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Our third research project of the year is looking at basic field service standards. Kris Oldland, Editor of Field Service News explains why this is our focus. To enter the survey and enter the prize draw to win one of three £50 Amazon vouchers click here.

If you were to strip field service management down to it’s very most basic components the aims are essentially as simple as get the field service engineer to the right address at the time you’ve committed to, ensure that that field service engineer is the right man (or woman) for the job, and then make sure they have the tools to complete the job and the necessary administration as quickly as possible.

It’s as simple as that right?

As we all know whilst these may be the basic aims of service companies across the globe, the reality is that even achieving these simple tasks can prove challenging. Even if you think you have everything in hand, the odds are that someone somewhere is doing it more efficiently, with lower overheads and much greater productivity margins.

One of the great things about field service is that fundamentally people sit at the heart of our industry on both the customer and business side. Companies live and die by the quality of the service they deliver and there is no greater opportunity to entrench the customer relationship than through face-to-face interaction.

This gives field service companies a huge opportunity when it comes to cementing relationships, establishing on-going business and even seeking out new sales opportunities within an organisation.

However, all of these benefits can just as quickly become risks if your service standards fall below expectations. In today’s world information on you and your competitors is both quick and easy to find and everyone has an instant and far reaching voice via social media.

 

If your service standards fall below the expected norms your disgruntled customers can see how your competitors compare just as quickly as they can warn any prospective customers of then bad experience they’ve just had with you.

Getting it wrong today can be an incredibly costly mistake.

However, if we return to the three aims mentioned at the beginning, these core tenets of basic service standards, then there really is very little excuse in 2014 for not getting them right.

Field Service Management Software has become an increasingly competitive niche, which has resulted in constant product improvements against a backdrop of competitive pricing. Especially since the emergence of SaaS systems with easily managed monthly subscription models, highly sophisticated software solutions that can incorporate scheduling, job management, mobile apps and much more and now readily available even to the smallest of companies.

So surely most companies are getting these basics right?

We wanted to a put a definite answer on this and so we have put together a brief survey to find out what tools companies are using to get their engineers to the right jobs on time, what are the common challenges and how useful do the engineers themselves find the tools they are provided with as well.

The survey itself will take you less than two minutes to complete and is open to all field service professionals.

Everybody that responds will also receive a copy of an exclusive white paper  based on the survey results as well as being entered into a prize draw to win one of three £50 Amazon vouchers provided kindly by TomTom Telematics, our sponsor on this research project

Not bad for two minutes of your time eh?

Enter the survey now by clicking this link

As part of the analysis of our research project looking at the types of field service software being used today we have created this infographic to give you some of the key findings at a glance.

 

 

In the final part of this series looking at the findings of our exclusive research report into field service software we look at what conclusions can be drawn from the research and analyse what can be expected of modern field service software.  

Missed the earlier parts of this series? You can read the first part of this series which looked at scheduling and integration and interaction here and the second part looking at management reporting here , and the third part looking at the future of field service software here

If you want to read the full 10 page benchmarking report which includes even further analysis then you are able to download it for free by clicking this link.

Conclusion

When we look at the findings of this research as a whole there are a number of conclusions that can be drawn. When it comes to scheduling solutions there is still a large section of the industry not utilising any scheduling software, which ultimately leads to poorer levels of efficiency in the management of the mobile workforce.

This is of course in turn leads to fewer members of the overall workforce being in customer facing roles that could potentially generate revenue.

Based on the improvements in dispatcher to engineer ratios that scheduling software is proven to deliver, for those companies still operating on a manual basis, investing in some form of scheduling is no longer a nice to have but a necessity if they are to remain competitive.

Just a fifth of companies are able to exploit their field engineers’ trusted adviser status by giving them the tools to sell directly. This represents a major opportunity for companies with the means to invest in such systems to capitalise on their competitor’s hesitancy and gain a commercial advantage. Yet despite this opportunity currently few companies place investing in mobile hardware and software near the top of their priorities, with both categories sitting midway on the priority lists of the majority of organisations.

Perhaps the biggest trend this research has unveiled is that cost has become less of a concern for companies looking to implement new technologies, with issues with legacy systems now being the most common concern. [quote float="left"] Many elements that not so long ago were new, premium solutions such as navigation software have now become standard.

 

This could well be a direct result of the influence of the Cloud. The SaaS business model has now meant that service management software is an affordable option for smaller companies, however, integration has been a early documented issue with some Cloud based solutions.

Our research earlier this year on SaaS and Field Service would also seem to support this hypothesis. To sum up, it appears that many elements are coming together to offer vast improvements to the software available in the field service industry. Also many elements that not so long ago were new, premium solutions such as navigation software have now become standard. Meanwhile we also see exciting technologies such as the Internet of Things and Big Data starting to encroach into service management software.

The future indeed seems bright indeed, but in the here and now there are still things that can be improved upon. Whether it be scheduling software or management reporting tools the results of this research indicate that on the whole there is room for improvement in the software being used today.

However, the research also identifies examples of excellence in the service management software as well. Integration is becoming more and more important, and end-to-end service management has become a reality.

Careful consideration is essential when selecting a software provider and an understanding of your own strategic aims is as important as understanding the options available to you. However, it seems that investing in a service management solution in 2014 is both more affordable and beneficial than ever before.

If you want to read the full 10 page benchmarking report featuring additional exclusive analysis then you are able to download it by clicking this link.

By registering for this white paper you agree to the fascinating terms and conditions which you can read right here.

In this second part of this series looking at the findings of our exclusive research report into field service software we focus on management reporting. You can read the first part of this series which looked at scheduling and integration and interaction here.

If you want to read the full 10 page benchmarking report then you are able to download it by clicking here.

About the research:

Across April and May of this year (2014) Field Service News in partnership with mplsystems undertook a research project to assess the current usage of field service software.

The survey was split into four categories. Scheduling systems, integration and interaction, management reporting and future options. In total we spoke to over 120 field service companies of differing sizes and differing industries. These were predominantly UK based although there were respondents from all over the world including Europe, America, Africa and Asia.

Reporting:

It may be a cliché but the maxim “You can’t manage what you don’t measure” rings true in all industries and with technology now offering more measurement and analytics tools, with greater levels of sophistication than ever before management reporting is an important element of service management software.

In fact 78% of respondents stated that as a manger the ability to get clear and comprehensive management reports from their service management software was an important tool. Further to that, 63% of these went on to define management reporting as “Critical – I couldn’t do my job without it”

When we also factor in that a further 19% of respondents stated that management-reporting tools were “Helpful” it is clear that such tools are utilised by all but a very small minority  (less than 5%) of field service managers.

It may have been what we expected to find but the findings of the research absolutely confirm the fact beyond all doubt. Management reporting is an absolutely integral facet of Field Service Software.

However, whilst management reporting is clearly such vital piece of the field service management software whole, it appears that when it comes to functionality and performance, there remains plenty of room for improvement in the eyes of many field service managers responding to our survey.

In response to the question “Is the reporting functionality you get from your current system up to the task” almost two thirds of respondents stated that they found their current system merely “Acceptable”

So whilst the functionality of these tools is workable, they are still far from perfect. In fact whilst there are a reasonable amount of companies (21%) who identified their reporting functionality as “Excellent”” there is a similar amount of companies (20%) who state that the management reporting of their current system “Doesn’t meet their needs at all”

 There certainly a number of different considerations when purchasing a field service software solution , research is absolutely essential and taking the time to identify your own reporting needs both now but also in the future, before comparing this with the options available to you will potentially save both time and money for your organisation in the longer term.

 

Of course within field service perhaps one of the most important aspects of reporting is real time visibility into the actions of your mobile workforce.

In this area there is an interesting division between companies.

It seems that a large percentage of the companies in the industry (42%) are able to provide real time location and status of their field technicians to not only their dispatchers but also their help desk and customer service teams.

This is an improvement of 24% compared to 2012 figures. Such a dramatic rise is likely due to the fact that such a level of visibility is a powerful tool both in terms of managing efficiency as well as delivering excellent customer service and therefore a key area for investment.

Despite this fact, a surprisingly large number of companies (30%) still have no visibility at all into the activities of their mobile workforce. Whilst this figure has decreased by 9% since 2012 it remains a significant proportion of the industry.

Such a large number is somewhat worrying in that without any visibility there is little hope of these companies being able to improve the efficiency of their field service operations at all. It also means that the levels of customer service are potentially impacted as well.

This gap in implementation of technology could lead to a genuine division appearing in the industry. Those companies who are able to continue to deliver excellent service in today’s modern environment of demand twenty first century consumers, and those whose service standards remain stagnant and out-dated.

When it comes to competing on service, which has become a key battleground for businesses in recent years, there can only be one winner…

If you want to read the full 10 page benchmarking report then you are able to download it by clicking this link.

By registering for this white paper you agree to the fascinating terms and conditions which you can read right here.

You can also now find the third part of this series looking at the future of field service software here

Results of a recent survey by DA Systems into attitudes towards technology amongst firms within the UK transport and logistics industries highlighted that whilst the majority believed in the importance of technology to create a superior service offering, getting access to the financial and operational backing required to make the necessary investments still remains an issue for many companies...

88% of companies participating in the research agreed that technology was an essential source of competitive differentiation, yet over 50% of respondents revealed that they have yet to introduce real-time track and trace capabilities, although it was high on their wish lists of process improvements. This ‘relaxed’ attitude towards implementing new technology was further highlighted by the finding that 58% of delivery fleets are not using mobile data services to enhance driver information and provide real-time job monitoring capabilities. Budgetary constraints may be a key factor behind the lack of technological investment, because 80% of respondents cited budget restrictions as the main barrier.

According to DA Systems, these findings highlight that companies are failing to make the connection between the introduction of technology and an ability to generate additional revenue to offset the initial investment costs. This can be achieved through operational savings from paperless working and by improving service levels to ultimately become a delivery partner of choice amongst consumers.

“The research showed up some surprising results, for instance, companies understand the role technology needs to play but have some way to go to making the investments required. And clearly, although there is a perception that ePOD (electronic proof of delivery) is a mature market, many within the industry remain reliant on paper based proof of delivery processes, which cannot be good for profit levels,” says David Upton, Managing Director of DA Systems.

Returning to the survey findings, although business confidence is improving, costs remain a concern and this was reflected in the improvements respondents cited they would like to make to delivery processes. 88% said reducing driven mileage and fuel consumption was a priority, followed by improving driver behaviour monitoring (47%) and reducing the total number of hours worked by implementing efficiency improvements (also 47%).

Demonstrating the business impact of controversial BYOD (bring your own device) IT policies within the transport sector, 53% of companies who were using POD solutions (proof of delivery) said they were considering the possibility of allowing their drivers to use smartphones instead of traditional rugged devices.

E-commerce has undoubtedly had a big impact on the UK’s transportation sector and this trend continues. Nearly 1/3 of the companies surveyed (28%) believed that the free click and collect services offered by retailers were ‘a possible threat to a courier’s delivery business from e-commerce orders’. This finding can be further verified by the recent launches of new sameday or special Sunday deliveries by major delivery firms working with e-commerce companies, again demonstrating the need to continue improving service levels to compete with increased consumer expectations for faster deliveries and the growing popularity of click and collect.

When given a wish list of improvements they would like to make to their own service offering, ensuring the highest level of customer satisfaction was clearly an ongoing business priority. Almost three quarters (70%) of the survey respondents said they would like to offer an estimated delivery ETA messaging capability and have the ability to send an email or text to recipients alerting them to expect their delivery at a particular time of day. A further 41% said they would like to allow recipients to change the delivery drop location for convenience.

And yet whilst these service improvements may be high on the business improvement agenda, continuing budget restrictions and a perception amongst budget holders that this type of technology is potentially being seen as a ‘nice to have’ by some, could result in a gap forming between the smaller independent transport providers and larger operators with greater resources to invest in new technology.

“It is clear from the findings that delivery firms have not understood the potential to reduce costs and generate additional profits as a result of investing in technology and working more efficiently. Being constrained by budgets is a short-sighted view because the business case for an investment in proof of delivery software, or a messaging system that notifies consumers with an ETA for their parcel deliveries, will deliver an immediate return,” concludes David Upton.

 

Across April and May of this year (2014) Field Service News in partnership with mplsystems undertook a research project to assess the current usage of field service software...

The survey was split into four categories. Scheduling systems, integration and interaction, management reporting and future options. In total we spoke to over 120 field service companies of differing sizes and differing industries. These were predominantly UK based although there were respondents from all over the world including Europe, America, Africa and Asia.

Scheduling Systems:

Whilst Service Management software as a whole is about far more than scheduling there is no doubt that it often dominates conversation. This is likely due to the sizeable improvements in efficiency that scheduling software can deliver. In fact companies that were using any sort of scheduling software, be it batch, automated or optimised, showed considerable improvements in the efficiency of their dispatch units with 39% of companies using scheduling software having a ratio of more than 16 engineers per dispatcher.

This figure reduces to just 8% when we look at companies who still operate with manual dispatch systems. In fact of those companies operating without scheduling software virtually half of them (49%) are only able to manage a ratio of 5 engineers per dispatcher at best.

With developments in mobile technology opening up opportunities for field staff to establish new revenue streams (whether directly or indirectly), the greater the ratio of engineers to dispatchers, the more a company’s labour resources are placed in positions which could potentially generate revenue.

With companies shifting away from manual based scheduling and starting to utilise scheduling software, the question of how well that software is performing takes on even greater importance.

The majority of companies (46%) identified their current scheduling system as average, with both extremes (excellent and very poor) being the least common response at 7% each. 14% of respondents identified that they felt their systems were poor, whilst 27% rated their scheduling system as good.

Taking a broader view this does indicate that 80% of scheduling systems being used are operating at an acceptable level of average or better, although it would also indicate that there is plenty of room for improvement as well

Integration and interaction:

There has been much talk of late around end to end service management solutions, whereby all systems across the customer lifecycle such as CRM, Service Management Software, and Asset Management Software are fully integrated with each another, offering full transparency across multiple divisions of a company. This in turn creates greater opportunities for improving customer satisfaction levels, improving efficiency and establishing new revenue streams within a business.

Specialist field service software has been available for some thirty years now, and as the industry has evolved a number of differing elements of service management software has developed such as scheduling, routing, and asset management software etc. In fact a fifth of companies are still working with five or more software providers.

With so many different products in the mix its little wonder that there are issues with integration in field service companies.

Well over a third of companies (38%) are still facing issues with integration stating “We have a number of different systems across different divisions and it makes communications between departments tricky”. This represents a sizeable section of the industry that has the potential to improve the overall efficiency and productivity of their field service operations.

Given that the integration of systems is not fully ubiquitous across the industry, it is important to see how companies ensure that their service management software supports their business processes. The most common means of ensuring this is through customisation by software providers, with 34% of companies taking this path.

With competition amongst software providers high within what is a relatively niche sector, it is such additional layers of customisation that can make a difference when implementing a new service management software system.

Yet conversely almost a quarter of companies (23%) admit to having to fit the way they work around their software.

This represents a real issue, if a company has to change their processes to accommodate their software then there may be a danger of efficiency bleed, in which case the surely the software isn’t fit for purpose? This serves to further highlight the importance of ensuring that you choose software provider wisely. Perhaps the cheaper ‘off the shelf’ solution doesn’t always offer the best value in the long term?

In part two of this feature we will look at what of management reporting software is being used and what fears companies have when adopting new systems.

If you want to read the full 10 page benchmarking report then you are able to download it by clicking this link.

By registering for this white paper you agree to the fascinating terms and conditions which you can read right here.

 

Having completed our survey on SaaS and Field Service which was run in association with Tesseract we are pleased to announce the winners of the prize draw were....

Danny Dart, Field Service Manager, JME Ltd

Paul Ramsbottom, Service Design Manager, Virgin Media Business

Richard Wilson, Operational Strategy Manager, Xerox

Congratulations to each of you, we will be contacting you shortly to arrange sending you your £50 Amazon Voucher!

If you haven't had a chance to see the findings of this research as yet then don't forget to download the white paper "SaaS and Field Service" To do so simply click this link.

If you would like to help us with our next survey which is exploring Software and Field Service in 2014 and be in with a chance of winning a £150 Amazon voucher then click here!

 

 

In theory field service would seem to be an industry that could benefit greatly from the cloud. The ability to give remote access to systems for mobile workers is obviously advantageous to an industry that by its very definition has a high percentage of its workforce on the move.

But has the field service industry leapt into the cloud feet first, or is there still some reluctance until the technology proves itself robust enough to be trusted with service management systems?

Across the last few months Field Service News in partnership with Tesseract have undertaken a research project, which aims to take a measure of the appetite for Cloud based software and the Software as a Service distribution model within the field service industry.

Read our executive summary below or download the full white paper for free by registering on this link 

 

On Premise versus Cloud in field service today:

The first major insight from the research is that despite Cloud and SaaS becoming more widely understood as a concept, as far as the headline numbers are concerned currently those companies that have placed there field service management systems in the Cloud remain in the minority. In fact currently 77% of companies are still using an On-Premise solution with just 23% having actually moved their field service software to a Cloud based platform.

At first glance this may seem somewhat of a surprise. We have been hearing things about the Cloud, good and bad, for quite a while now. Salesforce.Com the Grandaddy of the Cloud who pretty much single handily made a mockery of computing giants such as Oracle and SAP’s dismissive stance towards SaaS as a passing fad, are now a ripe old 15 years old. The cloud’s been around for long enough to take route by now hasn’t it? One argument could be that actually fifteen years isn’t that long, especially when we take into consideration that it took a few extra years for the first browser based service management solution to appear (Tesseract’s Service Centre 4.2 in 2001) and also as all service management software previously had been purchased on a pricey CAPEX model then the life cycles of these systems were understandably relatively long.

The shift to a new, emerging technology will likely be weighted towards a slower start in such an environment. Actually we can find further evidence of this when we look at exactly how long those companies who are currently using an On-Premise system have been using that system for. The vast majority (60%) have been using their current system fro at least three years so this would certainly seem to correlate with this theory. In fact just 18% of On Premise solutions are recent implementations (within one year). A slightly larger amount 22% of systems are between a year and three years old.

However, it is when we look at the next question we asked of those respondents using an On Premise system “Are you likely to consider a SaaS/Cloud solution when you next update your service management system” that we start to see some genuine evidence that the shift to the Cloud is starting to speed up. Of those companies currently using an On-Premise solution just over half 53% have stated that they are considering a move to a Cloud based solution in the future. With 47% stating that they will not consider the Cloud for their next iteration of field service management solution.

If this figure remains true and there is a conversion from those ‘considering’ the Cloud to those adopting the Cloud then within a period of perhaps three to five years, by when most companies will have moved onto next generation platforms, it is highly likely that we will see an almost 180º switch in the ratio of On Premise to Cloud systems being in place with SaaS becoming the dominant model for software distribution within the field service industry. Whilst the shift may be slow initially, it would seem that when it does happen it could be quite dramatic.

 

The benefits of Cloud in field service

So what exactly are the benefits of Cloud based service management software to merit such a dramatic shift? We asked those respondents that were already on a Cloud based system what were the reasons they chose to choose Cloud over an On-Premise solution, asking them to indicate if any of the following reasons were important to them. The benefits we listed were: more affordable pricing model, scalable solution, disaster recovery, easy remote access, speed of going live, less reliant on IT department.

The results were interesting in that perhaps they did not conform to what are often seen to be the key USPs of Cloud based solutions. Of these options easy remote access was the most popular reason cited with 61% of respondents indicating this was an important factor to them. The second most popular benefit was the fact that Cloud solutions are scalable with 54% of those surveyed ticking this option. Often the most heralded benefit of the SaaS distribution model is that it makes expensive solutions more affordable.

However, this was only the joint fourth most popular option tied with another benefit that we regularly see being championed i.e. the speed of going live. With just over a quarter of respondents (28%) indicating that these were important factors to them. When we look just at companies with the smallest category of mobile workforce (under 50 field engineers) we do see an increase to 35% of companies that cite affordability as an important reason for choosing SaaS, yet again it remains only the fourth most popular choice. The conclusion to be drawn from this is that whilst the fact that a SaaS model does of course offer a more affordable payment model, it appears that it is the other benefits that enable improved efficiency in the mobile workforce that mostly attracted these early adopters.

But what about the actual benefits that are being seen by those using a SaaS service management system? Beyond the hyperbole and marketing speak what are the benefits that genuine field service companies are experiencing in the real world?

So as to not to colour the results in anyway around this critical question we opted to leave the response to the question ‘What has been the biggest benefit to your company since moving to the cloud” as a open text response. This has given us a truer understanding of what the key benefits to Cloud based field service software were.

The most prominent benefit that stood out was the general performance of the systems themselves alongside the ease of updates. A quarter of all responses (25%) were grouped around the fact that by having a system that was easy to upgrade respondents found they were essentially getting a regularly improved and refined piece of software so performance levels remained above those that they had experienced previously. The other most significant benefit was in fact the cost which also was listed by 25% of the respondents. So whilst cost may not have been as high as anticipated as a reason to initially opt for a SaaS model, it would appear that once the decision had been made, the more manageable payment methods of SaaS did indeed shine out as a key benefit of the model. This would be particularly relevant for those companies whose service division operates its on P&L of course.

Speed was also a regularly used term word amongst the responses. In the main the reference was to the speed and ease of set up however the speed of information flow between field engineers and head office was also raised as a key benefit. Speed alongside the term ‘ease of use’ was both common terms that appeared in 13% of all responses. Other benefits that are worthy of mention are increased mobility, scalability and flexibility including being able to put multiple countries onto the same operating system easily and the easy accumulation of data via remote access in one source.

However, certainly the greatest acid test of how successful the Cloud has been in terms of delivering field service software to those that have taken this path is whether or not they would recommend a similar move to others. In this instance it would certainly appear that the implementation of Cloud for those field service companies that have made the move has been an overwhelming success with 90% of companies that are currently using a Cloud based field service management solutions stating they would recommend doing so. Such a majority is certainly a powerful statement to the positive impact of the Cloud for those field service companies that have been early adopters and embraced the technology.

 

Yet some many remain unconvinced

So it is evident that those who are working with a Cloud based solution seem to be satisfied having made the change and it also seems that many of those still using an On-Premise solution are actively considering a move to the cloud when the opportunity to upgrade there service management software next arises. Yet there is still a sizeable amount of companies (circa 30%) that are not considering the Cloud at all.

Why exactly is this and what fears do they have? We asked those respondents that indicated they would not be considering a Cloud based solution to identify the key reasons they did not feel comfortable with the cloud. Perhaps somewhat unsurprisingly the leading reason cited was Security. Front-page news stories about the lack of security in the Cloud continue to cast doubt it seems as 47% of companies that are not considering the Cloud still cite security as a key fear. Concerns around connectivity and issues integrating issues with existing legacy systems were also both common objectives with 34% and 37% of companies respectively indicating that these issues gave them cause for concern around a move towards the Cloud. What is interesting is when we compare these issues with those that are currently operating a Cloud based service management solution these fears do not necessarily match up to the reality. In fact when looking at the issues that those who are using the Cloud have actually encountered we actually see the reverse of the above.

The most common issue with the Cloud has proven to be connectivity issues, which 60% of companies using a Cloud based system have experienced problems with. The second most common issue is then integration with existing systems, which 40% of companies have faced. Security in fact ranks the lowest of the issues cited by companies using a Cloud system with only a quarter of companies having had any issues in this area whatsoever. Looking further at those companies that are not considering a Cloud solution, it is interesting to note that whilst the large majority (72%) have not implemented Cloud systems in any area of their business, a still sizeable 29% of companies did have at least one element of their business requirements based in the Cloud.

This initially seems odd as with a clear benefit of Cloud being ‘easy remote access’ it would seem a perfect bedfellow for the field service systems and therefore one might assume, one of the first systems to be moved into the Cloud. However, when we look at the reason given for why respondents felt Service Management software in particular should still be held On Premise the majority of respondents (70%) identify integration with existing systems as the main reason why they believe they need to keep their systems out of the Cloud. Essentially as service management systems are so core to company’s operational efficiencies, for some it simply isn’t worth the risk of moving to a system that cannot be easily integrated into wider business systems.

For those more conservative companies that would prefer to see a technology fully established and road tested before committing to it, connectivity issues between the Cloud and existing systems to still remain so it could be prudent to hold back for the near future, until these issues are fully resolved. However, of course the longer a company waits to take advantage of the benefits of a new technology, the greater risk they are in terms of falling behind the rest of the market in terms of efficiency and translating this into better service standards.

 

Conclusion - SaaS will eventually become the norm in field service

Whilst at the current time Cloud computing has yet to take a firm hold amongst the majority of field service companies, with most companies still using an On-Premise system, it would certainly seem that there is a definite shift towards the Cloud and the SaaS model and that shift is starting to gain momentum. If those companies that are currently considering a move to SaaS do actually make the transition, then within the next few years we could see a complete reversal in the ratio of companies operating On Premise systems versus those operating on Cloud based solutions, with Cloud becoming the dominant platform.

The benefits of Cloud are numerous and well suited to field service, with the ease of remote access being the key factor for companies either considering moving to the Cloud or those that have made the move already. Wider benefits such as the more affordable pricing structure of SaaS, the speed of implementation and less reliance on IT departments also of course are attractive factors to field service companies also. The biggest issue that has slowed the adoption of the Cloud in field service to date is the perception that security is a major issue for Cloud systems.

However, in reality this has not proved to be the case for those field service companies that are actually operating in the Cloud. Yet these doubts still remain and perhaps it is a matter of the technology having to continue to prove itself secure over a longer period of time for these to abate fully. At the same time the biggest issues felt by those using the Cloud are possibly likely to be resolved by surrounding technologies in the near future. Connectivity, which is the largest problem facing companies with a Cloud system for example will ultimately ebb away as serious issue as mobile internet standards continue to increase.

Within the UK for example all of the major providers are required to meet 90% 3G coverage of the UK as part of their contracts with UK Government by this summer. Currently the only provider to have fallen short of this target is Vodafone who offer 3G coverage to 88.5% of the UK. Of course with 4G now being rolled out this situation will only continue to improve.

When we consider that there is a building appetite for the Cloud in Field Service Industry, the key fear around the Cloud (security) is proving in reality a far less common issue than the perception would have us believe and that the most common issue being faced by those currently using the Cloud is potentially going to diminish naturally as internet coverage becomes ever more widespread it would seem that the Cloud is set to become an established platform for field service technology, and even ultimately become the most commonplace method.

 

Want to know more? Download the complete white paper based on this research for free by clicking this link

 

This research was undertaken in partnership with Tesseract. Find out more about Tesseract in the Field Service News Directory here

 

 

 

Trimble Field Service Management are set to release a new report following on from a research project they have be conducting looking at how field service organisations need to transform their service delivery to remain competitive in today's market. Ahead of the release of the report Field Service News spoke exclusively with Trimble FSM Managing Director Mark Forrest. 

FSN: You report that customer service is widely regarded to be the number one priority for field service organisations. How are organisations adapting to meet this priority?

MF: The correlation between customer satisfaction, retention and profitability is proven and we know the most common customer complaint is when a technician does not resolve the problem first time. As a result, field service organisations have to strive to get it right first time to meet customer expectations. A return visit is not only significant in terms of time and cost but can also be damaging to the brand and reputation from a customer view point.

Recent studies show that over a quarter of dispatched jobs fail to be resolved first time, requiring two or more follow-up visits. Making sure you get the right people with the right skills with the right assets to the right place within a set time is therefore essential. Work management technologies can help with this. They incorporate technician knowledge, parts availability, and capacity into scheduling processes to ensure that the technician arriving on site is the person who can resolve the issue first time.

FSN: Your research found that 1 in 10 field service organisations still collect data from the field via paperwork and some collect no data at all. Is there a cost to field services of collecting data in this way? If so, what can be done to address it?

MF: To pick up on a finding like this was a real surprise considering, with the advancements in workforce management technologies, that some organisations are still relying on paperwork to manage their field service work and some are not collecting any management information at all. Not only are there immediate implications for, and restrictions on, the day-to-day management of the work in terms of efficiencies, scheduling and productivity, but if you don’t have a real-time understanding of what is happening, there is little scope to then apply this information and identify trends for longer term business planning.

With customer expectations at an all-time high, field service work has become increasingly mission-critical in terms of timing, skills and consequence. More organisations are beginning to recognise that they need to manage their work more efficiently and effectively and adopt intelligent scheduling which allocates the right technician to the right job. As a result we will see organisations move away from the traditional methods of data collection and look towards automated learning tools to accelerate this process.

FSN: The importance of measuring service performance and that you ‘cannot manage what you cannot measure’ is discussed in the report. What metrics should field service organisations use to measure service performance effectively?

MF: While some organisations aren’t collecting data at all, for those that do, time taken to complete a job, customer satisfaction and the number of jobs completed were the three main metrics used to measure field service performance. For most businesses, measuring and improving just three key metrics will offer meaningful and significant improvements so it’s fundamental that businesses chose the right three to keep an improvement project manageable and on track. The emergence of Performance Management Analytics (PMA) can help considerably in the measurement process. Such tools provide the visibility to analyse the productivity of a field service operation and showcase key metrics. These metrics can range from how often SLAs are met, total tasks completed, distance travelled and utilisation in terms of actual tasks completed against total time of the working day. This can be seen at an organisation, region, team or even individual level, allowing businesses to drill down to the areas of concern or opportunity and make the necessary changes.

FSN: The report states that the ability to make sense of ‘Big Data’ can make the difference between a business that is good enough and one that stands out from the pack. What hurdles do field service organisations face in tackling ‘Big Data’ and how can they overcome these?

MF: Due to the sheer scale of data being created in everything we do, field service organisations can be overwhelmed by the amount of information coming in from multiple sources, in various formats and through an array of tools. Our research found that around a third of field service managers believe that their organisation is ineffective at using the data they collect to make decisions and the main concern with using data from the field was the reliability of the information.

The key is to firstly use technology that you trust to provide you the data you need. The next step is cutting through the amount of data and identifying the trends and metrics that really make a difference to your operation. Starting with a benchmark is key so you can track improvements as you start to measure the impact of change. Using field service data correctly can give vital insight to field service managers in areas such as identifying the most productive performers and those which need training, determining how long job types take and predicting peaks and troughs in capacity based on previous trends.

FSN: You report that more than 90% of the change programmes rolled out by field service organisations in the last year improved their operations. What is the key to rolling out change well and how can other organisations achieve this?

MF: We’ve worked with a number of large organisations in the roll-out of very large programmes of change and organisations that implement change well, can be seen to do so because of the culture of their organisation, employee engagement and having the right processes and strategy in place. It is also of the utmost importance that change is driven by the Board of Directors and that they keep on top of it to ensure that all processes and people remained aligned with the set goals. I cannot stress enough the need to really engage the workforce in a technology roll-out. Organising workshops in order to educate them on a new technology is essential and will give them the opportunity to ask questions and understand the overall value attributed to change. Using a new technology can be daunting so providing that on-hand support after implementation is also, just as important.

FSN: What are the most important considerations when implementing new technology?

MF: Our research found that many field service managers still believe the most important factor in choosing new technology is ease of use. This was closely followed by integration into current systems. We know from the companies that we work with, that field service organisations are increasingly seeking modular, scalable and easy to integrate solutions that allow them to deliver on their business objectives and which they can easily roll out to employees, is easy to use and offers them an enhanced work experience.

Organisations that understand how to strategically leverage new and existing technologies stand to drive efficiencies, profits and improve their customer service. Some of the most important developments to look out for include integration of M2M, leveraging of mobile apps, profit-driven analytics and cloud-driven transformations.

FSN: You conclude your report with a section on ‘What the future holds for field service management’. In your opinion, what will be the most significant trend to shape the industry going forward?

MF: It is an exciting time for the field service industry as we’re seeing a different kind of field service worker emerge. Those entering the industry are more proficient with technology and tools and that is already having an impact on not only the increased adoption of mobility and apps but also the way in which we, as customers, are communicated with. Gamification is a developing step for this tech savvy workforce as it offers a more interactive, competitive environment for the mobile worker, increasing productivity. From a wider technology point of view I see M2M as having a significant effect on the industry with predictive and preventative maintenance growing to make up a significant proportion of service work; potentially with service companies taking the place of the customer as the instigator of a service visit, having been alerted to a potential issue by the machine or device they are going to fix – a huge step change for our industry.

Trimble are hosting a virtual summit on the Third of April which will be discussing this report and the industry at large and you can register for this event here