Live Demonstration: Remote service tools within the IFS FSM solution

Mar 25, 2021 • Features • Panasonic • Digital Transformation • HVAC • IFS

Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News, is joined by Karl Lowe, Head of European Service, Panasonic Heating and Cooling Solutions Europe and Sarah Nicastro, Field Service Evangelist, Future of Field Service and IFS as the group discuss...

IFS acquires Axios Systems

Mar 24, 2021 • News • Digital Transformation • field service management • IFS • GLOBAL • Axios Systems

IFS, announces it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase Axios Systems PLC, a global provider of cloud-based Enterprise Service Management (ESM) software. Recognized as a leader in IT Service Management (ITSM) and IT Operations Management (ITOM), Axios Systems has built a reputation for the quality of its omnichannel service management solution, which many of the world’s most respected brands rely on, including: Aviva, KPMG, FedEx and many more.

IFS is where service and value for customers come first. In the recent launch of IFS Cloud™ and in its growth strategy, IFS delivered on its goal to bring to market technology and industry-specific capabilities that support the customers’ journey to digitalization and help them evolve to become more outcome and service-led. More and more companies are turning to IFS to help them deliver when it matters most to their customers—at the Moment of Service.

Over the years, IFS has significantly invested in its Service Management business, which grew over 100 percent year on year in 2020. The acquisition of Axios Systems adds further depth to IFS’s capabilities with new ITSM and ITOM functionality that will help companies improve the design and automation of workflows, drive efficiency internally, and connect data across teams and systems to ultimately create opportunities to better serve its customers. The combination of IFS and Axios Systems is instrumental in extending IFS’s ambition to cement itself as the market leader in the Service space.

IFS further extends stronghold in service management with additional Enterprise Service Management capabilities

Like all elements of the IFS proposition, the customer can deploy Axios Systems’ Enterprise Service Management capabilities as a best-of-breed point solution or integrate it with other capabilities built into IFS Cloud. This puts IFS in a unique position to offer an end-to-end service solution that supports employees internally and in the field, as well as businesses as they deliver products, outcomes or indeed services. For the first time, customers will be able to connect both worlds and create a new level of visibility across their value chain so that they can delight customers in delivering great Moments of Service.

IFS CEO Darren Roos commented, “The acquisition is very significant for IFS: we are extending our Service Management proposition to help businesses address inefficiencies that can impact their ability to deliver delightful ‘Moments of Service’. Beyond process and workflow design and simplification, Axios and IFS together create visibility across internal and external siloes. He elaborated, “The ability to monetize service creates a competitive edge. Today customers want service: reliably and consistently, but there is a missing piece; companies need to be able to leverage customers, people and assets and not only articulate the true value but also ‘design for Serviceability’. With Axios, IFS is adding specific capabilities that bring visibility into the value delivered inside and out and highlight opportunities for ongoing improvements.”

Tasos Symeonides, CEO and Founder of Axios noted, “As the founder of Axios, I am proud that my family and team have successfully established a global and well-respected provider of enterprise service management solutions. We are not done yet; we want to keep working with the great customers we already have and add new ones. To achieve this, we needed to join forces with a global software player who is as passionate about service management, delivering value, and creating great customer experiences, as we are. In IFS we found the ideal strategic partner and are now playing a role in helping IFS extend its leadership in enterprise service management!”

With Axios Systems’ leading ITSM & ITOM solutions, companies can design, automate, and simplify workflows along the value chain and deliver amazing Moments of Service

Ray Wang, principal & founder of Constellation Research Inc commented: “Prospects and customers who see service as a differentiator will find value with this acquisition. Most organizations seek the ability to connect IT and the back office to the front office and customer acting teams. Bridging those silos and creating visibility with a rich ESM solution will help organizations drive service innovation and visualize the value.”

Axios Systems enjoys an international blue-chip customer base across the US, Europe, Middle East and LatAm, and has successfully fostered strong user communities to build advocacy and drive product enhancements. Customers in the commercial sector include Aviva, FedEx, Sobeys, EDEKA, KPMG; and in the public sector include UK & Scottish Governments, State of Maine, Dubai Courts, Saudi Post and Fife Council.

Both Axios and IFS are highly rated by industry analysts. IFS has maintained its stronghold as a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Field Service Management Software every year since 2014. Axios is recognized as a Niche Player in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for IT Service Management Tools where Gartner highlights its strengths in customer engagement, strong focus on IT service management and impressive international customer base.

Deploying a remote expert solution in the middle of the pandemic

Mar 18, 2021 • Features • Panasonic • Digital Transformation • HVAC • IFS

IFS launches IFS Cloud

Mar 10, 2021 • News • Artifical Intellignce • Augmented Reality • Rebrand • Digital Transformation • IFS • IoT • Technology

IFS today launches IFS Cloud™, a single platform that innately connects all its products to deliver the end-to-end capabilities a company needs to orchestrate its customers, people and assets and deliver amazing Moments of Service.

Customers can choose to deploy best-of-breed or leverage the power of connecting their value chains across capabilities such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), human capital management (HCM), asset management (EAM) and field service (FSM).

With IFS Cloud, IFS offers a unique and single technology platform with one common user experience, one data model and one consistent support offering. IFS Cloud brings simplicity, choice and innovation to organizations that need to evolve to new business models, control costs, expand faster and serve their customers better. By implementing IFS Cloud, companies can easily scale and simply switch on new functionality (such as additional modules or new innovative capabilities) when the time is right for their business.

IFS CLOUD MAKES IT PRACTICAL AND AFFORDABLE FOR CUSTOMERS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE NEWEST TECHNOLOGIES

Likewise, customers can choose how and where they deploy IFS Cloud, which has been engineered for the cloud but can be deployed on-premises with a choice of residency. Unlike many offerings, IFS customers will benefit from the same solution functionality and delightful user experiences, regardless of their deployment choice, without compromise.

As a departure from competing, legacy suites and software portfolios that rely on complex and costly integrations, IFS Cloud is designed to make it easier and more cost-effective for customers to buy, deploy, run, and update their enterprise software. IFS Cloud marks the start of twice-yearly feature releases, giving customers the choice to move to the latest version as and when their business is ready.

Darren Roos, IFS CEO, commented, “The path to digital transformation is not a simple one. Most businesses are complex and have intricate value chains, which is why few organizations succeed and even fewer vendors provide the tools to truly enable it. At IFS, our single most important goal is to deliver value to our customers, and we want to provide a clear path for them to evolve to new business models, compete and win.

Roos continued, “Customers have told me that their main goals are to drive efficiency, control costs and to develop better products and services. We know that to achieve this, cloud is a pre-requisite. Digital innovations need to be easily consumable and embedded into daily business operations, which is why I am confident that IFS will succeed where others have not. IFS Cloud is unique and delivers on customer centricity and experience as well as capabilities. I am proud to say we are again keeping our promise to deliver value so that customers can deliver on their Moment of Service.”

With digital innovations embedded, IFS Cloud’s architecture also includes new and improved application services for intelligent and autonomous business that can be natively leveraged across IFS products and across industries. This makes it practical and affordable for customers to take advantage of technologies such as machine learning (ML), augmented and mixed reality (AR/MR), artificial intelligence (AI), and internet of things (IoT), ready to use ‘out of the box’.

IFS Cloud is being adopted by a number of pioneer customers across IFS’s focus markets of Aerospace & Defense, Construction & Infrastructure, Energy & Utilities, Manufacturing, and Service industries. One such customer is Cimcorp Group, a world-leading manufacturer of robotics and automation systems.

Commenting on the benefits of IFS Cloud, Cimcorp Technology Director Jyrki Anttonen said, “The manufacturing and manufacturing service industries are very dynamic and highly competitive, which means we are constantly looking for technologies that will allow us to work smarter and faster than our competitors. Company growth is certainly a goal, but we are a global business and therefore we need to have visibility into our operations globally so that we can target efficiencies, control costs and devise news ways to create value for our customers. IFS Cloud is a platform with next-generation technology built for our industry and this gives us the confidence we need to achieve this and flank the competition.”

IFS Chief Product Officer Christian Pedersen said, “IFS Cloud was designed and built to respond to customers’ needs when shifting to digital business models; something we never lost sight of over the last two years.” Pedersen continued, “We recognize that IFS Cloud will be pivotal in bringing success in a customer’s business and this shaped our approach in several areas: being able to make fast and informed decisions based on a single data model, being completely open with native APIs and providing one single upgrade experience so that customers can focus on what is important, which is to deliver exceptional moments of service to their customers.”

Also released today is the first instalment of IFS’s application lifecycle management capability, IFS Lifecycle Experience. IFS Lifecycle Experience features a portal that puts users in control of their application by fusing multiple touch points, to give them access to information, tooling, code, and permissions.

Learn more about IFS Cloud at www.ifs.com/corp/ifs-cloud/ifs-cloud-overview.

Hear what IFS customers have to say during the digital launch event: www.ifs.com/possibilities.

For additional information on IFS Cloud, read blogs from Antony Bourne, Christian Pedersen, Dan Matthews, Michael Ouissi, Riccardo Bocci and Raymond Jones.

IFS Refreshes Its Brand Ahead of Milestone Launch

Mar 01, 2021 • News • Rebrand • Digital Transformation • IFS

IFS, the global enterprise applications company, today unveils a new brand identity to fuse its evolved market position and herald an industry-changing product launch that takes place on March 10, 2021.

Forward-thinking businesses are recognizing the benefits of differentiating on service and the growth opportunities presented by offering new propositions leveraging service. Now, with more than half of the company’s revenue coming from customers using IFS’s technology in how they serve their customers, together with its clear category leadership as recognized by industry analysts, IFS is uniquely positioned to help customers deliver at the moment when really matters. These are the moments when a company either delights or disappoints; the moments when all the decisions and processes that go into doing what you do need to come together; the moments when all the hard work pays off. We call them Moments of Service.

The launch of IFS Cloud™ on March 10 will enable more companies to be their best in their Moments of Service. The new platform enables companies to manage the customer, people, and asset elements of their business in a single, integrated solution. Packed with meaningful innovation, and the industry relevance that IFS has built a reputation for, IFS Cloud is the most significant launch in the company’s history and sets a new benchmark for the industry.

A NEW LOOK FOR A NEW ERA

At the heart of IFS’s new identity is an iconic symbol that represents the many elements a business needs to orchestrate in order to deliver amazing Moments of Service. The symbol reflects the effort, energy, and complexity that goes into every customer engagement while retaining a sense of balance and symmetry. Honoring the company’s past while ushering in the future, the new color palette is based on an updated, vibrant purple hue that is contrasted by a range of complementary colors.

The process behind the brand refresh was both collaborative and scientific, involving input from IFS customers, prospective customers, partners, employees, analysts, and journalists—as well as brand experts.

“We are thrilled to unveil our new look and feel, which is an integral part of the evolutionary shift the company is currently undergoing,” IFS Chief Marketing Officer Oliver Pilgerstorfer said. “The new brand identity reflects the business we are today and is also indicative of our plans for the future, especially in light of the upcoming launch of IFS Cloud. It’s a watershed moment in our company’s history. By creating an identity that is appealing and inspirational we are giving customers, partners, and the market at large a clear signal—and it’s something our own employees are immensely proud of.”

The new IFS branding is currently being deployed across all touchpoints, including digital platforms, print and digital marketing, collaterals, merchandise, and office interiors. The roll-out is being accompanied by out-of-home advertising on some of the world’s most iconic activation sites including Times Square in New York, Burj Khalifa in Dubai, and Shibuya in Japan.

Want to know more? Visit ifs.com/possibilities

Successful Service Transformation Journeys

Jan 06, 2021 • Features • White Paper • field service management • IFS • Service Leadership • Leadership and Strategy

In this third and final excerpt from a recent white paper published by IFS and Noventum we look at three case studies illustrating successful transformation journeys.

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Now that we’ve outlined the strategic plans, as well as the technology enablers, let’s consider, holistically, what this looks like in practice. To illustrate the service transformation journey, here are three different case studies that each illustrate a part of the journey:

The first case study is about a company that convinced the top management to change the business model to a service business. This case study focuses on the first part of the journey ‘Set the climate for Service Transformation’.
The second case study is about a company that re-engineered their service delivery model to become low cost and perceived as high value by customers. This case study illustrates the step of using customer experience design to (re)design and implement the delivery model.
The third case study is about a company that whose existing strategy adequately pushed sales but did not promote sustainable growth for the business. This case study highlights the step of redesigning the go-to market model.

1. CONVINCING TOP MANAGEMENT TO CHANGE THE BUSINESS MODEL TO BECOME A SERVICE BUSINESS

The current situation

A division of a German engineering group, that had traditionally produced and sold large machines for the paper making industry, had built a modest service business contributing less than 5% of the division’s total revenue. Their current service offering consisted of providing spare parts plus reactive and preventive maintenance service contracts.

The challenge

They were facing several challenges:

Price pressure on new equipment sold was increasing due to increased competition from Chinese suppliers
Annual growth of the company had been below industry average for the past 5 years
Profitability of the overall business was going down

Two senior managers saw several opportunities to grow the service business but were having difficulties in convincing the board of directors to strategically invest in the service business to develop its potential.

What was done?

The service director used benchmarks, an outside-in view and assessment outcomes to convince the CEO of the company to invest in growing their service business.

The following steps were taken:

A financial and operational benchmark was performed of the company’s performance against a comparable group of industry leaders. The report included the growth and profit potential for this company if they would strategically invest in the development of their service business.
A web-based survey was sent out to several hundreds of customers immediately after the most common interaction point of a customer service request by phone or email, a spare part order request, an on-site visit by a field engineer, and following a visit by a sales person.
Several customer interviews were conducted using video conferencing. The interviews were analysed, and a short video compilation was made to high light the key conclusions about what the customers’ service expectations were and what service they were receiving.
Growth potential and productivity improvement opportunities were prioritised, and the conclusions were discussed during a workshop with the board of directors of the company. The result was a commonly agreed and documented vision with the strategic and financial objectives defined and a service transformation roadmap for the coming years.
A short-term plan was made that secured the first real result within the first year. In addition, a multi-year roadmap was implemented by setting up the service transformation governance programme organisational structure, planning and funding.

Benefits

The result was that the board of directors understood that customers were expecting more help from the company. They expected help addressing their business challenges such as improving their competitive position with smart outcome-based services, industry knowledge, data and information systems that would help customers to lower production cost by integrating several players in the value chain.

The company has started their service transformation journey by implementing the multi-year strategic roadmap. This contains several projects that required substantial investment, organisational change, and the development of new capabilities in the company. The financial results in the past 5 years have been a sustained double-digit growth with profit margins above the industry average.

2. RE-ENGINEERING THE TRADITIONAL SERVICE DELIVERY

The current situation

A major manufacturer and service provider for healthcare equipment concluded that if they wanted to increase their market penetration while maintaining their profitability, they needed to dramatically lower their cost of service delivery. This was particularly true in emerging, lower cost markets.

Their service delivery model at that time was rather traditional: customers would call in if they had a problem with their equipment and in most cases a field engineer was dispatched to go on-site, diagnose the problem and fix it. This service delivery model was the result of relatively high cost of the equipment, typically ranging from 700 K Euros and higher per installation. The total cost of maintenance for most clients was relatively low when compared to the cost of depreciation and related operational costs, such as the cost of hospital staff needed to operate the equipment. Customers were expecting a personalized approach in service and they would find it normal that even for small problems, that could have been solved remotely a field engineer, would show up to fix it and explain to the staff what happened. The company was already improving their capability to remote monitor, diagnose and fix equipment but the traditional way of working was hard to change.

The challenge

They were facing several challenges:

The average price of equipment that was sold in high growth markets was much lower than in the traditional market. The average equipment price was below 50.000 euros but could go as low as 2.000 Euros per device.
To provide field engineer services for such equipment would result in relatively high cost when compared to the equipment purchase price and cost of operation.
Healthcare equipment is highly regulated and in most cases mission critical, often lives could be at stake, and delays in treatment of patients could lead to high levels of frustration
and financial losses for hospitals and doctors involved. Therefore, customers would expect the highest levels of service, especially in emerging markets where hospitals were often small and did not have more than one device.
Customers would not be willing to pay for higher levels of services and price premiums on service contracts were often not accepted, even though excellent service was certainly an expectation.
As a result, many customers would leave the maintenance and repair role with their own internal Biomed (internal maintenance services for medical devices) and were, generally, disappointed with the level of service.
Equipment failure could cause damage to the reputation of the brand, as customers expectation is a very high standard of service.

The company had limited understanding of how customers of medium to low priced equipment were currently experiencing their service. Traditionally, such equipment had not been a focus area for the service division of the company as the general assumption had been that the service business growth potential was limited and the possibility to earn good profit margins was low.

What was done?

To rethink the service delivery model, other industries were investigated to gain ideas. Very inspiring examples were the low-cost airlines that had stripped their services of all extras to the bare bone basic service requirements, simplifying and streamlining business processes, introducing high levels of automation and often asking customers to help themselves with self-service.

Other examples included business models such as Ikea’s knock-down furniture where customers are asked to transport their own furniture and assemble it themselves.

One important element in the success of these examples was that it is important to get the balance right such that increased automation and ease of use for customers, outweighs any perceived reduction in service caused by streamlining and process change. The objective of these models is to increase the value of service for the customer while reducing the cost of delivery for the supplier.

After translating these examples to their own business, the company came up with several high efficiency service delivery models:

Self-help: Whereby customers solve issues and conduct maintenance themselves without the support of their service provider, including the use of manuals, online FAQ’s, and web videos.
Supported self-help: Whereby customers solve issues and conduct maintenance themselves with the support of the service provider, i.e.: via a helpdesk (phone, email, chat) or ‘look-over the-shoulder service’, possibly with help of a remote connection for diagnosis.
Product exchange: In this instance, rather than repairing equipment, a service provider will arrange its replacement whereby the customer will either receive a new or refurbished product.
Bench repair: Here, the product in need of repair will be shipped to the service provider’s repair shop, after which the product is shipped back to the customer. In the interim the customer may receive a temporary loan product.
Tech courier: Having determined which part or component needs replacement (via customer or service provider diagnosis), a low-cost courier with basic technical and product knowledge will deliver the component and conduct the swap. In this instance, products are designed for easy access and swapping.

High efficiency Field engineer: In this instance a field engineer with limited technical skills is dispatched to repair the customer’s product, potentially conducting the diagnosis himself using diagnostics methods and tools that were created by very experienced field engineers • Remotely using a machine to machine (IoT) connection: In this instance a service provider will access a system via a remote connection and not only detect and diagnose the issue but also execute the solution via the remote connection.
Predictive Maintenance Management: Using the data obtained from connected equipment the problems will be predicted in time so there will be no need to do any corrective repairs. Preventive maintenance plans will be adjusted, often just in time, to reduce the chance of malfunction and reduce downtime and lower maintenance costs in the process.

The following steps were taken to get to these models:

An investigation was launched into customer’s expectations from the brand. Narrowing down the minimum expectation that should be fulfilled and the most important brand values that would have to be respected and built-into the customer experience.
The current cost of the service value delivery chain was analysed and the main areas for potential cost reduction by changing the service delivery model were identified. All best practices and the latest trends in service delivery models from other industries were evaluated as well as emerging trends in technology that could help reduce the cost of delivery or improve customer experience.
Pricing models were developed by benchmarking the equipment “street prices” with pricing of various levels of service. This was validated with various key markets in the world, in particular the markets where the highest growth of new equipment, at lower street prices, was expected.
New service delivery models were designed and tested. Processes and enabling service information technologies were designed evaluating achievable cost levels, the impact on customer experience and the resulting service value proposition, often defining 2 or 3 basic services with a limited set of optional services to keep the complexity low.
A multi-disciplinary approach was taken (including R&D, product marketing, manufacturing, and service) which led to the conclusion that sometimes products had to be re-engineered to improve their serviceability. Lowering the cost of service did have a major impact on the total life cycle cost. Product engineers that may previously have had their focus on inventing new features and benefits to the product, now understood the profound impact on customer experience and life cycle cost it would have to design products from the ground up for their desired modes and levels of service.
The IT team created a Service IT Solution Architecture that would leverage the connectivity of the products and use the data through intelligent applications that were now able to create predictive maintenance models. The data could also be used for process optimisation and designing enhanced services to customers.
After the design phase the new service delivery models were tested in the markets and rolled-out country by country to allow for local deviations from the standard model.

Benefits

The result was that the new high efficiency delivery models have enabled the company to grow their service business, typically with double digit growth rates. It allowed the company to sell equipment with a “street price” as low as 2000 Euros together with a service contract and still achieve gross profit margins worth of 50% percent. Each delivery model would be able to fix remotely any software problem or problem caused by the end user. The chances of such problems occurring would be reduced by smart predictive analytics capabilities. Users would receive “look over the shoulder” assistance often with remote agents taking control of the device and helping remotely. Hardware problems would no longer require a field engineer to visit the customer site.

In the longer term, the mission critical components in a device would either be engineered with redundant components, or replaceable units that the user of the device could replace by themselves. Alternatively, a “tech courier’ a driver with a limited technical skill set would come on site to replace the unit. Field service, the most expensive element in the chain, had now become a service logistics operation often outsourced to third party logistics providers who had economies of scale and low-cost services. Customers were educated on the new service delivery models and the benefits of self-service, such as the speed of resolution and being fully in control, were also perceived as valuable, on top of the higher reliability and lower life cycle cost.

3. DRASTICALLY INCREASE SERVICE REVENUE BY SMARTLY CHANGING THE GO-TO MARKET APPROACH

The current situation

A pan European medical equipment provider whose existing strategy adequately pushed sales but did not promote sustainable growth for the business. This was because their sales force was still employing traditional techniques which pushed the features, characteristics and pre-defined benefits of their company but were of little relevance to the customers’ situation. In the purchasers’ eyes, the benefits being sold to them were barely distinguishable from those of other providers.

The challenge

The service sales force presented characteristics and benefits of the service offering to the client but used very few ‘hooks’ to effectively highlight the company’s competitive advantage. They frequently spoke to someone other than the decision maker who had different needs. Further, in most cases their approach was reactive rather than proactive, i.e. the customer calls in with a query, or just before their warranty expires.

This resulted in the service sales force encountering issues relating to their client’s ‘budget’ as the person who called only had limited buying power and simply forwarded the proposal to the purchaser without being able to justify the value.

The root cause here was that their approach was not proactive and not customer driven; there was a lack of attention to the customers’ critical business issues. Consequently, a common vision with the decision makers on how to really address critical business issues could not be developed. This customer buying vision is essential however because it defines the value of the offering and the urgency to do something about it.

What was done?

Working with this medical equipment provider, we started transforming their sales approach to embrace customer centricity. The approach required getting a good understanding of client needs and challenges, which is only possible by developing the skills of customer-facing staff so that they can have informed discussions and get a good understanding of the customers’ business. Ensuring that the teams had the necessary capabilities to have such insightful conversations with customers was a specific challenge we addressed before improving the sales process.

A key step here was to train the company’s field service engineers to act as trusted advisors so that they could develop a better understanding of their customers’ needs. They were trained to recognise opportunities for sales which were then communicated to dedicated sales teams.

We designed a new go-to market strategy for each service, launched very specific sales campaigns and set up a dedicated service sales teams that proactively followed up leads and were able to articulate the value of a service in the context of customers’ needs.

That was done by researching customers’ service requirements. The company did have a good understanding of what customers were expecting in terms of product features and quality.
However, they had very limited knowledge of how the products were being used. It turned out that there was no such thing as “The Customer” as groups of customers with similarities in the use of the product and in the expectations of the expected benefits could be segmented by typical customer service needs. Customer service needs were further categorised into product related needs and customer business needs. The product related services needs can typically be satisfied by specifying the service performance characteristics in service level agreements. E.g. performance metrics such as uptime and response time were the key metrics in the SLA but could still be different for each type of customer.

The customer service business needs were a lot more difficult to identify. Customers had non-technical needs such as needing help to optimise the workflow in a laboratory or wanting to pay for the products based on their actual usage (Pay per Use) and leave the technical management to the provider. One segment of customers went so far as to demand that the product provider also manages the entire end-to-end process for a combination of laboratory instruments together with the staff of the customer.

Benefits

Within a year the service revenue had grown by more than 20% as well as EBIT on the service revenue. Ultimately, the strategy forged a path for the development of a range of new products and services, as well as expansion into other market segments. These results would have been impossible without an underlying focus on what has become the defining factor of sales: customer centricity.

'Overcoming the Barriers to Servitization' white paper is available on Field Service News.

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Dealing With Organisational Resistance

Dec 22, 2020 • Features • White Paper • field service management • IFS • Service Leadership • Leadership and Strategy

In this second excerpt from a recent white paper published by IFS and Noventum, now available at Field Service News, we analyse how to deal with organisational resistance, develop internal skills and capabilities and how to use technology solutions...

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The next two blocks of the Service Transformation journey must be run in parallel.

In the ‘dealing with organizational resistance’ block, you manage the service transformation journey; ensure there is a path to keep the C-suite engaged; and have a path for escalation in case issues need to be solved in the bottom block of the journey.

Undertaking these steps is required so you can continuously focus on making sure that the whole organization supports the journey and contributes to it, to identify people that are against the change, and to ensure that the steering committee can take the necessary steps to have a conversation with those stakeholders.

In the table below we outline the steps on ‘dealing with organizational resistance’.

DEVELOP INTERNAL SKILLS AND CAPABILITIES

In the ‘develop internal skills and capabilities’ block you are designing, developing and implementing every element that is needed to successfully achieve the set strategic and financial objectives. Doing this by design will ensure that no element will be forgotten, and that people will be able to form a clear picture of the changed organization.

In the table below we outline the steps on ‘Develop internal skills and capabilities’:

Screenshot 2020-12-21 at 17.59.30

TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS TO SUPPORT EFFECTIVE SERVICE DELIVERY

Service transformation is a multi-tiered initiative that requires a blend of organizational and technological changes working in tandem with on another. Positioning your current technology stack alongside capabilities deemed critical offers the synthesis necessary to enable successful transformation.

Traditional Field Service solutions just don’t stack up when it comes to enabling uptime for critical assets and truly delivering on outcome-based service. Outlined below are a variety of tools, and capabilities that are essential in any field service management solution which can truly propel you on this service transformation journey efforts.

Screenshot 2020-12-21 at 18.02.48

In the next and final feature of this series of excerpts coming next week, we will look at three different case studies that illustrate successful service transformation journeys.

Look out for the final feature of this series coming next week where we will look at three case studies of successful service transformation journeys.

However, www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.

If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and you can access the white paper instantly upon completing the registration form!

The Service Transformation Journey

Dec 15, 2020 • Features • White Paper • field service management • IFS • Service Leadership • Leadership and Strategy

In this new series of excerpts from a recent white paper published by IFS and Noventum, now available at Field Service News, we analyze how to productise services and set the climate for the service transformation...

Want to know more? Field Service News Subscribers can access a White Paper on this topic on the link below.

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With ever increasing internal and external market pressures, manufacturers have been searching for ways to diversify their revenue streams. Within product-oriented businesses, there has been a drive to offer a greater diversity of aftermarket services, we refer to this shift as servitization.

Both those organizations looking to servitize their business, as well as businesses who previously include service contracts or warranty offers, are diversifying the established business models inherent in these approaches. Most notably, organizations are employing contracts based on asset or product outcomes, uptime, and output rather than focusing on a break-fix approach and maintenance contracts.

These dramatic shifts in both the go-to-market and service delivery approach runs the risk of increasing organizational complexity, creating redundant systems, and unforeseen personnel risks. In an environment where margins are tight, servitization will be a strategic differentiator and a path to growth BUT manufacturers must ensure they carefully manage the transformation journey to ensure they deliver value and not give away service for free.

Recent research from IDC investigated the factors which are preventing manufacturing companies from progressing on their Servitization Journey. Lack of internal know-how, organizational resistance and lack of technology systems were found to be the most common inhibiters.

What is limiting your companys ability to deliver more technology-enabled services as part of your overall business?

What Is Limiting Your Companys Ability to Deliver More Technology-Enabled Services As Part of Your Overall Business?

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All these challenges need to be addressed when companies embark on Servitization. This report will explore the organizational, cultural, and technological challenges and look at methods that businesses have employed to ease in the shift towards Servitization.

HOW TO PRODUCTIZE SERVICES? THE SERVICE TRANSFORMATION JOURNEY

To answer this question, we have investigated what steps manufacturers that have a successful service business undertook and how these steps have helped to overcome these challenges.

Aside from these steps, we also identified a particular sequence in undertaking these steps to overcome these challenges. Based on these insights, we developed the ‘Service Transformation Journey’:

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As the above illustrates, there are several steps to undertake which emphasizes that a Service Transformation is not something you can do in a day. But what is each step, and why is it essential?

SET THE CLIMATE FOR SERVICE TRANSFORMATION

The first block contains the steps related to ‘Set the climate for Service Transformation’. It is essential to start with this block to deal with most of the identified barriers. Undertaking these steps will also ensure you get funding for the full journey; get help to set the right priorities; ensure that you develop services for which there is a customer demand; and be able to deal with organizational resistance from start to finish.

In the table below we have outlined the first steps that are necessary to set the climate for Service Transformation:

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In the next feature of this series of excerpts coming next week, we will discuss how to deal with organisational resistance, develop internal skills and capabilities and how to use technology solutions to support effective service delivery.

Look out for the next feature in this series coming next week where we discuss how to deal with organisational resistance.

However, www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.

If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and you can access the white paper instantly upon completing the registration form!

Digital Transformation Is Still Fundamentally Human, IFS Study Finds

Oct 29, 2020 • News • Artifical Intellignce • Augmented Reality • Digital Transformation • IFS

The human factor is widely recognized as an essential component to digital transformation success. In fact, over a quarter (27 percent) of companies acknowledge that despite being key, people are often overlooked when planning and executing...

The study goes on to identify poor change management as one of the key reasons digital transformation projects fail. When implementing new digital transformation projects, businesses are focused on implementing the key technology and solutions but aren’t considering the importance of staff buy-in and acceptance of the project, which is intrinsically linked to its overall success.

INNOVATION IS THE KEY TO BUSINESS RESILIENCE

When asked about the reasons for failure in past projects, businesses also cited lack of employee engagement among the top four reasons. In addition, respondents named past experiences of low employee buy-in as one of the top two reasons for hesitating to launch new digital transformation projects. This can potentially have a great impact on the overall development of a business, as in times of downturn many believe innovation is the key to business resilience.

The broad focus on people-related considerations among companies goes hand in hand with a widely held concern for soft values such as vendor culture and ethics, which was revealed by a previous IFS study.

Although one third of respondents identified involving the human resources (HR) department from the beginning to ensure employee awareness as key to digital transformation success, one quarter of companies admitted that they have been guilty of not doing so in the past. Furthermore, 21 percent of companies expressed that employee engagement is more of a “tick-box” exercise, as opposed to being critical for success, revealing an obvious mismatch between recognition and actual execution.

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From an HR perspective, there is ample proof that digital transformation makes good business sense. 29 percent of respondents stated that employee retention would be higher if the business could offer more exciting technology to its people, indicating that technology does have employee retention possibilities. Furthermore, 39 percent said that technology provides the ideal opportunity to retrain and upskill existing staff, thereby bridging the skills gap that is a major pain point in many industries.

“Through continuous dialog with our customers as well as first-hand experiences from our own digital transformation, we have always known that people can act as both an enabler and a barrier in transformation projects,” IFS Chief Human Resources Officer Jane Keith said. “This report drives home the point that if digital transformation is kept human centric and if change management is handled effectively and employees are aware and inspired to support the transformation, the business is much more likely to reap success. Staff involvement should not be seen as a just a tick-box exercise but as the secret sauce that will ultimately determine the outcome.”

ARCHIVE FOR THE ‘ifs’ CATEGORY

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Further Reading:

IFS further extends stronghold in service management with additional Enterprise Service Management capabilities

With Axios Systems’ leading ITSM & ITOM solutions, companies can design, automate, and simplify workflows along the value chain and deliver amazing Moments of Service

Further Reading:

Want to know more? FSN Premium Subscribers and FSN Elite Members can watch this full interview and hours more of in-depth long-form interviews with a series of field service leaders in the Field Service News Digital Symposium. Watch the interview with Lowe and Nicastro on the button below.

If you are currently on our free forever FSN Standard subscription tier or have yet to join 30,000 of our field service peers as a FSN subscriber you can find out more again on the button below.

Further Reading:

IFS CLOUD MAKES IT PRACTICAL AND AFFORDABLE FOR CUSTOMERS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE NEWEST TECHNOLOGIES

Further Reading:

A NEW LOOK FOR A NEW ERA

Further Reading:

Want to know more? Field Service News Subscribers can access a White Paper on this topic on the link below.

If you have yet to subscribe click the button below to join 30K of your field service management professional peers and subscribe now to access this content and our entire premium content library now!

1. CONVINCING TOP MANAGEMENT TO CHANGE THE BUSINESS MODEL TO BECOME A SERVICE BUSINESS

The current situation

The challenge

What was done?

Benefits

2. RE-ENGINEERING THE TRADITIONAL SERVICE DELIVERY

The current situation

The challenge

What was done?

Benefits

3. DRASTICALLY INCREASE SERVICE REVENUE BY SMARTLY CHANGING THE GO-TO MARKET APPROACH

The current situation

The challenge

What was done?

Benefits

'Overcoming the Barriers to Servitization' white paper is available on Field Service News.

www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.

If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and you can access the white paper instantly upon completing the registration form!

Further Reading:

Want to know more? Field Service News Subscribers can access a White Paper on this topic on the link below.

If you have yet to subscribe click the button below to join 30K of your field service management professional peers and subscribe now to access this content and our entire premium content library now!

DEVELOP INTERNAL SKILLS AND CAPABILITIES

TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS TO SUPPORT EFFECTIVE SERVICE DELIVERY

Look out for the final feature of this series coming next week where we will look at three case studies of successful service transformation journeys.

However, www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.

If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and you can access the white paper instantly upon completing the registration form!

Further Reading:

Want to know more? Field Service News Subscribers can access a White Paper on this topic on the link below.

If you have yet to subscribe click the button below to join 30K of your field service management professional peers and subscribe now to access this content and our entire premium content library now!

What Is Limiting Your Companys Ability to Deliver More Technology-Enabled Services As Part of Your Overall Business?

HOW TO PRODUCTIZE SERVICES? THE SERVICE TRANSFORMATION JOURNEY

SET THE CLIMATE FOR SERVICE TRANSFORMATION

Look out for the next feature in this series coming next week where we discuss how to deal with organisational resistance.

However, www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.

If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and you can access the white paper instantly upon completing the registration form!

Further Reading:

INNOVATION IS THE KEY TO BUSINESS RESILIENCE

Download a complimentary copy of Digital Transformation Investment in 2020 and Beyond: The Undeniable People Factor.

Further Reading:

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