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Tesseract is helping British Gas expand and diversify by optimising service management at its renewable energy division, British Gas Heat Networks.

Tesseract is helping British Gas to increase the volume of its work and expand its offerings by optimising the service management operation at British Gas Heat Networks (BGHN), a growing division of the company specialising in renewable energy sources and cutting edge new methods.

BGHN began its life as Econergy, designing and supplying biomass heating solutions. Biomass systems – a carbon-neutral solution to the world’s ever-dwindling supply of fossil fuels – rely on heat generated from burning quick-growing, renewable wood instead of gas. British Gas purchased Econergy in order to diversify, to offer customers a wider choice of energy options, and to explore more renewable energy sources and environmentally friendly heating solutions.

Biomass heating solutions continue to be the primary focus of the division, which was renamed British Gas Heat Networks in December 2014. Biomass boilers are provided to anyone who wants them, including private residences, council offices, care homes, schools, rural estates and commercial premises. BGHN offers a complete solution, from initial consultation and project development to design and installation to operation and maintenance, courtesy of long-term heat supply and energy management contracts.

But where does Tesseract come in? Essentially Tesseract looks after the service and maintenance side of things. Following installation, BGHN relies on in-house engineers and a variety of subcontractors to maintain the installations at its clients’ premises. Tesseract’s Service Centre 5 (SC5) is used to manage these engineers and subcontractors, looking after both planned and reactive maintenance at customer sites.

Before the implementation of Tesseract’s service management software, BGHN relied on a predominantly manual, paper-based process to deal with planned and reactive maintenance tasks, plus a modicum of software. Most of the work was scheduled using Excel spreadsheets. Nothing was live, instant or particularly visible.

“We were growing, so we decided we needed better software,” says Kim Dornan, Customer Service Manager of BGHN. “Our old paper-based system had become unmanageable, and we decided we needed to implement a service management software package like Tesseract’s, in order to expand further.”

 

In October 2013, BGHN implemented Tesseract’s full SC5 package, utilising the full range of functions, including remote engineer access, stock control, parts centre and reporting. Now, staff at BGHN do not have to look at spreadsheets to determine what planned maintenance tasks are coming up, or use spreadsheets to log new reactive tasks.

“When we load a contract onto the Tesseract system, Tesseract now tells us what needs to be done and when,” says Dornan. “Before, we would have to enter details onto a spreadsheet and keep looking at it to know what work was coming up.”

Tesseract’s browser-based software can be accessed on all internet-capable devices. Thanks to Tesseract’s Remote Engineer Access (REA), which completely streamlines field service management, BGHN’s engineers can now log in remotely to the Tesseract system from their smart phones, laptops or tablets. They are able to view calls for dispatch, raise parts requests, look at the call history of a site, close down jobs, generate reports and raise same-day invoices. All of the data they input is live and fed back to the office instantly, allowing for much better visibility. REA also has handy offline capability; data can still be entered even if the internet signal is lost, and will be transmitted to BGHN as soon as the signal is restored.

Thanks to Tesseract’s software, a whole labour-intensive, paper-heavy process has been eliminated from BGHN’s operations. As a result, BGHN has been able to increase the volume and multifariousness of its work.

“Tesseract has enabled us to take on more work, and expand the range of services we offer,” says Dornan. “We now employ more in-house engineers and look after more clients. And while our specialism is biomass, we have a number of subcontractors we use for specialist gas work and working with different heat pumps. It means we can offer a more expansive and varied service.”

 

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As telematics specialist Microlise launches  Clear, its new driver coaching and behaviour app developed specifically for field service organisations, Kris Oldland discovers his inner White Van Man and realises that not all stereotypes are true…

UPDATE: SINCE THE PUBLICATION OF THIS EVENT REVIEW MICROLISE AND FIELD SERVICE NEWS HAVE TEAMED UP TO REPEAT THE DAY FOR FIELD SERVICE NEWS READERS.

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When we hear the phrase “white van man” it doesn’t always conjure up the most positive connotations: a red top paper somewhere on the dashboard, an arm hanging lazily out of the window and, worst of all , reckless driving with little care for other motorists all fit into the traditional stereotype.

However, the white van driver is not only at the heart of the field service industry but also at the heart of the UK economy as well.

“Over the last few years there has been a meteoric explosion in the white van market. From September 2014 to February 2015, 150,000 vans were registered in the UK” stated TV presenter and author Quentin Willson. Willson was opening an event hosted by telematics specialist Microlise at the Milbrook Technology Park to launch its Clear telematics solution for field service.

“Bringing in £35Bn to the UK economy the idea of White Van man being the spine of the UK economy has been embraced by government.” Wilson continued underlining just how significant a role the White Van Man has in the British economy as the UK continues to rebuild it’s status as a leading financial power following the economic downturn and double dip recession of recent memory.

And of course for those companies who operate these vehicles, there are huge potential savings to be made from improving driver behaviour, to ensure that fuel economy is at an optimum whilst vehicle degradation remains at a minimum.

Service engineers are drivers too

This, essentially, is what Microlise’s Clear is all about: helping coach our field engineers into being better drivers in order to reduce costs.

 

This in itself isn’t a particularly new concept, of course. Telematics companies such as TomTom, Telogis and Fleetmatics have been raising this point and aiming their products at field service companies for some time now. It’s a busy market as it is so is there space for another telematics company toeing the same line as everyone else?

What do Microlise bring to the table that differentiates them from their competitors and peers?

Well for a start they have an extremely strong pedigree in the haulage sector, where they are very well established with fleet operators and truck manufacturers. The annual Microlise Transport Conference is the biggest transport conference in the UK with over 1,000 delegates attending this year’s event held at the Ricoh arena.

Secondly, Clear is aimed specifically at field service companies and is actually a very slick piece of kit indeed.

It is designed with compliance and safety at the forefront, with built-in vehicle walk round checks to both increase fleet uptime and safety standards. There is a comprehensive reporting suite that provides management with insight into utilisation, productivity and compliance in terms of work patterns and HMRC tax requirements.

 

The Clear launch event included interesting presentations from associations including the FTA and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency which both highlighted the looming burden to van operators of having to meet the stricter servicing and roadworthiness compliance regime that already apply to HGV operations. (Given the fact that almost half of all vans fail their MOT first time this could, arguably, be merited. However, it would likely prove costly to both operators and government alike.)

We also heard some excellent case studies from facilities management giant Interserve and pay-TV providers Sky.

The road ahead is Clear

After a morning of we had the chance to test out Clear first hand which of course meant getting behind the wheel of a van ourselves. Our challenge was to complete the Alpine course as close to the optimum time of seven minutes, with as few driving faults as possible. The course which was apparently model on a section of road actually in Alps, certainly provided a challenge, with hairpin bends, heavy cambers and steep inclines combining to make a route that certainly demanded attention.

Stepping into a brand new Ford Transit van provided by co-sponsor Hertz , I admit I felt a sudden rush of nerves. I’d only ever driven a van once and that was not long after passing my test and I’ll readily admit that on that particular occasion I found myself quickly living up to the stereotype as I hogged the middle lane of the M40.

How would I cope on what those who had gone before me described as a tricky track? Was I about to have all my driving weaknesses laid out bare in front of me? Fortunately it seems that, like a good wine, I’ve improved somewhat with age and whilst the course itself was tricky I managed to get around with a respectable B from Clear’s rating system in a not too shabby 7 minutes and 37 seconds.

 

With my dignity secured I could now spend some time with the coaching side of the app to understand better how it works. With my recorded data transferred I was ready to see where I went wrong and was duly handed a tablet (the app is available on both IoS and Android) to have a look through the low points of my run.

The app itself had a nice intuitive interface and I was impressed with how quickly and easily I was able to drill down into data such as fuel efficiencies, carbon emissions and of course dangerous driving elements such as over steering and harsh braking.

And as I looked through my reported errors, I was advised on where I went wrong by none other than Ben Collins, AKA the Stig, the former racing driver who know makes his living perform insane stunts for the movie industry.

Whilst our group were each getting their specific feedback there was also an opportunity to see the back end of the system at work, as it comfortably managed our ‘fleet’ of 30 or so delegates and fed back data in real-time.

The reporting suite also gives field service managers valuable information on fleet utilisation and productivity, delivering additional operational benefits, whilst real-time vehicle tracking gives fleet managers the insight to understand the location and operational status of every vehicle in the fleet.

Clear field service benefits

“Clear will deliver huge benefits to organisations operating fleets of vehicles” commented John Mills, Head of Mobile Workforce Telematics at Microlise. “The product has been developed with the specific needs of these organisations in mind, and we’re excited to be working in such a dynamic space.

“Whilst telematics solutions are traditionally centred on vehicle tracking and driver performance, Clear comes complete with a range of other features that will help field service organisations to be compliant in terms of HMRC reporting, DVSA regulations and in-house vehicle safety standards. Comprehensive task management and communications further enhance efficiency and service levels.”

As well as highlighting driver faults in real-time, Clear also offers easy access reporting. I could very much see how self coaching via smartphone or tablet helps improve engagement and education of our field workers. And such a tool could be very powerful means of communicating to our engineers that they are indeed professional van drivers as well as professional engineers.

In fact,  perhaps one of the biggest challenges of improving the driver standards of our field engineers, could possibly be convincing them they are professional drivers in the first place.

 

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WANT TO EXPERIENCE THE DAY FOR YOURSELF - INCLUDING DRIVING A WHITE VAN AND PERSONAL DRIVING TIPS FRPOM THE STIG?

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Coming soon: More on the importance of convincing field engineers they are also professional drivers.

 

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When business growth meant ENWA Water Technology UK had outgrown its existing service management software software,  it turned to Tesseract to chart a new course. 

ENWA Water Technology UK (EWT UK) specialises in water treatment systems for heating, cooling and process water applications, are charting a new course with Tesseract’s service management software.

The company distributes and services all kinds of water treatment technologies within the UK, with clients ranging from Heathrow Airport to Great Ormond Street Hospital to Imperial College London.  The company established a marine department in 2011,  supplying water treatment solutions to large oil tankers, rigs and offshore storage and production platform, and has grown significantly over the last five years.

This growth brought challenges for the service management software package that EWT UK already had in place. They realised they needed a more efficient, streamlined system in order to be as productive and profitable as possible. “Our previous software didn’t fail; we just outgrew it,” says Glenn Simpson, Manager of EWT UK. “We decided to look for the right software to enable us to move forward and grow, and that’s how we found Tesseract.”

A high degree of organisational efficiency in the servicing department was a particular need. For that reason, the ability to integrate Tesseract’s user-friendly Remote Engineer Access solution with EWT UK’s existing systems was essential. The flexible software is also capable of being integrated with the company's Sage accounting software, another important advantage that drew the company to Tesseract.

“Tesseract came in and demonstrated that, essentially, their software has just what we require,” says Simpson. “Actually they came in twice, which was good because it takes time to get your head round these sorts of things. We’re looking forward to a very rewarding partnership.”

 

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Like any other industry, the world of the casino has had to adapt to the many trends and changes in which new technologies offer a range of options for maintaining, supporting and implementing operational activities. ClickSoftware explores how the role of field services will change.

With global gambling revenues rising to over $450 billion in 2014 the industry is clearly still massively profitable. And with changes in legislation that have helped deregulate a lot of red tape that previously inhibited the casinos' activities, it looks like global gambling will soar in the future.

However, such expansion provides new challenges and new opportunities for the industry. And from the simple field service operations of maintaining existing casino operations, to adapting to the new digital challenges offered by cloud-based gaming platforms, there are many questions as to how the role of field services will play in this new and exciting future.

A highly knowledgeable and ever-ready team of field service operatives must be on hand to provide support for the vast array of potential problems that could occur. Traditional casinos are massive operations that require a great deal of skill and forethought in how to maintain and operate the wide range of functions that the businesses provide. In terms of the actual gaming activities that are conducted, a highly knowledgeable and ever-ready team of field service operatives must be on hand to provide support for the vast array of potential problems that could occur.

Not only do many casino establishments operate on a 24 hour, seven days per week basis, but the sheer quantity of gaming options can often present a headache to the field service engineer. With even the simple slot machine requiring a great degree of specialisation, it's incredibly important for teams of field service engineers to be able to share technical information via mobile devices that can aid maintenance under tight deadlines.

 

Similarly, with a range of other activities being conducted under a casino roof ranging from entertainment, catering and hospitality, the field service operations will also be under a great deal of pressure to implement productivity software with dynamic scheduling so that knowledge is shared and activities can be aligned in these huge business operations.

As casinos operate with a highly visible 'front-of-house' operation, it's therefore highly important that any field service activity is conducted in a discreet and professional manner with the minimum of disruption to the business' activities. As such, mobile apps run on compact devices are the most effective way for field engineers to stay connected in this demanding situation.

And conversely, the mobile environment has also infiltrated the traditional casino format massively in recent years. The advent of online casino sites hosted by Chipzup have revolutionised the way in which customers can play a massive variety of games remotely through websites that offer lucrative prize winnings from the convenience of a smartphone or tablet.

 

As such, the field service aspect of this changing relationship between customer and industry will be adapted to become specialised in the digital and technological side of gaming operations.

This is especially the case with the rise of cloud-based gaming that promises to allow people to enjoy streamed high-end games direct to their device. Such a method of playing games threatens to revolutionise the traditional console-based activities as the actual game will be stored, executed and rendered on a remote computer that streams live-video action of the game to the player's device.

This method of conducting gameplay could revolutionise the online casino experience as players will be able to enjoy a much wider variety of games from different systems regardless of what device they actually own.

And with the recent news that Sony had purchased the defunct cloud-gaming site OnLive, it looks like big business will be stepping into this exciting new area of gaming potential. Whether this will result in a centralising of operations remains to be seen, but it will undoubtedly result in a much higher technological adaptation on behalf of field engineers to keep servers running and ensure that connectivity between the customer and business doesn't suffer.

Despite all of the changes that are taking place in this rapidly growing and hugely popular industry, the key concepts of field service operations must stay the same however. So clear communications between operatives through the use of rugged hardware and mobile devices that take advantage of cloud-based support will all have to be implemented and sustained in order to ensure the smooth running of the modern casino environment.

 

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Service Management Expo 2015 saw a number of excellent debates including a panel discussion that focused on the challenge of replacing an ageing workforce. As the millenials take over the work place, moderator Kris Oldand asked the panel just what will the changing face of field service look like?

The challenge for service companies was not so much the age of their current workforce but the aptitude and willingness to learn new skills, said Andy Beer, European Service director, Pitney Bowes. "As technology changes, the engineer's role may change from being field-based to carrying out remote diagnosis on a Help Desk. Regardless, they still need an underlying skill set and it's important those skills sets are up-to-date. Do they have the aptitude to learn and adapt?"

In field service, solutions are knowledge-based, pointed out Susannah Richardson, Marketing Director at mplsystems. "What is important is to get that knowledge documented - and your ageing, very experienced workforce can often be the best source for that. See it as an opportunity to get that valuable knowledge out of one engineer’s head and into the wider workforce. Once you've secured that knowledge, your service levels won’t drop if key staff leave or retire."

Formal, documented knowledge can also improve customer service, she added. "Once available, it can be used by the Help Desk engineers for remote diagnostics and repair, or even to guide customers on fixing problems themselves via a help area on your own website."

It is important that during the process of documenting knowledge, experienced engineers do not feel threatened, said Beer. "The solution is to show them you appreciate that knowledge and involve them in the process - such as sending them the final document for approval."

How important is technology in attracting tomorrow's engineers?

The consensus on the panel was that technology would play a key role in attracting the Millennials who will be the next generation of field service workers. As Professor Howard Lightfoot of Cranfield University School of Management said: "Young people don't think about technology, they just use it. They access everything digitally, including training and education."

 

Service companies need to remember that Millennials would also form a large part of their customer based in future said Lightfoot. "They'll expect a different sort of service and engineers will need training in soft skills. Managing clients and client behaviour, coping with complaints on a face-to-face basis will become an important part of the skill set."

A service sector that used modern technology would help attract the next generation and get buy-in from existing engineers when work processes were changing. "Giving engineers an iPad to work with wins hearts and minds," said Beer. "We found giving them permission to use the device in their personal lives made them excited and got them thoroughly engaged in the changes we were making in the business."

The sharing generation

Service companies could also benefit if they grasped the fact that the millennial generation, whether customers or engineers, are used to social media and sharing of information, remarked Richardson. "In the workplace, millennials will want to be part of a social community that shares information, interacts and is collaborative.  This generation are more likely to communicate via Instant Messaging than make a voice call. Millennial customers wouldn't be phased by requesting a service via an app, not via a call to the help desk. "

It might also drive earlier resolution of a problem, she added. "Technology enables a three-way web chat, for example, with the customer calling the help desk who then brings in a field-based engineer to discuss the problem."

Trusted advisor or sales person?

The panel was asked whether a new generation of engineers would be less resistant than older workers to the idea of leveraging their position as “trusted advisor” to become a “trusted sales advisor". All were adamant that while this might be appealing for service companies, there were also inherent risks.

"There is potentially a lot to be gained, but if the field engineer starts to act in a more overt sales fashion, there is also the risk of losing that trusted advisor status with the customer," commented Beer. "Field engineers see themselves as trusted advisers and fixers. Many will resist the ideal of becoming sales representatives and customers, indeed, can see through overt sales tactics. "

Richardson however, thought some engineers would welcome a sales/upselling role. "Incentivising engineers for sales rewards them monetarily, but can also be attractive from a career development point of view."

Technology for training

"Skills training needs to accept that there is a wide spectrum of workers, from those who are scared of a mouse to those comfortable with a smartphone,” remarked Professor Lightfoot. "Training is no longer just talking to people, it’s more interactive these days,” he added.

 

Baby steps and the gamification concept was the way forward, thought the panel with Dan Lancaster, Field Service Specialist with Telogis, advising "Set questions in a dynamic format. The process can be heavy at the start but you soon reach the point where you can get them to filling in questionnaires to test their skills levels."

Ageing workforce: crisis or opportunity?

Having already identified the need to interact with Millennial workers, each of the panel members were asked whether they considered if an ageing workforce represented a crisis (all that knowledge disappearing from the company) or an opportunity (with all those young people with a new outlook, enthusiastic about embracing the technology) that is going to be essential for service delivery over the next couple of decades.

"There are over 1 billion mobile devices out there: your workforce will be using them anyway, so tap into that mindset," urged Lightfoot.

"Technology is delivering the opportunity to document a vast amount of knowledge and get it out there to the wider workforce and customers," pointed out Richardson.

Finally, Lancaster added: "Younger people expect to be engaged in what they are doing, at work or play. So engage them. It's a fantastic opportunity to look at your operation in a different way."

So, in conclusion, our panel unanimously agreed that any potential crisis in terms of loss of expertise as older workers retired could be overcome and that service companies should explore the different aptitudes and mindset of a younger generation to drive process change and transform customer service strategies.

The face of field service is changing, but as with anything change can be both frightening and exciting at the same time. The trick is to walk the line in the middle so you are prepared for the pitfalls and ready to embrace the opportunities. Is your company up to the challenge?

 

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In Part One of this interview in our Industry Leaders series, John Cooper, Head of IT and Workflow Solutions in Sony’s Professional Solutions unit in Europe explained why he and his colleagues needed to revisit their existing service infrastructure and replace a 15-year-old legacy system with something better suited to the growing complexity of their service organisation.

In Part 2, he talks to FSN's Kris Oldand about how he and his team reviewed both off-the-shelf systems and customised solutions to determine which was fit-for-purpose, their reasons for making the choice they did and the impact on the service operation.

“We had a remedy based solution that actually had its routes dating back almost 15 years believe it or not,” Cooper begins. “It was initially designed for specific service offerings we had which were very much one-to-one. One customer , one product. So a kind of classic repair-related issue. They’d call the help desk, raise a remedy ticket, we’d determine if a repair was required, we’d pull the units back and we’d issue replacements;  a nice simple system.”

“Of course now we are in a situation where we have technology that sits across multiple partners of Sony, plus hardware and software vendors,  and we look after it all. It may be multi-site, it may even have multiple SLAs within contracts.” Cooper explains.

So despite having updated and improved their existing system across the years, its core purpose was as a backend system, and it lacked the reporting functionality and dashboards that it was becoming more and more apparent Cooper and his team required.  “We got to the point that we realised the bits that really mattered to our customers were the bits that we were finding it hardest to do.”

 

As the need for a more modern service management system became apparent Cooper and his colleagues had some clear expectations of what they wanted. “We thought about this issue of the ecosystem and how do we get everybody involved. Pretty quickly we came to the decision that what we needed to do was get something that sat within the Salesforce world; our sales and marketing organisation use Salesforce - it’s a standard platform in Sony,” he explains

Bespoke or fit-for-purpose?

However the next decision was whether to opt for a ‘fit-for-purpose’ solution or create something bespoke. Something Cooper clearly gave great consideration to:   “We had two other big choices – do we bespoke something or do we look for something that is fit for purpose,” he begins.  "In the past I didn’t see much in ‘fit-for-purpose’ solutions that I felt actually really understood something as complex as what we wanted to do. At the same time I was very wary about bespoking because it gets you a solution for today and,  if you're clever,  maybe for the next two or three years. I didn’t want my team to be thinking what to do next about IT, I wanted them to be thinking about making the customers happy."

 

“So we looked around and we found ServiceMax amongst a number of systems that we had already looked at. I just thought: this is a system that has really been thought through by service professionals, people who really understand what happens. It’s not just a standard set of processes.”

“Despite it being an off the shelf package there is such as degree of configurability that you can work how you want to work. There is such a good degree of best practice built in it pushes you down a path of best practice and I’m a big fan of that.”

 Dual benefits

Of course there are numerous benefits to a next generation service management system such as ServiceMax, including easy Salesforce integration, breaking down many of the data silos that can exist within an organisation.

And perhaps the most important of these is the ease of access to reporting which Sony had found lacking in their previous solution.  This is of course indicative of how business is done today and a common expectation of Sony’s customers, so it was a key necessity for Sony when implementing their new system.

However, given the changing nature of Sony’s business with both a shift towards a more service-orientated business structure and also, through the use of remote diagnostics tools, a move towards a much more proactive and preventative service offering, such reporting tools also provide an important second function  - namely,  being able to report on all of the service value Sony are delivering that may otherwise potentially not get noticed or acknowledged.

“Sometimes we can have a conversation with customers and they’ll say well we’re not really aware of you doing that much for us.” Cooper explains.  “And that’s a facet of us keeping processes and systems nice and clean in such a way that systems continue to run. So the desire for us to want to demonstrate all the good stuff we’ve done is really strong.”

 

“The flip side of course is that no service organisation is perfect and sometimes when things go wrong the first person that hears about it is someone senior on the customer’s side and then the second person that hears about it is the account manager.  So if you’re not careful the only time people hear about service is when there is bad news and the reality is that 99% of the stuff is going wonderfully but there is not any awareness of this.”

In fact Cooper believes such easy access to reports and dashboards, is as powerful tool for his account managers as it is for his service managers.  “One of the other drivers for us in this quest for the right sort of system was something that keeps the whole ecosystem aware of what’s going on and what we are doing for the end customer.”

“We have this dream of the account managers turning up at customer sites and being completely clued in with all the stuff that’s happened in a nice simple to understand graphical way. So they don’t need to get into technical complexity but they know what we’ve done for the customers, they know of any live issues and they’re not going to get ambushed with you’ve got this problem or that problem.”

And Cooper sees this as perhaps one of the biggest changes in service today.  “That sort of thinking wasn’t there many years ago in our industry but now it’s becoming imperative, ” he asserts.  “Our feeling is that that service will really help us differentiate ourselves with our customers. Our goal at the end of the day is we want customers to come back to us and keep renewing service contracts and then when their technology gets to the point where there is something better for them out there they come back and buy from Sony.”

 

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In the continual evolution of field service, mobile will continue to be the most impactful technology for enterprise field service in the near future, more so than the Internet of Things, writes Sumair Dutta, Chief Customer Officer for The Service Council

Field service, as a discipline, is changing. The rate of change isn’t as dramatic as the typical prognostications of technology-focused publications and outlets. Yes, IoT is having and will have a huge impact. So will wearable technology. But remember, this is an industry that isn’t completely mobile. Pen, paper, and the clipboard, are still considered useful tools. Technology is increasing the rate of change in field service, but the overall industry is one that is still quite cautious.

In early 2015, nearly 200 organisations participating in a field service study conducted by The Service Council highlighted the following as their top focus areas for 2015:

• Process control, review, and management
• Field service execution
•  Talent management
• IT infrastructure for field service

These areas are similar to some of the priorities outline by survey participants in 2014. What is different about 2015 is the increased focus by organisations to lay a strategic foundation for their field service businesses to support sustained business growth. It's not just about cutting field service visits, but more about maximising the value of necessary field service visits. With this in mind, we see a continued evolution of field service around these three major areas:[quote float="right"]It's not just about cutting field service visits, but more about maximising the value of necessary field service visits

[ordered_list style="decimal"]

 

1. Service Model Integration:
   Reactive field service isn’t dead. Organisations were more likely to see an increase in reactive field service visits in 2014 than they were a decrease in these visits. In 2014, 41% of organisations polled saw an increase in reactive field visits over the course compared to only 28% of organisations that saw a decrease. While organisations are looking to eliminate unnecessary reactive field service visits with the aid of connected or self-service business models, their service portfolios are still comprised of a heavy dose of reactive field service visits.  The primary goal with reactive visits is to increase efficiency so that the first reactive visit is the last reactive visit. However, organisations are also looking to enhance value delivered per service visit wherein an onsite visit is seen as an opportunity to share knowledge with, provide advice to, and improve relationships with the customer. Eventually the hope is that this leads to better trust, increased retention, and continued customer spending. In looking at the overall service continuum, the objective is to eliminate effort and inconvenience in dispatch-less service models but to maximise value when a dispatch is required. This requires a focused integration of the service delivery models around the end outcome felt by the customer.
2. Talent:
   While most organisations we poll are able to deal with their field service workloads with current resource levels, most are looking for new field service talent and are having a hard time a) finding this talent, and b) getting the talent trained and out of the door. Our research shows that 46% of organisations had unfilled positions for field service technicians at the end of 2014. In searching for new agents, organisations are prioritising customer management and communication skills so that these agents aren’t only good at fixing things, but are also able to effectively communicate with customers. Organisations are also looking to hire agents who are familiar with the use of mobile devices and applications adopted by the organisation. We’re also seeing a significant change in training philosophies when it comes to field service. The overarching objective is to get new hires out in the field as soon as possible and so organisations are prioritising online training, collaboration, and knowledge platforms, to provide field agents with an always-on and always updated mode of instruction while on the move.
3. Mobile: Mobile will continue to be the most impactful technology for enterprise field service in the near future, more so than the Internet of Things. The reason for this is that we are just scratching the surface of what mobile can do for field service, especially when it comes to workforce empowerment.[quote float="left"]We are just scratching the surface of what mobile can do for field service, especially when it comes to workforce empowerment

    

   While most organisations we poll have provided their agents with some form of mobile device, they have yet to fully empower their field agents with the capabilities of mobile technology. We’re still in the early stages of mobile maturity for field service wherein most investments have been made primarily to replace ineffective paper-based processes. However, mobility presents the opportunity to provide richer information to field agents to allow them to effectively resolve customer issues. It also offers field agents the opportunity to communicate and collaborate with broader groups across the organisation with the aim of improving productivity and enhancing customer satisfaction. Finally, mobility also allows organisations to create an army of data gatherers. This data can be used to monitor service demand, improve customer relationships, and identify opportunities for service business growth. In our 2015 service big data research project, 40% of organisations identified mobile point-of-service solutions as the avenue of data collection that they most wanted to tap into.

Field service is changing. The speed of change is picking up with the aid of mobile technology. Yet field service is still a human discipline, and human empowerment and engagement is key to supporting field service growth.

 

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For some time, it seems everywhere you look, companies in or close to the field service software sector are on the acquisition trail. Microsoft's acquisition of field service software company Field One in June was followed in July by the sale of ClickSoftware Technologies to a private investment group, preceded by Oracle’s acquisition of TOA in 2014.

Why the scramble to acquire field service expertise? Well, there seem to be a number of drivers for this round of vendor consolidation, including a seismic shift in the corporate mindset that is seeing service operations transformed from cost centres where the focus is on greater internal efficiencies to one where the KPIs are all about delivering top-in-class customer experience to grow recurring revenue streams. Field service is no longer a silo, but an important cog in the growth of next-generation customer-focused business processes.

Another driver is the relentless advance of cloud computing and cloud platforms for both traditional business activities and mobile operations. The cloud is a great enabler of real-time communications with field workers. Currently, acceptance may be more advanced in North America, but European service organisations are catching up. Service, after all, is now a global business, and Cloud platforms can deliver much of the technology required to lift customer service to that higher level.

Finally, as their existing customer base matures, the large ERP vendors are seeking new revenue opportunities. “Larger ERP vendors are waking up to the vast potential of the global field service market. There are over 20 million field engineers deployed worldwide - that's a significant market opportunity,” points out Neil Lewis, EMEA Sales Consulting Director, ServiceMax.

 

Lewis likens consolidation in the field service marketplace to a few years ago when ERP vendors acquired companies with expertise in marketing and social media. "Now they are looking for companies with expertise in field service.”

For Rue Dilhe, Managing Director of Exel Computer Systems, consolidation in field service is inevitable. “There are restricted  opportunities for the large ERP vendors to sell new systems in manufacturing. The maturing market has already led to consolidation among ERP vendors. Those that are left are now looking at integrating field service into their systems, a process Exel's development team achieved back in 2008. ”

Neither of these field service specialists view the entry of the large ERP vendors into field service as a threat, more of a recognition that the sector is both maturing and set for a period of high growth. Both are also confident that their experience and understanding of service organisations' processes and requirements and ability to offer end-to-end solutions is what matters to their customers.

Integration issues

For service operations to be a revenue earner requires easy integration between systems, points out Dilhe. “Having been in business for 30 years, first in ERP then in field service, at Exel we know how important integration of processes and the latest technology is if our customers are going to deliver the best possible service to their customers.”

Companies which have a manufacturing division and a service arm want them to work together in future, acknowledges Dilhe. “However, while the need for removal of data silos and real-time connection with field workers are driving demand for greater integration between ERP and field service systems, it is not necessarily as straightforward as might first appear for those vendors looking to integrate products through consolidation."

For Exel, ERP and field service can be provided as a truly "fully integrated" single solution as both have been developed together in-house," he points out. "Those looking to integrated two previously disparate solutions will certainly have their work cut out for them. It’s one reason some companies have run field service software outside of their ERP system, he points out. “Updating and integrating field service software into ERP may not be easy, and implementing on-premise ERP into a mobile field service environment can also be a fraught process. You have to a clear understanding of processes, data flows and so on.”

While large ERP vendors do have some mobility solutions, they may not have a solution that meets the demands of field service organisations or one that can be deployed on a global scale,” says Lewis. “Some will build mobility platforms on ERP software. However this may not deliver the end-to-end solution offered by vendors such as ServiceMax, a pure play company focused on cloud-based, end-to-end field service management solutions since 2007."

 

"Large vendors have to manage multiple products and technical stacks,” points out Lewis, which may make them slower to respond to changing customer requirements, new technical developments and changing business landscapes and demands.

What next

The latest consolidation is the acquisition by Microsoft of FieldOne. Some field service companies will already be familiar with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, but until now it has had little integrated field service support: software has had to be acquired from a Microsoft software partner, one of which was Field One.

Analysts at Gartner believe the deal as a shrewd acquisition choice, and will add add a strong set of integrated field service capabilities to Dynamics CRM, including work order management, scheduling and contract management. FieldOne’s Sky solution is already built on the Dynamics platform, it points out, easing potential integration issues.

Concerns flagged up by Gartner include whether Microsoft will continue to support multiple device OS including Android and iOS and potential channel conflict with independent field service software vendors who are already in the Microsoft ecosystem.

For Oracle, the appeal of its acquisition of TOA Technologies, the US-based provider of cloud-based field service solutions, would seem to be that it  expands the ability to provide end-to-end customer service solutions into field service operations, providing visibility throughout the customer relationship lifecycle. TOA's field service suite has been incorporated in the Oracle’s Service Cloud online platform.

The future for ClickSoftware  is also seen as part of a larger business suite, following  its acquisition by Francisco Partners Management in July when it became a private company. Gartner believes that once is cloud platform is fully developed, ClickSoftware will be sold on  to a company with a business application suite with weaknesses in field service management.  "The business application suite vendor that ends up without a leading field service optimization capability will be the eventual loser in this scenario, as it will need to buy a second-tier product or develop its own."

 

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Workwave, the US-based provider of cloud-based solutions for businesses with mobile workforces,  reports revenues up 55% and adds 900 new customers. 

WorkWave, the US-based provider of cloud-based field service management and last-mile fleet management software solutions has announced it added over 900 new customers in the first half of 2015, grew recurring revenue by 55% and increased staff by nearly 30%.

The company, founded in 1984,  was best known as Marathon Data Systems until it underwent a corporate rebranding in June 2015 coinciding with its  acquisition of telematics company Foxtrax. Workwave has made significant investment in its field service management platform to improve the level of connectivity and visibility its customers have inside their office and in the expansion of its mobile workforce platform. This now includes proprietary mobile apps and route planning and optimisation technology, to provide the same visibility and connectivity for field service operations.   The tightly integrated, mobile-first,  suite of software solutions includes WorkWave Service, WorkWave Fleet, WorkWave GPS, PestPac, together with marketing and sales automation  solutions.

“Demand for WorkWave’s field service management and fleet management software solutions continues to grow among both small businesses and enterprise customers, as they increasingly realise that efficiencies from the cloud continue to make their options more affordable and effective,” said Chris Sullens, CEO of WorkWave. “WorkWave helps clients large and small operate more efficiently and profitably, and our combination of deep industry expertise in multiple service and delivery verticals and flexible cloud-based solutions enables us to quickly scale to support this continued year-over-year growth.”

 

WorkWave is off to a strong start in 2015, fuelled by growth in its core vertical of pest control and rapid adoption of its integrated routing, GPS and lead generation offerings across its target industry segments. Key customer wins US Coachways, Friendly’s Ice Cream, Fort Point Beer Co., Hoskins Pest Control, Budget Pest Control, Molly Maid, City of Houston and Spring-Green. Staff numbers increased from 144 employees to over 180 during the first half of 2015 and are expected to reach 200 by the end of 2015.

WorkWave and CEO Chris Sullens were also named a winner in the 2015 Globee Fastest Growing Private Companies Awards which recognise company growth and success in privately-held organisations from around the world.

 

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