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Implementing mobile apps alongside developing a good understanding of your customers can pave the way to harnessing the power of IoT, writes consultant Nick Frank.

The key to monetising the Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data is not to focus on the technology itself, but the impact on customers’ business processes and business model. However, many companies do not find it easy to imagine how their business model might change. Many are lost in the technical jargon and the abstract nature of data and analytics.

Mobile apps present a pragmatic way forward for industrial companies to understand how connectivity technologies and data can make a difference to their business. By their very nature, mobile apps affect how people “do stuff” and so the business rationale is often easier to define and quantify. As managers and leaders become savvier about apps, their imagination starts to kick in and they see the possibilities new technologies can have on their customers’ business success.

But what exactly is a mobile app? A mobile app is a software programme designed to run on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers. They can be relatively simple such as the weather app on your phone, or they can be tremendously complex such as running a VMI business with its own databases, analytics, integrating a number of legacy systems. Gartner a leading technology research and advisory company, expects that by 2017 mobile apps will be downloaded more than 268 billion times and mobile apps users will provide personalised data streams to more than 100 apps and services every day. Mobile apps have already become truly integrated into most people’s lives. Although the same is not yet true of business, perceptions are rapidly changing. Undoubtedly driven by their everyday life experiences, managers are starting to imagine the value apps can bring to their own business by linking people with processes and systems more effectively.

Talk to leading providers of mobile apps and they will tell you it is not a case of building an app that replaces an existing process. Yes, the app is something new, but if it does not make that process more efficient, then it has minimal value. Often the mistake many companies make is that they see mobile apps as a separate marketing tool or feature. Companies who successfully implement mobile applications take a more strategic perspective and see the app as being embedded within the business processes. These companies first examine their existing workflows in detail to uncover improvement opportunities. Then, they identify the business benefits they expect to receive from the solution and create the metrics that demonstrate value after the rollout. And finally, these organisations pay attention to the deployment in terms of end-user acceptance, testing, implementation and change management.

 

One such app developer, Lextech, even coined ROA, or “Return on App,” as a tool for measuring the value of the mobile app versus the investment in it. To make sure app projects are worthwhile, Lextech helps their clients find apps that provide a 100% ROA within 12 months or less. It is this emphasis on understanding what the mobile app can do for the business that is critical to success. This success can be measured in terms of cost saving, new revenues, customer satisfaction or even employee satisfaction.

The great thing about mobile apps is that they provide solutions to make life easier for employees on the move. Whether that be to automate a process or have access to relevant data, these solutions use the internet/telecoms infrastructure to increase the flexibility and effectiveness of people while they are outside the normal company IT infrastructure. These efficiencies can be easily quantified within the operation and when multiplied across many people, can have a significant financial impact. This makes building the investment plan and decision making much easier to push through than more intangible IoT/strategy/business model projects.

 

Often companies start with automating the workflow because clear time savings can be demonstrated and measured. For example, SKF, the leading worldwide manufacturer and supplier of precision bearings, spindles and seals, knew that their factory inspectors recorded huge quantities of information on paper forms and clipboards. They replaced their paper based inspection processes with an intuitive app that enabled data to be collected and automatically downloaded into the factories reporting systems, thus reducing the reporting time by 70%. But often there are many other benefits that are not anticipated. In this case, nearly real-time inspection enabled faster decision-making on quality issues, which in the end translated to better margins. Highly skilled employees were able to focus on adding value rather than administration. (Source: Lextech)

For example an industrial services company with over 100,000 employees in 150 countries had field workers who often needed to order materials for their clients that could range from cleaning supplies to HVAC systems. When they reviewed their workflow, it was apparent that the process was complex and inconsistent as it involved a mix of email, PDF attachments and phone calls. They defined a very clear metric, which was to reduce the turnaround time for a PO. Their solution was to replace the existing legacy system by developing a dedicated app that enabled the field worker to directly enter the relevant details, submit the request, and the manager to be alerted to approve the PO. By dramatically speeding up the PO process, not only has customer frustration declined, but cash flow has improved through faster invoicing.

 

But if we step back from these examples, what do we see? Companies are learning how to effectively use data and technology to improve their internal business processes. This journey is more cultural than technological. It is about companies and people not getting overly excited by technology for technology’s sake, but keeping their focus on the users and the business outcomes. Switch this same emphasis to their customers’ business, and they will be much better positioned to monetize the new technologies entering our everyday work environment at an exponential rate.

This change in mind-set is very real, even for companies that have already integrated data and intelligence into their own business model. For example in a recent FSN interview, Dave Gordon from Rolls Royce’s Defence business described how, even in a very sophisticated data driven business, the design of a fuel management app had a deeper impact on the business than he first imagined. The app itself came from a desire to better utilise the vast quantities of information being generated from their service contracts, which told them how efficiently their aircraft were being flown. Fuel consumption is a huge part of the total operating costs for all their defence customers, so designing a mobile app which ‘brought to life’ this data could help their customers significantly reduce their fuel bills. By using mobile app technology, they were able to work outside the existing IT architecture, which allowed greater creativity without losing out on security. Finally, the practical nature of the app caught the imagination of the Board of Directors, who appreciated the opportunities that data analytics and connectivity could bring to their customers.

 

The mobile app is just the tip of the iceberg. The amount of information and know-how successful industrial companies possess cannot be underestimated. One reason industrial brands are so robust is because they have delivered value, knowledge and outcomes over many years. For many businesses, the growth of digital services around mobile apps and IoT is a strategic imperative. Especially in industries that have complex supply chains requiring large quantities of technical information, the opportunity to gain competitive advantage through a knowledge platform that supports the supply chain ecosystem is significant.

 

In a recent Harvard Business Review article, Filippo Zingariello, Director of Global Strategic Development at SKF described how their SKF Insight programme is critical to delivering value to customers in mission critical applications. This programme has a specific goal, “Bearing Health Management will make it simpler and more convenient for customers to conduct condition monitoring and increase reliability, simplify maintenance, extend bearing life and cut total life cycle costs.” SKF has developed 45 different iPad apps that enable customers to access the data and intelligence of their assets. With over a half million machines connected to the SKF cloud, mobile apps are one of the enabling technologies for a new SKF business models based on outcomes and intelligence.

Through these examples, we have seen how mobile apps are initially used by businesses to connect their employees to their business systems so they can deliver value more effectively. As that insight into the customer’s business model grows, so mobile apps become an important enabler for customers to connect with its products and services. In this way mobile apps are not just an interesting little icon on a screen. Rather, they are an important enabler for mind-set changes that will enable companies to harness the power of the IoT and analytics technologies.

 

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Copperberg hosted 100+ field service leaders from across Europe and cross-sectors within the manufacturing industry at its 2nd Annual Field Service Forum, which took place in June at the Sheraton Amsterdam Airport.  Thomas Igou, Editorial Director for event producer Copperberg gives us his personal overview of how the two day event took place... 

Pre-Event Workshops

The conference was preceded by two pre-event workshops that focused on core aspects of a successful Field Service business. The mobility workshop, hosted by Marc Tonen, Pre-Sales Consultancy Manager EMEA at Astea, delved into how to best integrate mobility solutions to create a mobile workforce that will enhance the value of your service offerings to your customers. As many manufacturers are planning to or are currently rolling out mobility solutions, this was an essential topic to be discussed, and one that would be further covered during the rest of the conference.

The second workshop was hosted by Jim Baston, President of BBA Consulting Group, and covered an ever growing topic in field service today: the technician’s role in pro-active business growth in order to go beyond great service. In other words, how to develop the soft skills of field technicians they can lay the groundwork for up-sells or customer retention. Considering the amazing reaction to Jim’s workshop, it is clear that for many field service businesses, technicians are more than maintenance experts. They are the first pawns in the battle of creating long lasting relationships with customers.

Service Mastery Day

The conference officially kicked off with a new and highly appreciated feature: the Service Mastery Day. The three hour seminar from Chris Daffy, a renowned customer service specialist from the UK, covered the key aspects to building exceptional customer loyalty through field engineers. Chris is a very charismatic speaker who is not afraid to use humor to put forth his message, built from years of experience working in customer service, as well as research from professionals and academics into the topic. The result was a refreshing presentation on the art and science of customer loyalty building, why a balanced brain approach is essential for building sustainable customer loyalty, and the engineering excellence principles and tools that are equally effective in engineering customer loyalty.

Networking Evening

Following the Service Mastery Day, participants joined for a long evening of structured networking, always one of the highlights of Copperberg events. Delegates, speakers and partners were able, prior to the event, to schedule one-to-one meetings to ensure making the most out of the event and creating long lasting professional contacts. The evening featured different activities such as a mingling drink reception, elevator pitches from some of the partners, and an inspirational session from Motivational Coach Malcolm Larri. Participants were then invited to a very relaxed dinner banquet where they were also treated to a magic show.

The main conference day offered participants a wide array of formats, from morning masterclasses, keynotes, industry-driven and technology-driven executive circles, and parallel tracks of focus sessions meant to challenge them to not only learn, but also share. There were three key themes that floated around during the event: global workforce, smart services, and operational efficiency.

Global Workforce

Further to Jim Baston’s introductory workshop on the development of a technician’s soft sales ability, many sessions focused on talent and the workforce needed for a successful field service. ServiceMax’s morning masterclass, held by Patrice Eberline, best resumed the reason behind why this topic is of great importance: 40% of service technicians are over the age of 40, and 60% of companies are understaffed in their technical and highly skilled positions, meaning that the service industry has a looming talent problem.

There were also many discussions during networking breaks and executive circles on the underestimated importance of good leadership, as field service is by definition a people business, and people crave for good and inspiring leadership. Another session that stood out was from Brian Dahl Thomsen, Head of Operations and Regional Support for Siemens Wind Power, who shared his views on the needed competencies to be a service technician. Brian developed on Siemens Wind Service’s method of analyzing what competencies are need to cope with the environment of their products, the technology as well as the logistics aspect. Finally, they ensure to have the right approach on a management level to cope with talent management by setting clear target and objectives and investing in the right training methods.

Smart Services

Another hot topic at the event was how to develop smart services, such as predictive maintenance. A lot of manufacturers are currently looking into IoT, and how M2M/Big Data can help them improve their service business. One session from Magnus Sävenäs, VP Customer Service, Head of Global Field Service & Training at ABB Robotics gave an insight on how to use the latest technology trends to improve your business. The session focused on how to run a data driven organisation with the motto, “easy to buy, easy to service”. Magnus explained the five pillars for this: installed base data, organisation, remote service, customer access to information, and knowledge management.

Operational Efficiency

The highlight of the third track was a great case study from Andre Skerlavaj, Director Global Service Strategy for Pentair Valves and Control. His session focused on their PRONTO project, a holistic approach to increased service levels. PRONTO is a cross-functional approach that was developed to ensure streamlined processes and smooth execution from service scoping through to international service delivery. The rest of the track also featured interesting sessions from Brick, on how to make heroes of your service sales team, and Elektrobit Wireless, on how to conduct a successful mobility project.

Technology

The event was also a great showcase of the latest technological developments that support field service activities. Mobility was of course a big part of the event as more and more organizations understand the necessity to connect their front line (field service technicians dispersed all over the globe) to the back office. Through focus sessions, case studies, and roundtable discussions, delegates were able to get a full spectrum of implementing mobility solutions, from the key challenges faced when mobilising business processes, how to achieve ROI, or even the possibilities with a mobile service sales tool. Another, more disruptive, technology that was discussed was Internet of Things (IoT). Mark Brewer from PTC gave an exciting keynote on the impact IoT will have on service operations by looking at breakthroughs in operational effectiveness and strategic differentiation. Staying on the theme of connectivity, there was a lot of buzz about wearables technology. XMReality were able to give a demo of wearable tech on the exhibition floor, while Måns Granholm, General Manager Process Development & Commissioning at Wärtsilä, gave a keynote on their use of Virtual Engineers in an augmented reality environment.

The closing keynote from Edmilson Toledo, Head of Global FSO Program at Ericsson, was one of the highlights of the event. Edmilson’s session focused on the networked society, and how digital technologies can transform field service businesses in a game changing way. The keynote covered mobility, and how Ericsson is using mobile phones as a tool available for all field technicians, as well as wearables smart glasses, which Edmilson feels is a market moving to maturity. Lastly, the session highlighted UAV’s (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), also known as drones, as a tool to support technicians.

Conclusion

All in all, the event was an impressive gathering of industry leaders and solution providers. A lot of innovative ideas were thrown around by the participants either during the presentations, roundtable conversations, Q&A’s, or networking sessions, on how to grow the field service business.

 

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ABOUT AFTERMARKET

The 9th Aftermarket Business Platform will take place October 21st-23rd at the Grand Hotel Huis Ter Duin in the Netherlands, gathering 200+ service leaders from global manufacturers. The theme of the event will be, Service Transformation: delivering value and differentiation to customers and will feature case studies from KONE, Zimmer, Scania, Emerson Process Management, ABB Power Generation, AGCO Parts, Hyundai Motor UK, Medtronic and many more. The event will be chaired by Rob Van Hove, CEO of Kuiken Group. For more information, visit: www.aftermarketeurope.com

 

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M2M managed services provider Wireless Logic has achieved impressive annual growth of over 30% in the past eight years and in 2015 reached the landmark figure of over 2 million SIM subscriptions. Following a root-and-branch review of its customer service capabilities, expectations and experience, the company is now embarking on a major customer service enhancement programme to sure its delivers quality service right, first time.

With a customer base now exceeding 1,000 solution providers across Europe, the need for quality customer services has never been greater yet the sheer mass of business being processed meant the company has always been in catch-up mode in the drive for service excellence, acknowledges Director of Operations, Matthew Tate, who joined the company from Research in Motion 14 months ago.

“We have been surprisingly good in our service delivery given the dynamics of the market and our make-up, but to ensure sustainability in excellence I wanted to look at ourselves in greater depth,” he explains. A group-wide audit was undertaken with Wireless Logic investing in a broad customer insight campaign that included customer interviews, mystery shopping and a review of operational platforms.

 

Wireless Logic is horizontally positioned and works with hundreds of vertical applications - these include asset and vehicle tracking, telematics, metering, security, electronic payment, m-healthcare and a range of enterprise solutions. All services operate across a single unified technology platform and are designed to meet the specific needs of connected assets within the global markets of M2M and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Continuous investment in technology has enabled Wireless Logic to provide an increasing range of value-added services which include specialist mapping solutions from Google and HERE, device management platforms and end-to-end security encryption services.

Implementing improvements

The service implementation programme is already underway with a number of initiatives already in place, including certification to ISO 9001 Quality Management - vitally important to customers whose own quality programmes expect such standards, says Tate.  “Achieving ISO 9001 has been a journey that has really explored every corner of our operational service and delivery. With this standard in place, there is a real spirit of confidence knowing that our processes have been scrutinised and passed fit for purpose.”

 

A new customer engagement and information platform from Zendesk has been introduced which is creating a new approach to how the organisation manages and interacts with customers. A root and branch change to staff training will see team members receive ongoing development and support across all facets of the business as it evolves to meet the needs of current and future users of its M2M services.

Zendesk has enabled Wireless Logic to integrate customer intelligence, dialogue and communication channels seamlessly – a major step towards delivering service excellence, says Tate.

Further investment is being made across SIMPro, the company’s SIM management platform now used by over 95% of its solution provider customers. It now has a SIMPro easy-to-use cloud interface. Over the coming months, Wireless Logic plans to roll-out more self-service modules to empower customers to order, provision and manage entire SIM bases across multiple mobile networks, all in real-time.

 

“With ambitious sales targets across the next three years, ensuring our own store is in order has been a major driver as we progress through our first year with our new private equity partners CVC Capital Partners on board,” concludes Tate. “We have service front of mind in the operation which will mean more contented customers, an entirely better user journey, and an ability to continue our growth curve with assurance.”

Oliver Tucker, CEO and Co-founder, Wireless Logic said: “With the M2M and IoT market in its ascendancy, the sector has to tailor its services to be more responsive and flexible. Our own experiences across the UK and in Europe suggest that customers expect a ‘right first time, every time’ mind-set; there is little room for error. We are pleased with progress made so far as we reshape the way we work with customers, and will continue to analyse feedback as we aim for excellence across the group.”

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In this exclusive series written by Field Service News Publisher, Kris Oldland, we’ve seen how a number of emerging technologies could change the way our field engineers work in the not so distant future.

In part one we explored smart watches, in part two we looked at smart glasses and drones. In the third part of this series we looked at one of the simplest emerging technologies in NFC and one of the most exciting and futuristic in 3d printing.

However, in this the final instalment of this series we look at the technology that could underpin the way field service operates entirely in the not so distant future: the Internet of Things.

The Internet of Things

Now, unlike mobile 3D printing, the final inclusion on this list is here-and-now, already being actively utilised by field service companies although widespread adoption has yet to appear. However, given the recent announcement of an agreement between PTC and ServiceMax bringing the first connected field service solution to market, this may well soon change.

What exactly is the Internet of Things? Well, very simply it does what is says on the tin : it is an Internet specifically for the use of non-human things.[quote float="left"]IoT takes the concept of communication and brings it to all manner of devices.

 

We talk about smartphone communication a lot; well, essentially IoT takes the concept of communication and brings it to all manner of other devices – from washing machines to generators powering the national grid. Each of these devices is capable of communicating, of sending data about how it’s operating, so that we can remotely monitor its performance and condition.

Again the implications for such a technology in field service are phenomenal. Let’s take a simple example of a coffee machine. One of the sensors on a smart coffee machine could simply be monitoring the temperature of the water it delivers.

If the water temperature begins to move out of accepted parameters this can be communicated to the coffee machine’s manufacturer triggering an action. That action could be sending an engineer out to rectify the problem before it escalates to the point where the coffee machine stops functioning.

The benefits of such preventative maintenance can be felt by both the field service company who are able to schedule this work alongside other work in the vicinity making them more productive and also by the customer who have the benefit of no downtime on that machine.

The other benefit of IoT is that this is not a one way street.

Remote diagnostics is powerful, but there is also the potential to remedy many issues for many devices via remote maintenance whereby certain issues can be corrected by simply logging into a device and making amendments through the software.[quote float="right"]Maintenance could even be automated so that engineers are only sent out to those maintenance and repair jobs that truly require them.

 

Such an approach could further reduce the need for engineer visits with, again, massive cost-saving potential for field service companies.

Further still, much of this remote maintenance could even be automated. Corrective measures are incrementally taken as a first step, which could resolve an issue without the need for an engineer, so that engineers are only sent out to those maintenance and repair jobs that truly require them.

Also the relay of such data also makes it possible for jobs to be clearly prioritised. In fact the opportunity to implement connected devices into a field service company’s processes are truly numerous and each can have an impact on the efficiency of the company’s workflow.

The other key facet of the Internet of Things is that we are able to collect vast amounts of data from our devices which can be fed back not only into our field engineering teams – for example a best set of settings for optimal device output - , but also back into our R&D teams. Perhaps there is a very common fault that could be rectified in the next device iteration – again easily flagged up by the data recorded by our IoT-ready devices.

So there is great value in this data we are capturing, and the interpretation of this data, as well as the potential streamlining of workflow, is why IoT is envisioned by many as being the bedrock of future field service operations.

 

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Good-bye products, hello services? The IoT and connected products means companies will  need to monetise IoTs, says consultant Nick Frank.

‘Assets will no longer be bought, but provided as a service!,’ brainstormed a senior UK manufacturing executive at a recent workshop on UK manufacturing facilitated by Cranfield University. If true, the whole nature of manufacturing, engineering and service will change forever.
We already see that the data generated by digitalisation is beginning to blur the distinction between products and services, two mega-trends are driving us further in this direction:

1. IoT and connected products are becoming part of our everyday thinking: As the Internet and smartphones have become integrated into our lives, so the idea of connected products has become the norm. Significant investments from industry heavyweights such GE, Siemens, PTC & Microsoft have created a hype that this is an opportunity not to be overlooked.
2. Governments will legislate for the Circular Economy: Who is not aware of the environmental challenges that we face on our planet today. No longer can we dig up resources, turn them into products and then throw them away. Now we have to recycle our assets and ensure they stay at the highest value. Governments are starting to legislate for what is called this Circular Economy in the way they manage large infrastructure investments such as rail infrastructure and defence.

A key challenge for companies is how to react to these big ideas in a way which is relevant to today’s business and society. The current approach appears to be a fixation on technology: ‘Think what the IoT could do for you by monitoring your fridge or health through your Apple Watch’.[quote float="left"]A key challenge for companies is how to react to these big ideas in a way which is relevant to today’s business and society.

This is great for stimulating our imagination, but does not help monetise the technology. The key is to mix this imagination, with a deep understanding of the customers’ business model and processes. Then figure out how to apply your technical or business knowledge to improve whatever it is your customer is trying to achieve.

Often this is called Service Thinking, yet most engineering and manufacturing companies actually struggle with it. Yes, these companies look at the customer needs, but they fail to deeply understand how their customers make money and the available profit pools in their industry’s supply chain.

However, increasingly we can see successful examples of how companies are using Service Thinking to expand their horizons.

I recently met with Gerard Shaw who is MD of a small Northern Irish company, LISTO, who style themselves as ‘Cloud Data Innovators’ . His goal is to find people with big imagination and insight, and help them develop solutions. He told me of a 3rd party service company who provided maintenance for air-conditioning systems covering multiple brands. In a very competitive market, their key customers were telling them not to just meet the agreed SLA’s, but to actively optimise their energy and maintenance costs. By monitoring two standard outputs found on all brands – first whether a unit is running and secondly pressure across the filter - they could understand the performance of that unit.

Through connecting units using standard telecoms technology to a web portal, they can now see failures and react before their customers report it. They can see poor performance and plan in visits, so reducing their own operational costs. When performance of a unit is poor, they can put together a business case for their customers on why they should purchase a new unit. A very simple solution, based on knowing what was important to the customer, and the critical data that could make a difference.

 

At the other extreme is MAN Truck UK who used Service Thinking to grow their business from £50M to £550M over a period of 20 years. Faced with the challenge of a declining market, the management team worked with their key customers to understand that the truck is only 10% of the annual running cost. Their customers wanted them to tackle the real issue that made a difference to their profitability. This was fuel, which accounts for 45% of their costs and the driver another 29%. MAN knew a 10% saving in fuel consumption, could double the annual profit per truck for the haulier.

Initially they developed a full maintenance contract to optimise performance, a key element of which was the telematics data systems that were just starting to be designed into the truck’s controls. They then had the insight to invest in the telematics infrastructure, allowing them such a high level of control that they could offer the truck as a leasing service. Plus the data they created on how the driver was performing enabled them to further reduce fuel consumption and decrease insurance premiums.

In both examples technology was not the route to the solution. The answers lay in a deep understanding of the customers’ business model and figuring out how to make a real difference to their profitability. Sounds simple, but not always so easy. As more companies master Service Thinking, then maybe we are getting closer to the day when most assets are delivered as a service.

 

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

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

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

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

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

 

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Have you ever had a great business idea, and found yourself saying ‘Oh that’s just a bit beyond our capability’. Shame, as you have already talked yourself out of it before you have even started!

But if a project seems a little too big for your business, perhaps give it a second chance by exploring partners that can make up for your capabilities gap. Service Management expert Nick Frank, Principal at Frank Partners explains more... 

Many businesses utilise local partners or agents to sell and service their products in regions outside their organisations reach. This arms length type relationship is OK until you start wanting to develop more advanced service offerings, which may require a far deeper integration between the product side of your company and the customer facing service operations.

Value propositions such as uptime guarantees, vendor managed inventory or outcome based services require far more interaction between the manufacturer the agent and potentially multiple partners. But this ‘intra-dependency’ also makes the relationship between the partners more complex.

 

Take the fastener manufacturing company that was asked by a major Automotive OEM to supply every single nut, bolt, rivet, screw and clip for a particular car platform. Rather than supplying 10 part numbers, they now had to supply 450 most of which they now had to buy-in! How do you go from manufacturer to a ‘just-in-time’ delivery partner with a global supply base in just 3 months?

Their solution was to use a 3^rd party logistics provider to move parts from all over Europe to a point of fit in the factory, while they focussed on Application Engineering Services, Purchasing and Programme Management. They challenged their mind-set and built a supplier ecosystem that included many of their competitors.

As the business developed some competitors even became key customers and suddenly relationships were not quite as simple as before. It shows that with a bit of creativity, an advanced service offering can be delivered that goes beyond the initial core capabilities.

So how can an organisation provide solutions for complex customer business problems that at first sight appear to be beyond their capability?

Recently I worked with a small UK SME who embarked on creating an ecosystem to deliver an IoT technology platform that enables smaller equipment suppliers to deliver remote services such as diagnostics and upgrades. MAC Solutions is a £2M+ UK supplier of industrial router solutions.

Together with one of its 
key supplier eWON (www.ewon.biz), the company identified an opportunity to provide a remote service solution to SME equipment manufacturers. This went beyond the router and cloud technologies it currently supplied and involved the integration of Historians, Alarm Management Analytics and other new data technologies. MAC Solutions realised they did not have all the capabilities in house and that they would need to develop an ecosystem of up to eight expert partners to deliver their vision.

 

As they brought the partners together, it became clear that inter-relationships became more complex and could not be managed as a traditional customer/supplier discussion. They developed a framework that helped them think clearly through the process of developing their service solution.

It essentially linked together standard business tools that enabled clearer business thinking through 4 key steps:

1. Understand the Value Chain and the market: The basic business analysis that should be in gaining a deep insight into the markets, customer value and the current business context. This understanding becomes very important when it comes to agreeing pricing mechanisms with different partners
2.  Define the complex problem to be solved and the ecosystem solution: in other words the basic building blocks of the solution, so that a clear vision, mission and strategy can be articulated and actioned. This involves clearly defining the Business Opportunity, Value Proposition, Product Service Solution and the Roles & Responsibilities within the partner ecosystem.
3. A clear plan of how to execute and develop the solution: For example develop a detailed business plan to drive the allocation of resources and actions. How will you use pilot projects to develop your solution? Develop the Value Delivery Model that defines the commercial interactions within the ecosystem. This would cover the sales model, delivery model, people and competencies, customer experience, organisation, partnerships and contracts, pricing, revenue sharing schemes and procurement
4.  Test for Resilience: Develop mechanisms for ensuring that the business plan is resilient in terms of business risk and partner/customer fit

The framework they developed, undoubtedly helped them move through the complex process of developing a network of partners that can deliver results. The result has been that MAC-Solutions were able to pilot their proposition with a supplier of washing systems for rail networks.

Their story shows how it is possible for even small organisations to develop service propositions that appear to be beyond their capability by developing an ecosystem of partners.

MAC-Solutions will be telling the story in more detail at the Spring Servitisation Conference to be held at Aston Business School in May 2015.

 

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As the Internet of Things, Big Data, and Cloud computing all become commonly heard phrases within Field Service we must start to consider the very real question of cyber-security with ever greater attention. But what does Cyber security look like in 2015?

One of the significant themes that came through from the victims of high profile cyber attacks in the last year was that they all had heavy investment in IT security, regular testing programmes and almost certainly long lists of accreditations. However, event his was not enough to keep them safe from groups of attackers and the resultant losses and associated fines for such detected breaches.

This year the cyber security landscape will once again continue to develop swiftly as attacks likely become even more frequent and sophisticated and from more corners of the world than ever before. The one thing that will remain the same however is that investing in the wrong defences will again result in an openness to cyber attack and the potential of real damage.

Cyber threat actors are commonly split into three groups: nation states, cyber criminals and cyber activists or hacktivists. As 2015 evolves these threat factors look set to continue to advance their capabilities.

Often nation states – who see cyber attacks as being a cheap, effective and most importantly plausibly deniable espionage tool – can be the dark hand behind theft of proprietary or sensitive data for the benefit of one of their home-grown enterprises.

Cyber criminals, motivated by financial gain, have traditionally targeted a company’s customer base, stealing personal details or credit card information to use in fraud or to sell.

Cyber activists, motivated by a range of factors – including most simply personal amusement, but also factors such as, anti-capitalist sentiment, environmental concerns, religion and nationalism – base their activities on disrupting operations or generating embarrassment.

An ever-changing landscape

It is also predicted that many global political developments will also have their impact on shaping the cyber threat environment across 2015 and beyond.

Countries that not too long ago would have been clumsy and naive when it comes to their cyber capabilities have now established sophisticated capabilities by nurturing their local home-grown hacktivist groups.

Meanwhile new hubs of cyber criminal activity will emerge and will set their focus on new targets. Driven by the disparity between the rich nations and the poor on an international level, plus the growing access of IT and as such rapidly developing IT skills of members of the latter.

All of this is also becoming easier and being better facilitated by new ways of communicating, such as cyber criminals' and activists' use of the Dark Web to buy and sell hacking tools and techniques, using anonymous currency such as Bitcoin.

 

Another trend that we will likely see continue on from 2014 is the gradual blurring of the lines of the roles and loyalties of these threat actors. Last year we shad the emergence of criminals acting with a degree of impunity contingent on targeting politically expedient victims, or hacktivist groups becoming involved in attacks in support of government agenda.

As sophisticated tools and techniques become more widespread, and the distinctions between the threat actors become more blurred, the long-term outlook for cyber threats is concerning. The constraining factor previously was that the people with the intent to conduct widespread and high-impact cyber attacks – the activists and the criminals – did not have the capability. This may not remain the case for much longer.

How best to defend your organisation

Very simply throwing more money at the problem is no longer a viable solution.

With finite resources, it is just simply impossible to protect every asset against every possible threat.

The key is to understand which threat actors are likely to be targeting your organisation, what are your key assets and how do you protect those.

Modern Cyber defence needs to be intelligence-led, risk-based and prioritised – it is no longer just a compliance exercise.

There are five mistakes that organisations cannot afford to make during 2015:

1. Taking a broad sweep approach: You cannot fail to build your cyber defences around a granular understanding of threat. In 2015 all cyber-defence programs should be intelligence led. This includes collecting operational and strategic information that helps you understand the specific nature of the threat. It may also be necessary across your supply chain, as vulnerabilities in subcontractors or suppliers often affect a larger organisation (or vice-versa) – attackers will always focus on the weakest link.
2. Spending too much time, effort and money on prevention and not enough on detection. Companies need to just accept that breaches will be inevitable in todays world and spend time developing and testing response plans, moving form different types of attacks to highlight which plans are most important.
3. Treating cyber security as an IT issue rather than a business risk. Many organisations accept that cyber security is a business risk, rather than an IT-specific issue – but not many act on this by integrating cyber security risk management with wider business risk management processes.
4. Not identifying and protecting your most important assets. Companies need to focus their budgets on prioritising protection. Many tend to be excessively targeted on delivering company-wide compliance, yet don’t effectively protect their key assets.
5. Final many companies simply do not have the technical defences to deal with sophisticated and persistent threats. Across 2015, an increasingly broad group of highly capable actors will target critical assets across a wide range of organisations.

 

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