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Who are the most influential people in the global field service sector that you need to pay attention to in 2017?

The Field Service News #FSN20 is our list of the individuals we believe will be key influencers in our industry across the next twelve months. Those included in the list have been selected by our own panel of industry insiders, who were given the simple criteria of identifying people who will have a significant impact on field service thinking.

However, more than just an annual list of 20 individuals the #FSN20 has grown since it’s launch to become a true celebration of excellence and innovation within our industry.

There are some familiar names and some new faces on this years list and as always we don’t expect everyone to agree with our selection – at it’s heart the #FSN20 was conceived as a tool to get everyone in our industry thinking about who it is that they have come across in the global field service sector that has made them think, who has made them question the accepted paradigms, who has inspired them to do just one little thing more in their own day to day role.

The #FSN20 is not just about the list our panel has put together. It is about fostering discussion that celebrates the unsung heroes of the field service sector. So look out for the online version of this list as well to take part in the debate.

But for now, ladies and gentleman and without further a do, in no particular order, we are pleased to introduce the #FSN20 of 2017…

 

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Click here to see page one of the 2017 #FSN20

 

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Nick Frank, Founder and Managing Partner Si2 Partners

Having worked as an international consultant for over 6 years, Nick founded Si2 Partners last year bringing a new approach to consultancy by offering services on demand.

Nick’s focus is on service strategy development, servitization business models, ecosystems, innovation management, service operations and service business development. He works with companies in a diverse range of industries including engineering, high volume manufacturing, equipment manufacturers and technology. A regular columnist in the trade press and a excellent speaker often to be found at industry conferences, Nick also plays a pivotal role in organising the conference sessions for the UK not-for-profit group The Service Community.

 

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Michael Blumberg, President of Blumberg Advisory Group, Inc

Michael Blumberg is the President of Blumberg Advisory Group and is a recognised expert in Field Service and Reverse Logistics in High-Technology industry.

Michael’s thought leadership, service system planning and strategy formulation are cited as having helped many organisations increase profits and he is a prolific author publishing a number of well received projects including white papers and educational video projects.

 

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Aly Pinder, Director of Member Research & Communities, The Service Council

In previous editions we had a rule that we would only include one person per organisation within the #FSN20. However, ever since Aly moved from the Aberdeen Group to The Service Council, we knew we would have to repeal the rule, as both Aly and Sumair are industry heavy weights in terms of analysis of our industry.

In his new role he will be looking to further enhance the already well established research projects undertaken by The Service Community and his addition to their team makes The Service Council one of the most important groups in the entire global field service sector.

 

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Tom Heiser, CEO, ClickSoftware

It may perhaps be unfair to comment that when Heiser took the reigns of the field service management software stalwarts ClickSoftware the company was perhaps at it’s weakest point in some years, indeed they remain a leading provider of field service management solutions at the forefront of the industry.

Yet, based on the sheer level of dominance that they once held and in light of the ever increasing quality of the competition in the field service management space, Heiser had little time to find his feet in the world of field service if he was to ensure the ClickSoftware brand remained as synonymous with delivering service excellence as it had to date - particularly in the natural uncertainty that an acquisition by a private equity firm can potentially cause. 

However, having seemingly spent little more than a few hours in his own office for the first six months as he flew around the world meeting analysts, influencers and customers alike Heiser certainly appears to have not only established a firm grasp of the industry at large but also where the future for field service management technology lies and under his guidance the outlook for the iconic ClickSoftware brand appears to be on a very positive footing once more...

 

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Marne Martin, CEO, ServicePower

With their next generation platform Nexus now firmly established within the market place ServicePower have re established themselves as a key company within the FSM solutions sector under the vision of Martin.

However, it is her focus on R&D that really continues to drive Service Power to the forefront of their sector. With a number of patents including a one focussed on quantum annealing that will see them developing cutting edge technology for the foreseeable future. Martin is also a very highly respected speaker on the international field service circuit

 

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Jim Baston, President of BBA Consulting Group Inc

Baston of BBA Consulting is the proponent of Proactive Service, and is a master when it comes to understanding the delicate relationship between service and sales and how companies can maximize that relationship to enhance profits. Author, Speaker and Consultant Baston is an intelligent and experienced leader within his field whilst being a true gentleman and pleasure to talk to, to boot.

 

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Kevin Jones Managing Director Computer Product Solutions, Panasonic Europe

Panasonic remain the undisputed leaders in the rugged space with the ToughPad and Toughbook brands synonymous with rugged computing. The Panasonic ToughBook20 is the worlds first fully rugged detachable and could just be the most perfect device for field service to date being both a tablet and a laptop.

Jones has spent a decade with Panasonic and has total responsibility for the entire ToughBook / ToughPad Products and Solutions in Europe, including Sales, Marketing, Engineering and Operations whilst also sitting concurrently on the board of Panasonic Manufacturing.

 

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Dave Yarnold, CEO, ServiceMax

Within less than a decade Yarnold has taken ServiceMax from start-up to being purchased by GE late last year for close to a Billion Dollars.

However, the meteoric rise of ServiceMax wasn’t solely about the technology. Yarnold has a true passion for the service and that passion has filtered down and shone through at all levels of the organisation, which was perhaps the secret source that put them at the top of the sector - having been recognised as the leading FSM solution provider in the most recent magic quadrant report.

Now as part of GE Digital, Yarnold has even bigger visions of how ServiceMax can play a role in building an operating system for the entire industrial sector of which service will be a key component.

Big ambitions?

Yes. But Yarnold is a man that could possibly just do it.

 

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Click here to see page three of the 2017 #FSN20

 

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The key to digital transformation for field service organisations lies in people and not technology writes Nick Frank of Si2 Partners...

“The rate of increase of industrial devices being connected to the internet is up 25% per year, but customers don’t really appreciate how the capabilities and benefits of the IoT are relevant to their business’

So says Dave Hammond, Product Manager at MAC Solutions. And he should know, as he sells and manages the market leading eWON router, which enables industrial equipment to be accessed securely and remotely, across the Internet. For business leaders, his ‘grass routes’ observations are far more insightful into the challenges of monetising data, then the many articles routinely churned out on the subject.

It highlights the importance of mind-set above all else, which is all about getting back to management basics, a point that many commentators have lost sight of. What becomes clear from talking to people like Dave is that servitization, industrie 4.0 and Digital economy have little perceived relevance to SME businesses at the moment. Their focus is on better meeting the needs of their customers but mainly reducing costs. Many are enabling their equipment for remote connectivity with a business case solely based on savings and cost reduction.

 

They can easily imagine and so justify the investment based on a reduction in costly service visits through remote diagnosis, especially during the warranty period, where they bear 100% of the cost. With the number of devices being put on-line booming, everything sounds pretty good with the market. But Dave and his colleagues at MAC are concerned at the lack of ‘market understanding’ from the UK SME’s they talk to.

In their ‘Connectivity Roadmap’ most customers are stuck at level 2 - ‘Get Connected’, which is all about cost! They struggle to justify moving to the next phase of delivering proactive service revenues and ultimately transforming their business.

 

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So what are the underlying causes of this stagnation and an inability to step up to the challenge?

Part of the reason lies in the lack of maturity of the tool sets being developed by IoT providers such as GE, Microsoft and PTC. In the last 3 years, huge investments have brought these tools into the realms of reality, but they are still relatively cumbersome to integrate into the business processes.

Despite what you might read, it is only larger businesses that have the resources to invest in developing their own bespoke infrastructure; and even then, most of the tangible gains remain in the area of cost reduction.

For many in the industry, another challenge is around culture. Most quarters of industry have struggled to really imagine what the technology can do for their business. They have become trapped in product-centric thinking, rather than deeply analysing where the value is delivered within their customer and industry value chains.

The good news is that the business case to ‘Get Connected’ is so inequitably clear, that at least many engineers have been encouraged to pilot the technology and learn for themselves what it can do.

A second challenge is the conservative nature of many industrial businesses in adapting to fundamental change. Together these represent a significant mind-set issue.

The message for many businesses is that to maximise their return on technology investment, they would do well to challenge their current culture to become more outward orientated and service focused.

 

This means not only better understanding customers’ needs and their immediate problem.
But moving deeper into how to harness their inherent know-how and technology to help their customers make money. By moving emphasis away from technology towards outcomes and operational excellence, many businesses will be able to deliver more value and hence profitability.

The problem is that this is a ‘back-to-basics’ approach, based on common sense and, as we all know, common sense is one of the hardest elements of business upon which to act. Leaders can start by encouraging an ‘outside-in’ approach, taking a long hard look at the value they add to their customers and how they influence the industry value chain.

Then together with the experiences they gain in understanding the power of these digital technologies, they will develop the insight and confidence to turn data into profits.

So, if you sense your initiatives in developing these new capabilities are slowing down or not meeting your expectations, perhaps there are three basic challenges for you to review...

1. Do you have the right level of insight to use your know how to make your customer more profitable?
2. Do you know how to use information to make your operations more cost effective?
3. Are your people encouraged to explore new ideas and have an environment and process in which innovative ideas can be turned into reality?

 

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Nick can be contacted on nick.frank@Si2partners.com Si2 ON-Demand is a unique advisory and support service that enables top performing leaders to solve problems and get things done, quickly, easily and cost effectively.

 

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Michael Blumebrg, President, Blumberg Advisory Group explains why the on-demand economy has become a very attractive value proposition for both FSOs and their customers...

I recently marked a significant milestone in my career. This year marks 32 years since I began work as a management consultant in the Field Service Industry.

I was a newly minted MBA when I started and wondered how I could possibly help clients solve their field service challenges. One of my mentors at the time told me that the key to my success was to just keep at it.

Eventually, I’d have enough experience to solve any challenge presented to me; even those that people were dealing with for the first time. Not just because I’ve seen these issues before but because I would be able to anticipate them.

Looking back, I find these words of wisdom to have been spot on. The Field Service Industry has changed so much since I began working in it.

Much of what we anticipated would happen has happened.

Oldsmobile, a now defunct car manufacturer, had a popular commercial jingle on television in the United States when I began my career…” this is not your father’s Oldsmobile… this is the new generation of Olds”. I feel the same way about Field Service. We have entered a new generation of field service.

 

The field service industry has changed so much such much since I started working in it. Interestingly, much of what the experts at that time predicted would happen with respect to field service has happened.

Back in the good old days, I used to sit around the lunch table with my colleagues and discuss how technology would change the service delivery model and how service would become a utility just like electricity, water, or gas.

It would always be available when you needed it, you would consume it frequently, and pay for what you use. In other words, we were describing the basic elements of the on-demand economy. We just didn’t know it at the time.

What exactly is the On-Demand Economy?

Tech Insider Magazine defines it as the economic activity created by technology companies that fulfil consumer demand via the immediate provisioning f goods and services. Uber, eBay, Lyft, and Airbnb are classic examples of the On-demand economy in practice.

Field Service is also rapidly becoming an On-Demand economy business. Over the last twenty years there have been several industry trends and developments that have made this possible.

Here are a few examples of how Field Service Organisations (FSOs) are leveraging technology to become On-Demand economy businesses:

• Dynamic Scheduling provides real-time information on technician availability which permits FSOs to immediately commit to their customers when a Field Engineer (FE) will arrive on site.
• GPS Technology provides real-time visibility of FE location which enables immediate updates as to when the FE will arrive on site
• Freelancer Management Systems provide FSOs with the ability to source, train, and dispatch freelance technicians. As result, FSOs can scale their workforce on-demand.
• Advanced Technology such as IoT, Augmented Reality, and Artificial Intelligence provides the technical platform for delivering on-demand diagnostics to FEs and end-customers reducing resolution time and improving first time fix.
• 3D Printing Technology enables FSOs to produce parts on-demand. Thus, they can reduce their investment in spare parts inventory, improve fill rate, and lower their logistics and transportation costs.
• Servitization Business Models where manufacturers charge for usage of their product on a subscription basis, such as Rolls Royce’s “power by the all”; the ultimate example of an on-demand economy business. Customers pay for what they consume, when they consume it.
• On-demand consulting platforms like Si2Partners provide a collaborative platform for Field Service Leaders to access subject matter experts to validate thinking, solve problems, challenge assumptions, and formulate new approaches as needed.
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The On-Demand Economy is no longer a concept of the future as far as the Field Service Industry is concerned. It represents a very attractive value proposition for both FSOs and their customers.

There are numerous case studies and data points available that demonstrate how the advancements identified above have helped FSOs improve the efficiency, agility, and economics of service. It will only be a matter of time before Manufacturers and FSOs develop and market on-demand value propositions to business customers in the same way that Uber or Airbnb have done with consumers.

Given current trends, FSOs will need to give serious consideration as to whether they should develop on-demand, “uber-like” service offerings for their customers. It is likely that customers will expect these offerings just as they have come to expect other types of services that have become standard within our industry.

 

There will obviously be leaders, followers, and those left behind when it comes to On-Demand. The question is where will you company reside on this spectrum. Will your company be first to market or will you wait to see what happens? The choice isn’t easy.

Ultimately the answer comes down to whether your company and your customers are ready for On-Demand.

If my experience offers any wisdom, then it’s that entry into any new service or market requires a good bit of market research, analysis, planning, and execution.

On-demand consulting platforms like Si2 Partners can certainly be a critical resource to field service leaders as they formulate their own on-demand service strategies.

 

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