilities can increase customer satisfaction and generate customer loyalty. In addition, for some companies, having the right portfolio of services helps smooth the entry into new markets. Finally, in some cases, having an arsenal of new or better services can create competitive differentiation.

Question: But aren’t services less profitable?

Answer: Normally not.

Here are the core elements of a conversation I had with the CEO of a software company that I was interviewing as part of a services assessment for his company.

• Alexander: Tell me what role you’d like services to play in helping your company be successful.
• CEO: Frankly, I wish services was a much smaller part of the business. They negatively impact our overall profitability. Every time I talk to financial analysts, they beat me up on this issue. If you can tell me how to eliminate services altogether, I’d be extremely happy.

This perception is fairly common among executives at companies with high product profit margins. However, in most cases it is not entirely correct. 

On average, my research shows that there is no difference between the profit margins of products and those of services.⁴ In general, product profit margins have decreased as industries have matured, and services profit margins have increased as services management has learned how to optimize their organizations. For example, professional services organizations within product companies have improved their profitability by seven points over the last decade. In fact, top-performing services organizations have profit margins double that of their products. 

Adding a portfolio of services, even at lower margins than products, will increase the overall value to the customer.There are exceptions, of course. New products in new industries could have higher profit margins initially. However, experience shows that product margins will consistently drop. A few products, due to their innovation or patents or special circumstances, may be able to maintain very high product margins over time.

Yet, recalling the high value that customers place on services, adding a portfolio of services, even at lower margins than products, will increase the overall value to the customer. Hence, looking at blended margins is probably a much more realistic way to view and understand overall profitability. 

Finally, examining the financials of many services businesses inside product companies raises a few eyebrows, if not a few questions, about how profitability is calculated and the fairness of the calculations. Here are some issues to consider:

• Place your list items here

• If services consultants are spending 30% of their time in a pre-sales role, why isn’t that expense charged to sales?
• If you are a VAR (value-adding reseller) and your partner agreements require you to have a number of certified experts on staff, shouldn’t some of the costs of having these low-billable people on board be charged elsewhere?
• If a big customer has a blow-up, and company execs require a busload of top technical talent from the services business to do whatever it takes to fix the problem at no charge to the customer, should that cost be eaten by the services business?

My own biased experience says that if you sell the right services to the right customers in the right way, they will be very profitable and make the rest of your products look much better as well.

 

GIST: Re-look and re-think cost allocation, pricing strategies, and margin expectations versus customer value. There is a good chance that you don’t readily have this information, and it will take time to get the quality data you need.

 

So, there you have it—proactively communicate the value that your services deliver, help build a more profitable organization, and gain the respect you and your people deserve.

Endnotes

This article was adapted from Seriously Selling Services: How to Build a Profitable Services Business in Any Industry, by James “Alex” Alexander, and can be purchased from Amazon.com or the Alexander Consulting website.

References

1. Hahn, Al. 2007. The True Strategic Value of Services. Sandy, OR: Hahn Consulting.
2. Brown, Stephen W., Anders Gustafsson and Lars Witell. 2009. “Beyond Products.” New York, NY.: The Wall Street Journal.
3. Zook, Christopher. 2004. Beyond the Core: Expand Your Market without Abandoning Your Roots. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
4. Note that services margins are declining on average in some industries as more and more services appear alike to customers, are hence seen as commodities, and thus seem to have less value.

 

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Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News talks to Deputy CEO and COO of Polygon a company with over 3,500 field service engineers, about how his organisation has evolved over the last decade, the shift towards advanced services that has come from that evolution and how a close working relationship with Enterprise Service Management solution provider IFS has empowered their ability to develop and advanced services approach to field service delivery.

 

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Samir Gulati, Chief Marketing Officer, ServicePower explains why savvy service organisations understand that building an excellent customer experience must begin from the first interaction, but must continue through every service touch point onwards - and how IoT data can be a key tool in achieving that...

Customers purchase products and don’t interact with the OEM or retailer again until something fails. Thus, your next contact with the consumer is one in which your product has become their problem. You are behind the eight ball right out of the gate. 

While the industry has focused on metrics important for operational improvements, such as first-time fix rates, productivity, efficiency of field technicians and fuel utilization, all of which are critical to any business, we now must recognize that customer experience must be the driving force behind our strategies, the top priority for our operators, for sales and marketing and for our service teams.   

Considering the customer experience from the very beginning is the surest way to drive downstream revenue.  

Start at the Beginning 

Customer experience must be considered from the point a product is manufactured or sold, not simply from the perspective of field service downstream. 

Customer experience must be considered from the point a product is manufactured or sold, not simply from the perspective of field service downstream. Ensure that your product includes features which makes your customers’ experience with your product easy and helpful, that it meets expectations. Don’t stop there though. Make sure the product exceeds expectations. With the ease at which IoT sensors can be embedded in products and used to provide proactive new accessories and services, makes tapping into this technology a no-brainer.

IoT isn’t reserved for heavy industry. Consumers, both residential and commercial, are using IoT in their lives every. Use it to your advantage, and theirs. 

Take the Next Step 

Your responsibility to your customer doesn’t stop at the point you ship or sell a product or service. Once the product is in hand, make sure you’ve made it easy to connect with your organization in real time.

If a customer has questions about usage or features and functions, needs accessories or complementary products, or in the event, there is an issue with a product, omnichannel connectivity gives them the ability to connect with you in ways that are convenient for them.

Use web portals and mobile apps, use Smart Speakers. Image how much better a repair experience could be if Siri could schedule an appointment for your customer.  

Go Beyond Service Delivery 

Enabling field teams with technology with the information, part and tools required to fix a problem in the field is the minimum expectation of field service organizations now.

If you’re not there, and recent data suggests that almost 50% of field service teams are not, get there fast. Look to configurable, cross-platform mobile applications that you can deploy quickly, on any device, with the process and forms needed- by your employed or contracted field technicians- to get onsite and problem solve in real time.

But don’t stop there.

Tap into the data you’ve collected from manufacturing, the point of sale, IoT and service history to offer your customers more.Tap into the data you’ve collected from manufacturing, the point of sale, IoT and service history to offer your customers more. The data at your fingertips makes it possible for you to offer new services using that data, directly from your field technicians.

Make the customer happy with a single visit fix. Make them happier with maintenance contract offers that keep their products up and running longer. Delight your customers with proactive service and seamless communication with every member of the product lifecycle ecosystem.

Use the data and the technology available to both your organization and your customer, to seamlessly drive positive, profitable post-sale interactions with every customer.  

 

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Michael Blumberg, President of Blumberg Advisory Group and founder of fieldserviceinsights.com discusses some of the most crucial mistakes field service companies can make when utilising contingent or seasonal labour...

Field Service Organizations (FSOs) in North America, UK, and Europe are increasingly turning toward crowdsourcing platforms and subcontractors to augment their field workforce.

This type of outsourcing strategy enables FSOs to become more agile in meeting customer demands for service. As a result, they [FSOs] are able to reduce costs and improve service productivity. In addition, crowdsourcing and contingent labour helps solve the problem of finding skilled labour on a rapid basis.

Turning to subcontractors and crowdsourcing platforms does involve relinquishing some level of control over the labour force.However, turning to subcontractors and crowdsourcing platforms does involve relinquishing some level of control over the labour force. Naturally, questions emerge about the reliability, expertise, and quality of technicians that are sourced through these options.

Over the last two years, we have spoken with dozens of companies who have or currently utilize contingent labour to either augment their existing workforce or gain greater agility and efficiency over the entire field service delivery process. The majority are satisfied with their external providers and report positive results on key performance metrics such as First Time Fix and SLA Compliance/Onsite Arrive Time.   On the other hand, a few anomalies exist where the performance of contingent labour did not meet the FSOs expectations.

Quite often, FSOs who experience subpar performance make critical mistakes when retaining and managing contingent labour.

Here is our perspective on the biggest mistakes they need to avoid:

1. Failure to fully vet individual technicians doing the work

Don’t assume that every contract technician (e.g., subcontractor, freelance, crowdsource) you dispatch has the skills, training, and experience necessary to complete the work properly and in a timely manner. Insist on viewing background checks, certifications, and credentials of every contract technician assigned to your company.

2. Failure to train and onboard technicians

Quite often companies issue work orders without to contract technicians without training or guiding them on how they'd like the work to be performed.

For example, they do not explain how they'd like the tech to greet the customer and/or notify the customer when the work is complete.  Fortunately, Internet-based learning systems make it possible for companies to train and onboard contractors in a cost-effective and rapid manner.

3. Failure to communicate with contractors

This is the biggest mistake that a company can make is hand off work orders as if they were tossing a hot potato over a fence.

This will result in problem with respect to key service performance metrics such as SLA compliance, First Time Fix, and No Fault Found.  It is important that companies provide contractors with detailed and specific instructions about the activities they need to perform on each assignment.

At the same time, contractors also need to communicate with the companies that hire them on the status of calls, issues or problems they are experiencing, and results of their actions.

4. Failure to integrate contract or crowdsourced technicians into their service delivery process

Problems can occur when there is too much of an arm’s less relationship between the company and the contractor.  In other words, there is little accountability, visibility, and control between the company and contractors/technicians, and vice versa.

The key to success lies in treating contractors as an extension of your company.  Companies can achieve this outcome by leveraging communication technology, collaboration tools, and workforce automation software.  Relying on these systems will ensure the company achieves best in class service performance through its contractor network.

In summary, FSOs experience challenges to crowdsourcing when they underestimate the level of due diligence, systems, and processes they need to put in place when utilizing this type of labour. This does not necessarily mean that they must make huge capital investments.

FSOs experience challenges to crowdsourcing when they underestimate the level of due diligence, systems, and processes they need to put in place when utilizing this type of labourRather, they are urged to design and implement processes and procedures by leveraging existing infrastructure when they can.

Devoting the time and effort to this initiative will pay off. Our research suggests that FSOs who have an unpleasant experience with contingent labour do so because they rush into the decision without much thought, planning, and preparation.

Basically, they are looking to solve an immediate problem with no consideration to future. In other words, they are taking a tactical approach to labour shortages where a strategic solution is required.

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With a new CEO taking the helm Swedish FSM and ERP providers, IFS enter a new era of their ongoing development. Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief was on hand at the IFS World Conference in Atlanta to see the developments first hand and caught up with FSN associate columnist Mark Brewer, Global Director of Field Service, to get the inside scoop...

The IFS World Conference is an event that never really fails to deliver at least one key highlight of interest. Memories of CTO, Dan Matthews bouncing around madly to Bruce Springsteen on the stage last time out in Gothenburg- he was demonstrating how IoT sensors work just in case you were wondering, is one such example of the unique way the Swedish company approach things.

Similarly, Ulf Stern, one of the companies original founders keeping customers, prospects and the press alike entertained playing some (pretty darned good) rock and roll with his band in a ‘Fish Cathedral’ later that evening is just another example of how the same core ethos remains in the company today as it did when they first started out some 35 years ago. Despite significant growth and development across the years, there all often overlooked secret-sauce that can allow a company to flourish, the uniqueness within their DNA - has always remained the same.

Who IFS are today is very much a different company to who they were then, just 18 months ago.Yet, who IFS are today is very much a different company to who they were then, just 18 months ago.

Firstly, there is the acquisition by - investment firm EQT. Which was in fact announced just days before the Gothenburg World Conference.

At the time the discussion had been highly positive - especially from a field service point of view as the message from EQT was clear - we are giving you the funds to go and do what you do better and faster - with field service being one of the top three areas IFS would be targeting for significant growth.

Given their stature in the market at the time as an already established major player within the field service industry, this was certainly an exciting announcement for those close to our sector.

Indeed, there have already been some significant acquisitions that Field Service News readers, especially those from the UK will be aware of which have followed after the acquisition.

The first of these was to bring IFS UK and Eire reseller Field Service Management in-house, which was a sensible and largely expected move.

The second, which saw mplsystems become part of the IFS family, however, was far more strategic.

mplsystems core strength lies is there omnichannel contact centre technology, essentially plugging a major gap in the IFS solutionAlthough, an FSM solution provider themselves, mplsystems core strength lies is there omnichannel contact centre technology, essentially plugging a major gap in the IFS solution and giving them a genuinely robust end to end service solution.

This is not to mention the US acquisition of WorkWave, an FSM solution that is dedicated to the SMB market - which instantly gave IFS access to a huge market, which many of the larger FSM solution providers struggle to penetrate.

So in fairness the record of EQT in terms of delivering on their promise has been mightily impressive and IFS have continued to grow in stature within the FSM sector as one of the true key players - an achievement all the more impressive given the attention our sector has had within the last few years with the lieks of GE, SAP, Microsoft and Salesforce all investing significantly in building a global presence.

My anticipation was therefore high when I spotted that the launch of FSM6 was to be given a major spotlight, being presented on the main stage as a key announcement on day 1.

Mark Brewer, Gloabl Director, Field Service, alongside Steve Jeff-Watts, Senior Advisor, IFS were the men tasked with giving that presentation.

“If you go back to the origins of IFS, we are an ERP company, but that can be something of an ambiguous term,” opened Brewer when I caught up with him.

We built a product that managed service, maintenance and projects. This means the intrinsic DNA of the business is actually service not manufacturing“ERP for most people is a product built for managing a manufacturing business. IFS did not ever take that approach. We built a product that managed service, maintennance and projects. This means the intrinsic DNA of the business is actually service not manufacturing.”

“Fast forward to today with the IFS FSM platform you’ve got a best in class service offering, there is an almost equivalent best-in-class service functionality in an ERP in Apps 10.”

“This means you can already have an existing ERP such as SAP or somethign similar which you are unable to swap out, we can layer that with best-in-class field service. However, if you also need solutions for your manufacturing, supply chain, financials etc then we can also give you all of this whilst encapsulating a best-in-class service solution within it.”

Customer experience is a huge part of the equation in service organisations now and we are moving into the experience economy “It is a unique position, where we can not only offer the stand alone FSM solution but the wider ESM (Enterprise Service Management) solution as well.”

“I also thought it was very telling that the announcement of our acquisition and mplsystems and our integration of their technology into IFS FSM was front and centre on the main stage during the opening key note sessions.”

“We call our solution IFS FSM but the truth is now that it is a full end-to-end lifecycle management solution. It is far more than just field service, it includes depot repair operations, reverse logistics, customer specific billing, deep contract and warranty capability.”

“Given that it goes all the way to the end, we were missing a piece at the front,  and mplsystems omni channel solution completes the picture. Customer experience is a huge part of the equation in service organisations now and we are moving into the experience economy so that customer journey needs to be consistent across the whole lifecycle.”

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Manuel Grenacher, CEO, Coresystems explains that although Artificial Intelligence (AI) isn’t necessarily a new innovation with the global enterprise value derived from AI set to total $1.2 Trillion this year you need to make sure it’s working for you...

You know that voice that answers the phone and tells you to input your account number after the beep? That’s one of the numerous applications of artificial intelligence (AI) we encounter daily. If you’re reading this you probably know what AI is, but as a refresher, the term refers to a machine’s ability to imitate human cognitive abilities like problem-solving, language, strategic thinking, and learning. But its innovations and opportunities go far beyond asking Siri for driving directions to your next appointment – specifically for enterprise organizations. According to Gartner, the global enterprise value derived from AI will total $1.2 trillion this year – a 70 percent increase from 2017 – with significant expectations in areas like customer experience.

With an almost infinite number of data points and constant generation of new data, it is now impossible for the human mind to sift, sort, analyze, and draw insights from that torrent of information – yet AI uses these data sets to empower companies with strategic, informed decisions. Considering this explosive growth of AI, the following are some examples of how the field service industry can implement the technology to innovate and improve the customer experience.

Increase Productivity

Artificial intelligence optimizes the scheduling, planning, and dispatching of service and maintenance calls in real-time. Whereas traditional dispatchers must fall back on manual searches, an AI-based system values data points to generate efficient results, leading to smoother operations and the best possible utilization of your resources - which also translates into a sizable return on your investments.

An AI-supported system can factor in a variety of data with an increased level of speed and accuracy – for example, technician availability or skill level. An AI-supported system can factor in a variety of data with an increased level of speed and accuracy – for example, technician availability or skill level. Other restrictions, such as work time hours, legally mandatory lunch breaks, and travel time and distance – among others – are also be taken into consideration. Moreover, such systems can automatically notify technicians (via text, email, or other channels) about the necessary tools and parts needed for the job, not only guaranteeing higher first-time-fix rates, but also reducing wait times for available technicians.

Elevate the Customer Experience

Artificial intelligence technology also streamlines and optimizes the customer experience. With an AI-enabled platform, customers can expect real-time solutions, competent technicians equipped with the right tools and parts, and early detection of potential breakdowns. By connecting via mobile, they can track arrival times and progress, easily schedule and change appointments, and count on a quick and reliable billing system.

Support Predictive Maintenance

Lastly, with predictive maintenance, artificial intelligence is solving problems before they arise. This not only eliminates unnecessary machine condition checks but also addresses the growing skill gap between service technicians, as AI solutions can identify and address trivial tasks, which then allows the technicians to focus on customers and solutions instead.

The strides made in AI are in the direction of chatbots, language processing, image recognition, and machine learning. Even though these are considerable cost-saving and productivity benefits, many workers are afraid of AI replacing their jobs, and the entertainment industry has capitalized on an image of AI (like Star Wars, Iron Man or Black Mirror) that is more in line with types that are still being developed like Artificial General intelligence, or types that are fiction like Artificial Superintelligence.

In reality, the strides made in AI are in the direction of chatbots, language processing, image recognition, and machine learning. Rather than new technologies replacing jobs, artificial intelligence supports employees by helping them become more efficient, in areas such as predictive maintenance and customer experience. The forecasts for this inventive and advanced technology are promising, and we look forward to working with our customers to make the implementations successful.

What are some other uses that you see through your work in the field service industry? We invite you to share your thoughts in the comments section.

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Inner city congestion has long been a major cause for consternation for field service organisations, but with environmental factors such as air pollution becoming increasingly high on the political agenda of many countries across Europe and beyond, additional regulatory challenges are fast adding to the issue as Claudine Mosseri, General Manager, Field Services, ByBox explains...

The issue of air pollution in the UK is high on the political and environmental agenda, following a High Court ruling in February that the levels in many UK cities are ‘unlawful’. Given increasing pressure to do more to tackle this issue, along with rising inner-city congestion, councils are looking at new initiatives to cut traffic. These include calls for congestion charges, zero emissions zones and even a rumoured cable car for Oxford.

The estimated cost of congestion in the UK is predicted to rise 63% by 2030, to a cost of £21bn. British roads are some of the most populated in Europe, with double the number of traffic hotspots than Germany and France.  The estimated cost of congestion in the UK is predicted to rise 63% by 2030, to a cost of £21bn. London, of course, is top of the congested heap. Its weight of traffic is set to also increase by 60% by 2031, according to Transport for London (TfL).

A major contributing factor is the number of delivery vehicles on the roads during peak times. TfL states a quarter of London’s traffic during the peak hours of 7-11am is freight. It’s easy to see why the numbers of delivery vans on the roads are increasing. The number of workplace deliveries being ordered by people who cannot accommodate home delivery is rising. Expectations when it comes to next day and even same day delivery of items are high. And according to TfL, van space itself is often underutilised, with many shipping fresh air and making multiple stops around the capital. In response, the London transport organisation advocates greater delivery consolidation – ensuring more space, in fewer vehicles, is used more effectively.

While TfL has focused on delivery consolidation, there are also options around changing delivery times themselves. This would spread out the weight of traffic and avoid peak congestion hours. After all, when roads are busy, it becomes a vicious cycle of more delivery vehicles being stuck in traffic, further reducing their efficiency in getting from drop-off to drop-off. It seems unlikely that consumer demands about quick and convenient delivery will decline – and of course as businesses and cities themselves become ever more dependent on technology due to the integration of smart ‘Internet of Things’ devices and other automation, there will also be a rising need in urban areas for quick provision of replacement parts and engineers to provide fast and efficient fixes. Without exploring different solutions for getting these parts from point A to point B, this could easily lead to more vehicles on the road, simply trying to minimise the impact of device downtime.

Until recently, delivering during off-peak times was not possible – where would be open at two in the morning to take delivery?Until recently, delivering during off-peak times was not possible – where would be open at two in the morning to take delivery?

Yet now, there are networks of consumer click and collect locations in newsagents, stores and locker banks all over urban areas, many of them accessible 24/7. Similar solutions for part delivery have been used across the country for years to increase efficiencies in the field service supply chain. These 24/7 accessible, fixed point delivery locations not only reduce the number of stops delivery vehicles make but also reduce the numbers of vehicles on the road in city centres. Using this kind of point-to-point delivery planning with lockers, located in convenient, edge of city locations, essential parts are easy to access with minimal environmental impact and maximum speed.

Delivery to these locations overnight reduces failed deliveries, allows for the more efficient use of vehicle capacity, and doesn’t add to the existing congestion problem. For businesses with a high frequency for these deliveries, or where the delivered parts are especially time-sensitive or high value, hosting their own secure drop-off location could well prove a significant boon in timely delivery of essential items.

Some believe that clogged and congested cities are a problem that will only get worse. At ByBox we believe no problem is insurmountable.With predictive analytics on stock levels and given increasingly ‘smart’ devices communicating their status back to businesses, it is even possible for these holding stock and collection points to house particularly critical parts in advance of breakdowns, so they are to hand well before they are needed as well as being able to collect multiple items from one location at the same time.

Some believe that clogged and congested cities are a problem that will only get worse. At ByBox we believe no problem is insurmountable.

New thinking facilitated by technological innovations which can reduce transportation costs and optimise delivery routes can also help to tackle some of the issues around inner-city congestion and air pollution. By approaching the issues differently when it comes to vehicle use, drop-off and delivery schedules can answer on environmental necessities, the effective flow of traffic around urban areas, and the needs of demanding and always-on customers.

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