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In Part One of this report Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News looked at the latest developments in live video streaming. In Part Two, he explores three potential areas the technology has potential to make a difference.

User Case One: Driver training

It is well documented that improving the general standards of driving amongst your team of field engineers can lead to almost instant gains in terms of impacting upon your bottom line.  Better drivers use less fuel, incur less day-to-day damage and wear and tear on a vehicle and as alluded to above can even lower insurance premiums.

Indeed the telematics market is full of driver training/driver behaviour monitoring tools designed to help field service organisations track who in their mobile workforce is performing well behind the wheel and who is regularly sitting towards the bottom of the pack when it comes to driving standards.

However,  the cost of having a qualified coach sit in on a ride along can be prohibitively high. This is where one potential application of live streaming can come into play.  With an in-vehicle camera providing the ability to allow a qualified coach to remotely view a driver’s performance in real-time, there's no need for a trainer to sit in with the engineer. Coaching can be given to multiple drivers across a potentially infinite geography in a much shorter amount of time, without the costs of getting your coaching resource to each individual trainee.

Use Case Two: Lone worker protection

By the very nature of their roles field workers are very often working in a sole capacity and this carries it’s own set of regulations and responsibilities for their employer.

The biggest challenge for the lone field service worker is that on a regular basis the job they may be called out to do can place them working alone in an unsafe environment,  putting them in a potentially vulnerable position. Such risks are not just the more obvious settings of hazardous workplaces such as utilities plants or around heavy machinery but can also include those who may be working unsociable hours in an office or even domestic residences when working on an emergency call-out.

Lone worker systems can be linked to 24 hour monitoring systems, where field service agents who find themselves in a dangerous position can simply press an alert button on their device to flag for assistance.  Once again this presents an interesting use case for live streaming video. The technology now exists for a wearable camera capable of delivering live video streamed across either a 3G or 4G network.

 

Of course when we talk about wearables there is a lot of buzz and hyperbole at the moment and a large part of this excitement is around the potential to combine existing technologies into the wearable format.

We can start to explore a number of different opportunities around lone worker safety with wearables and one of such example could be to combine health monitoring (e.g. heart rate monitor) and a wearable video camera with live streaming capabilities to activate in emergencies – providing not just an alert but also vital insight into any incident again in real time.

Use Case Three: Parts Management

Another area for consideration regarding for the implementation of live streaming videos in a field service environment is as part of a parts monitoring system.

Parts inventory management out in the field remains one of the most challenging areas of good field service management. However, from a financial point of view the sheer lack of visibility into spare parts inventory, something that can often be the largest negative balance on a profit and loss sheet for a service operation, is a huge challenge.

Once again the use of live streaming can become part of the solution. Through the combination of a number of different technologies a camera could be utilised alongside the use of QR codes (or possibly even a simpler numbering system) that allows engineers to hold each part they remove from the van to the camera so it is logged instantly as it leaves the van.

Such technology already exists, of course. However, with the advent of the latest streaming technology this video data is available in real-time allowing for two-way communication when particularly expensive parts are being removed for example.

Not re-inventing the wheel

Whilst it is perhaps not a technological breakthrough on a par with some of the other technologies emerging currently such as 3D printing, IoT or Connected Vehicles,the advent of live streaming does present an enhancement to many tools we already have in place in a field service operation.

However, it is the ability to ‘log-in’ remotely to cameras in real-time that is the real innovation here and whilst in many instances this step forward in technology simply enhances and improves the solution, in others such as the potential use case of enabling two way communication for logging expensive parts out of a vehicle in real-time, then new solutions and applications for the technology can be found.

I’ve been quoted in the past as saying that good technology should be simple to understand and should just make our lives easier.  As a technology, live video streaming really is a something that meets this description.  It can be applied to a wide variety of problems from the outset and with an open-minded approach could also play a part in resolving other potential challenges whilst ultimately improving numerous workflows.

 

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Cognito and Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) have combined their respective flagship products to offer Cognito iQ’s Electronic Proof of Delivery (EPOD) capabilities as a fully integrated module for the latest release of K8, the KCS Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution.

This initiative further strengthens a long-standing partnership between the two firms.

For the many traders who still rely on paper-based proof of delivery and collection, upgrading to an EPOD system can have significant business benefits. Electronic manifests and signatures at point of delivery can greatly reduce invoice disputes and stock loss, and help to manage branch transfers and collections.

Pushing delivery schedules to drivers on handheld devices not only increases efficiency, but also gives them access to any information they or the customer may need, increasing satisfaction or even enabling them to up-sell.

 

Ian Bendelow, CEO at KCS says: “Cognito iQ’s EPOD capabilities are a great complement to K8, which is designed to help customers source effectively, stock efficiently, sell profitably and service competitively. We have worked very hard together to ensure that the integration is seamless, and we know that our joint customers in the distributive trades will be excited about the enhanced product.”

Cognito CEO, Laurent Othacéhé adds: “Our relationship has always been strong, and we share a culture of innovation and development expertise. This new offer reinforces our partnership and adds an important dimension to KCS’s ERP system, giving users access to vital delivery and collection information.”

As well as the integration of Cognito iQ, the latest version of K8 has more than 180 enhancements in several key areas. Notable changes include browser client functionality, an improved hire management application, superior graph and charting capabilities, additional facilities to handle returns and tools to streamline user management.

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Service organisations who have integrated field service and reverse/service logistics processes report a higher level of service performance than those who have not, reports Michael R. Blumberg, President and CEO, Blumberg Advisory Group, which has conducted a survey of 250 field service companies companies in the high-tech sector.

Much attention has been given in recent years to the need to automate field service and service parts logistics processes through the implementation of Enterprise Service Management (ESM) systems, . Although the benefits from improved automation are well documented, there is a segment of the market that faces challenges to achieving measurable gains in productivity and efficiency as it relates to key performance indicators (KPIs). This is especially true for KPIs associated with service parts logistics activities. We believe these shortcomings are due in part to lack of integration between field service and reverse/service Llogistics functions.

In order to validate this hypothesis, we conducted a survey among a cross representative sample of companies in the high technology service and support industry. Over 250 respondents participated in the survey, which was sponsored by IFS.  The survey results reveal a number of very interesting trends:

1. Greater reliance on remote support: The survey results support the growing trend toward resolving service requests remotely without the need to dispatch a field service engineer. 40% of companies can resolve more that 25% of service requests remotely by sending out a replacement spare part. Over one quarter of respondents expect this trend to continue to increase over the next 18-24 months.
2. Best of breed solutions outperform integrated solutions: Despite the breadth of functionality found within integrated enterprise systems, our results indicated a higher level of satisfaction with Best of Breed solutions than with Integrated ESM platforms. Over one-third of respondents were extremely satisfied with their Best of Breed ESM solution compare to 14% with integrated ESM platforms. We believe this is because best of breed solutions are more focused on the detailed processes and transactions involved in managing a field service and/or reverse logistics operation.
3.  Perceived gaps in reverse logistics functionality: Many companies perceive their ESM solutions have gaps in the ability to deal with reverse/service logistics issues particularly when it comes to depot repair activities. For example, 27% of respondents claim that their ESM is not very effective in tracking the results of depot repair test and screening activities. Another one quarter indicated their systems are not very effective in automating the work flow or business rules associated with processing returned materials.
4. Integrated automation is critical to success: The level of integrated automation between field service and reverse/service [ogistics functionality has a direct impact on ESM effectiveness. More importantly companies with a high level of integrated automation perform better on key service performance metrics than those who do not. Companies with some level of integrated automation experience a higher SLA compliance rate than those have no integrated automation (93.4% v 87.9%) as well as a lower no-fault-found rate (26.1% v 38.3%).[/ordered_list]

In summary, our research findings reveal that companies who have been able to successfully integrate field service and reverse/service logistics processes report a higher level of service performance than those who have not. The most effective integrated solutions are those that incorporate integrated, best of breed functionality for both field service and reverse/service logistics processes. More importantly, the data reveals that these integrated, best of breed solutions are not only highly effective in managing ongoing service requirements but essential to overcoming critical business challenges such as improving remote resolution rates and improving field service engineer productivity rates.
We’d like to thank IFS, a leading provider of ESM systems, for sponsoring our research study. IFS has made available the results of our study in a 14-page whitepaper that can be downloaded at Whitepaper Download. To better understand the implications of these findings to your organization or to define requirements for a best of breed, integrated solution, schedule a free strategy session with us today by clicking here.

 

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Logistics companies and field service engineers are being urged to pay special attention to diesel particulate filters (DPFs) on their vehicles, as the cost of having a unit off the road at the height of a nationwide skills shortage could be detrimental.

The advice comes from national automotive parts reconditioning specialist DPF Clean Team, which is advising drivers to have a filter cleaned rather than replaced when clogged, in order to return drivers to the road quickly, and at a lower cost than a full replacement.

DPF Clean Team Director Cameron Bryce explained: “At a time when logistics companies are updating their fleets with the latest Euro-6 trucks in order to benefit from reduced emissions, sustainability, and lower fuel costs, they need to make sure that they are making the most of this investment. For field service engineers too, having a van or small unit on the road whenever possible is the difference between completing, and passing up work, and money.

“The cost benefits and efficiencies that these vehicles deliver can be wasted if operators need to take vehicles off the road for days to purchase and fit a replacement DPF, in the event of them becoming blocked. With an industry-wide driver shortage, every day a driver is not in a cab means lost capacity, unhappy customers, and lost business.”

Should HGV and van drivers be alerted to the DPF warning light, the advice from DPF Clean Team is to have a filter cleaned rather than replaced. A DPF clean can be completed and a vehicle returned to the road in a matter of days, which is considerably faster than the time associated with sourcing a new DPF, ordering and receiving the part, and then having it fitted. And the cost of a clean is also significantly lower than a full replacement; potentially saving haulage and service companies tens of thousands of pounds per year for multiple vehicles in their fleet. DPF Clean Team states that the average price of a new DPF unit for MAN, Volvo and Iveko trucks is up to £5,000.

 

DPF Clean Team itself has recently increased the number of DPF units it can clean, up to 1,000 a month, following a five-figure investment in state-of-the-art cleaning equipment which is capable of cleaning DPFs and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) units. The investment has been made following an increase in demand from the logistics industry for this service. And for a short time, the company has slashed the price of DPF cleaning from £450 to £250 for any logistics operators looking to have their DPFs cleaned for the first time.

Cameron Bryce continued: “With logistics companies and service engineers being overstretched in order to keep up with demand, more and more operators and fleet managers are paying closer attention to the maintenance and performance of their vehicles. They rightly recognise that the consequences of having a vehicle off the road can be costly at a time when resources are tight and demand high. Regular DPF cleaning can not only ensure that vehicle operators are seeing a return in new fleet investment, but it can also reduce the risk of unscheduled downtime, keeping vehicles on the road, and deliveries arriving on time.”

DPF Clean Team already works with many of the UK’s car supermarkets, Leicestershire and Metropolitan Police Force, Avis and Europcar. The company’s new equipment not only cleans DPFs, but the dry-cleaning process is also used for a host of different automotive components which can be expensive to replace if they become worn.

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Specialist time critical logistics provider Bespoke Distribution Aviation (BDA) has become a Regulated Agent for the screening of cargo, following a significant investment in new screening technology. 

The company has announced that its BDA NightExpress division has passed the stringent Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Security Audit and is now able to process air cargo to meet all aviation security regulations. From its Coventry hub in the UK, BDA NightExpress is already screening its own outbound freight to its Ireland hub, as well as scanning inbound and outbound freight to its hubs in Frankfurt and Maastricht.

The move is part of a wider growth strategy for BDA which last year saw the company negotiate deals with such brands as Suzuki, Arvato STOK, GE Healthcare and Neways. The ability to screen outbound freight for Ireland, Netherlands and Germany is a particular boost considering recent growth in the Irish logistics market. As Irish consumers embrace ecommerce, spending €3.8m online every minute last year, the country currently offers strong potential for BDA in the etail, agricultural, medical and automotive markets that it serves.

Regulated Agent status has followed a six-figure investment by BDA in a cutting edge Rapiscan 632DV system for pallet and air cargo screening, which enables the company to perform its own dual-view X-ray screening of inbound and outbound cargo.

The machine, which has been designed for the inspection of pallet and break bulk cargo screening, utilises dual view technology to screen items. Coupled with the machine’s impressive image quality, this allows a high throughput of screened items.

BDA Managing Director Kevin Turner commented: “We have ambitious growth plans at BDA and becoming a Regulated Agent for cargo screening is a major step in the right direction for us. Not only does it enable us to become more self-sufficient as a company, but it also means that we can ensure the cargo we carry on our dedicated In-Night flights is both secure and protected.”

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In this series we are tackling the topic of end to end field service and exploring the technology options across each stage of the service call lifecycle.

In part one we looked at taking that request, and in part two we focused on getting the right engineer to the right place at the right time.

Last time around we looked at selecting the right hardware for your field engineers and now in this the final feature in this series we look at what considerations should be put in place around the software we put on those devices.

There is also an accompanying white paper to this series which is available to download here

Tools to do the job  - Software

Having selected the device to empower your field engineers the next step is to select the right mobile software to make the most of that hardware.

Whilst there has been great strides forward with cross platform HTML5 applications a strong argument lies within a ‘native’ app approach where the application is specifically designed to work alongside your device’s operating system (OS).

A  strong argument lies within a ‘native’ app approach where the application is specifically designed to work alongside your device’s operating system (OS).Not only do native apps tend to be on the whole more aesthetically in line with the devices OS and therefore more intuitive for a user familiar with the OS but they are also able to take more advantage of the device’s capability – for example Near Field Communication.

 

There are of course numerous field service apps on the market, and as with office based systems the option to either sit within one platform or select a third party app is open to you. However, as with back office systems integration to your core ERP system is absolutely vital.

The whole point of moving your field workers onto a mobile device is to streamline processes and therefore communication between your office system and your team in the field must also be seamless.

As with all of the discussions so far again understanding your field engineers workflow is at the core of successfully selecting a mobile app that enhances your field service engineers productivity.

However, a few of the more common requirements for field engineers include:

Health and safety regulations:

Whilst your field engineers may undertake the appropriate steps to ensure they are working safely each and every time they tackle a job.

For example an electrician knows to turn off the main power to a house before he changes a light fitting – he certainly wouldn’t forget to do it more than once!

However, by locking an app until the ‘switch mains off’ box is checked not only prompts your field engineer but also ensures he and your company are confirming to health and safety regulations.

Similarly there are stringent regulations in place regarding loan workers, so many field service apps have necessary steps in place to ensure your loan working field engineers are both safe and complying with these regulations.

Knowledge Bases

Perhaps one of the most valuable tools you can arm your field service engineers with is access to a wider knowledge base.

This can range from information on the device they have been sent to repair – it’s previous fault history for example, through to knowledge bases with videos and articles that describe faults the engineer may never have come across before, through to video conferencing where the engineer on the job is able to discuss a problem he is unable to resolve with a more experienced engineer in real time – something that is particularly useful for organisations who are servicing devices in remote locations for example.

Access to parts ordering and contracts

Whilst in an ideal world the diagnosis of the issue would have been made in the initial stages of arranging a service call, in reality in many instances the field service engineer will find the right solution is something different upon arrival at the site.

In this instance it is absolutely essential that he has clear visibility into spare parts inventory and has the ability to order the parts needed if required.

Having to go back to the office and go through a separate chain to get these parts means further frustration for your customer and wasted time and resources for your company.

Similarly if they need to carry work that exceeds a normal maintenance contract – for example if the device he has been sent out to repair has been used beyond it’s normal working parameters, then it is vital he has an understanding of the level of cover the contract offers. Remember a field engineer’s main focus is making things work again and he will be under pressure from your customers when on site. The last thing he will be thinking of is ‘is this covered by there SLA’. Unless of course it is clearly highlighted in front of him.

This also leads us on to the next element, the ability to either communicate with the sales team or create sales directly from the field.

 

A customer falling out of warranty is perhaps the easiest sell a company can have when the engineer is on site – as long as the engineer can show clear evidence that the repair falls out of the agreed contract.

If the engineer can simply add the charge onto the clients account there and then so he can go about resolving the issue then the sales process becomes both simple and effective.

Similarly as a trusted adviser the field service engineer is in a great position to upsell.

“I’ve fixed the problem with your printer and noticed your running low on toner and will probably run out within a week – shall I order some more for you” is one simple example and 99 times out of 100 the customer will surely say yes.

Order approval:

A critical functionality of any field service mobile app is to approve the work as soon as it is done.

By giving your field engineers the ability to have customers acknowledge the work carried out and having this data instantly recorded in your back office system you are not only able to gather information on your field service engineers productivity but also have clear documentation of your work being approved should any dispute arise between you and your customers.

Communicating back to HQ:

Of course order approval is not the only metric you can assess your field engineers  productivity on. Every interaction the field engineer makes with the app provides the opportunity for further data collection on both the engineer themselves and the customer.

For example – is the engineer spending longer on each job than is average amongst his peers – in which case is training required? What about the travel between each job? Is he taking longer than expected? Or is regularly making journeys in less time than you would expect – perhaps indicating he is driving over the speed limit?

What insight does he have into your customers? Has there been a change in personnel since the last company visit? Can your engineer update the CRM system? Perhaps anecdotally he hears that your customers are thinking of expanding – can he arrange for a member of the sales team to come and speak with your customer about how you can ease that process?

 

What about the device he’s working on? Is he seeing common faults at each customer he visits?

Could this result in a design improvement if fed back into R&D?

Important data is everywhere and there are few better equipped to collect it than a field service engineer. Giving them the right tools to transmit that data to the place it has most value is a crucial part of the field service mobile app.

Conclusion: Understand your engineers workflow.

As we mentioned at the very beginning of this white paper the introduction of the concept of end-to-end field service is both emerging and ill defined as yet.

What we have tried to achieve in this white paper is take you as a field service professional whether it be on the side of IT, business leadership or operations, through an end to end journey of how at each stage technology can play a part in streamlining your field service operations.

 

However, not only is the topic itself vast but so to are the resulting options and it is far too easy to end up making costly mistakes in such an environment.

Therefore it is absolutely key to develop a road map that plots your path to developing an end to end service management solution and the only place to start that road map is by stepping outside of your existing framework and understanding two key concepts.

Firstly what do your customers require from you in terms of service, and secondly what is your field engineers daily workflow?

Once you have an understanding of both of these questions then you are in position to build up your solution to enhance and improve these two areas.

It may seem like the longer path in the early stages, however, ultimately such an approach will take you where you need to be far more effectively.

There is also an accompanying white paper to this series which is available to download here

This series is sponsored by:

 

 

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A specialist time critical logistics provider in the UK is overcoming nightly battles against ongoing roadworks to record successful on-time delivery of goods from Europe into the UK...

Bespoke Distribution Aviation (BDA) which is based near to Coventry Airport is still managing to fulfil its orders and keep customers satisfied, despite ongoing disruption to its vital road network.

The roadworks, which are coming at a cost of £105m and won’t be completed until 2016, have caused major headaches to businesses and motorists alike, with some workers in the area complaining that they are extending their journey to and from work by up to two hours each day. BDA relies on its road network to meet critical delivery of spare parts and vital components for the automotive, media and agricultural sectors but is having to battle against the ongoing roadworks in order to deliver on time. The company recently arranged a private meeting with local MP Jim Cunningham to discuss the issue, during which it called for greater communication from the Highways Agency in order to minimise the risk of a knock-on effect to the global supply chain caused by late delivery of goods.

Although the company has implemented processes to help it overcome the disruption and is still successfully meeting delivery times, it stressed to Mr Cunningham the importance of the local road network to the freight companies in the area. Many of these operate during the night which is when disruption is at its peak.

BDA has eight gateway hubs for both air and road linehaul routes across Europe, including Germany, France, and Ireland. The firm flies freight into Coventry overnight in order to meet next-day delivery times. If this freight is then held up on the road network, it has a knock on effect on the wider supply chain. BDA is currently having to send numerous vans out on the road for deliveries in order to get the first vehicle onto the road earlier than normal.

European Managing Director Kevin Turner explained: “Many of the roadworks are taking place at night because there is an assumption that few people are using the road network at this time. We rely on the road network at night in order to deliver goods on time.

“We are still meeting our customers’ demands, we’re not losing any business and we’re still growing, but the night time temporary road closures - when we’re at our busiest - and constant diversions are costing us a lot of money, and this means we can’t employ more people. Some of the boxes we deliver contain time critical medical equipment and supplies that hospitals up and down the country rely on in order to treat their patients. If these aren’t delivered on time then this has a direct impact on people who are in desperate need of urgent medical care.

“The situation changes each day, and the major issue is a lack of communication between businesses and the Highways Agency and their contractors.”

Mr Cunningham felt that it wasn’t fair that businesses were being impacted in such a serious manner and stressed that the Highways Agency must do more to communicate with BDA and other businesses in the area.

He said: “Everybody understands that the roadworks have got to be completed, but we think there can be improvements in relation to flow of traffic - particularly at night time, when this company is doing business.

“With a bit of give and take we can mitigate some of the problems and it’s important that the Highways Agency have discussions with BDA and other companies in the area. We’re going to meet with them and put some of these points to them.”

Glyn Dodd, Managing Director of Centrex Services looks at if we can re-invent the service supply chain cost model before it becomes to late... 

The fixed verses variable cost structure has long been debated in the industry – and continues to remain a hot topic.  With the evolution of technology, customers demanding innovation in service delivery and all the intelligence that can be derived in the provision of a break-fix service; the industry seems to remain adamant in delivering an outdated, antiquated delivery/cost model.

The big question is whether innovation within services can be delivered on a variable cost base? And can pricing be a differentiator in the evolution of the service supply chain?

As the majority traditional service supply chain continues to steadfastly remain fragmented, its fixed inflexible cost structures have become increasingly expensive against the context of the revenue they are earning today.  It’s these costs that are putting price pressure in the market; the change in the products and the simplification and reduction of the revenue attached to the maintenance has made the fixed price model and its legacy engineering costs outdated.

The anatomy of the fixed and variable cost

If we look at what the fixed service costs are, we see a combination of skilled engineers, external repairs, parts and logistics, as well as diagnostics – all of which often are still operated in the traditional unconnected way.

On the other hand, if we work within a re-designed (fit for purpose) connected infrastructure based model then variable service innovation and pricing modernisation becomes the norm  The customer pays by the type of activity that’s required, when it’s required with the correct skill to deliver. This means that when there is a requirement for a particular skill in the field environment then that’s what is assigned to the call, not an over-skilled or under-skilled engineer/technician/tech courier.

There will always be a need for various skill levels in the field, the difficulty in the traditional service supply infrastructure is its inability to respond and adapt to the rapid simplification of product and its continued incapability to deliver modern service

Is variable viable in the service supply chain?

Looking at anecdotal evidence within the market, the complex service call requires a senior engineer, which accounts for approximately 20 per cent of all service calls. The rest is split between the technical courier and the internal engineer. It’s within this ground where a variable cost model is far more effective and specific in responding to a customer demand driven ethos but only within a fit for purpose infrastructure model.

This allows the service provider to flex the cost base against the demand using the re-designed skill profile as required.  This in turn creates the environment for innovation and increases the responsiveness to the customer enabling the service provider to create a modern, intelligent service supply chain, while freeing valuable working capital on the core IP and differentiators.

These economies of scale can be achieved through aggregation.  While many of the larger service providers all have their own infrastructure, if one of those components is non-core it doesn’t add any differentiation. If it can be shared with multiple parties, greater value can be obtained for the end client where they do differentiate.

However, sharing infrastructure and the ability to aggregate can’t be orchestrated within a siloed organisation.  The industry needs to embrace more efficient ways of generating economies of scale, by taking the non core competencies in a connected supply chain and putting them into a service model that’s connected and can demonstrate aggregation and economies.

Can we do more for less?

The fixed verses variable pricing model is without a doubt a huge step change in the methodology, collaboration and delivery.  And the consequences are even greater.  To meet customer demands, major changes are required in the infrastructure to meet innovation and pricing needs.

To deliver the variable cost model, service providers have to make strategic changes that will impact almost every element of service, from repair centres to logistics providers and sub-contractors. In my view, this is the only way the industry can not just reduce costs, but continue to innovate, make sustainable margins within its break fix business and ensure it stays a sustainable and strategic component of its managed services proposition.

 

Glyn Dodd, Managing Director of Centrex Services returns to Field Service News with a new two part feature that outlines his battle plan for the service industry. In the first part of this feature Glyn looked at how the battle for the service supply chain had become based in the industry middle ground. In this concluding part of the feature he outlines why if changes are not made the battle may be lost... 

Reskilling engineers is vital

With technical couriers and middle ground technicians dealing with the majority of incidents, the role of field service engineers has to change in line with the service supply chain. The skilled engineers remain vital; focused at the top of the skill pyramid, providing services within the data centre and other complex technology areas such as multi-functional devices and networks. However, they will need to be deployed in a different way to provide the most cost-effective model possible and employed in far less quantities than they are today.

The level of expertise skilled engineers have should never be overlooked. When technology stops working, businesses stop working and it is often this vital part of the service which enables companies to get back up and running again, within the service level agreement.  We simply need to readdress the economics of demand, aligning skill to activity to service revenue model.

If we don’t change the approach, the battlefield will intensify, providers will lose money and customers will lose faith in the service. This would be disastrous. The industry and the associated channel will continue to be viewed as non-strategic, causing confusion between customers, those in the field and the so called specialists providing the service.

Modernising technical support

As well as rejuvenating the service, remodelling the cost and ensuring the workforce is effectively deployed, the service supply chain must be connected in an intelligent way - centralised around astute contact centre services.  Each process can be challenged and streamlined, culminating in a chain that is valuable, capable, available, adequate and flexible.

Modernisation is vital to the future stability of after sales support. It’s clear that the current technology support model is not fit for purpose and is actively harming the industry. We all talk and think about putting the customer first, but taking a holistic view of this industry, it seems no one is designing these services with customer satisfaction in mind.

The delivery infrastructure needs a complete overhaul, moving away from the fragmented supply chain currently plaguing technology support towards a more streamlined, connected approach. Redesigning the interaction between each element of the supply chain, from control centre to repair, will breed high-quality service.

We must redesign the battlefield as by changing the thinking, creating greater intelligence and deploying with full traceability, the middle ground break-fix will cease to be the daily battle-zone. Instead, technology support will profit from a lean, customer first service supply chain, once again adding true value for the customer.