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Columbus, the global digital business services provider, has today announced the launch of a fully connected and mobile Field Service solution. Columbus has created an end-to-end intelligent Field Service solution that utilises the full Dynamics 365 platform.

This includes seamless integration between Dynamics 365 for Field Service and IoT sensor reporting, predictive maintenance and advanced business intelligence to enable customers to make real-time, data-driven decisions on operations. Completing the field service scenario is Dynamics 365 Remote Assist, the mixed reality heads-up display technology delivered via HoloLens devices.

Columbus has drawn on over 25 years of manufacturing industry experience to develop the new solution, which enables medium and large enterprises to quickly adopt and leverage emerging technologies to take full advantage of digital disruption and develop a competitive advantage. The Columbus Field Service offering introduces greater operational visibility by connecting the entire service supply chain to deliver a personalised, customer-focused experience and reduce operational costs.

For organisations looking to tailor a field service solution around existing systems, Columbus also integrates out-of-the-box with Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations to optimise additional processes such as work orders and invoicing.

By consolidating data streams to provide businesses with a holistic view of operational performance, the solution helps boost scheduling efficiency, first-time fix rate, engineer punctuality, on-site productivity and engineer billable time, while enabling engineers to identify more opportunities to cross-sell and up-sell services and products.

Mary Hunter, Managing Director at Columbus UK commented “As customers become increasingly connected, businesses must evolve accordingly to maintain a high level of service and meet rising expectations. Columbus helps organisations such as Orangebox, Handicare, and Capital Solutions add value to their businesses and support a customer-centric experience. The new Columbus Field Service solution extends this ability even further to introduce greater business intelligence, end-to-end business process automation and drive cost efficiencies.”

Chris Mean, Chief Operating Officer at Columbus UK added “We are dedicated to supporting organisations throughout every step of their digitisation and servitisation journey, and the Columbus Field Service solution coupled with the extensive expertise of our consultants allows them to enhance and modernise their field service offering at any stage. Our new solution will provide organisations with the ability to harness the full potential of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 portfolio and extend their value stream accordingly.”

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Augmented, Mixed & Virtual Reality is certainly a technology trend that is set to massively impact businesses in their field service processes...

Andrea Bardini, Marketing Product Manager, OverIT explains more...

Companies everywhere are constantly seeking new ways to reduce costs, increase profits and improve customer satisfaction and these goals are exactly the ones that modern field services organizations are being asked to achieve.

Field Service is no longer a simple and basic data collection and reporting function to resolve issues and react to emergency issues with assets, it has now really become the front-end function in which the dialogue and interaction with the customers are happening.

Field Service technicians and engineers are more and more often seen as the trusted advisor who the customer looks to resolve their problems, and for this reason, they need to be equipped with the best technology available to perform their tasks at the best delivering value for the clients.

 

"Collaboration is actually the key for field service transformation..."

 

At OverIT, we continue to innovate and improve our solutions to respond to the market needs and we are firmly convinced that building applications on Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality is key to streamlining field processes.

By leveraging the virtual collaboration, knowledge sharing and remote assistance capabilities provided by cutting-edge technologies, companies can arm their technicians with the latest tools to perform field tasks faster, better, and hands-free.

Moreover, companies can dramatically reduce travel costs, training, and increase the first-time fix rate and service delivery, having a big impact on their operational expenses.

Collaboration is actually the key for field service transformation.

The more technicians and engineers are able to collaborate and get real-time information to resolve issues, the more they will be able to complete their tasks in a more efficient, productive and effective way. AR, MR & VR is a watershed technology not only because it frees people from two-dimensional screens and pages to help improve the way they learn, share, understand and act, but it enables remote sharing and interaction in a completely different way.

People in the field are able to share the same asset, even though they are located in different places, they can interact, ask questions, drawn on it, they can take notes, but the most important thing they have at their disposal all the information they need in their “virtual room” with no need to bring any more paper and meanwhile they can visualise instructions or receive guidance from remote colleagues they can operate because they are hands-free.

Moreover, virtual collaboration is reshaping the way companies are running training increasing efficiency and effectiveness.

We want to guide our customers through the digital transformation of the Field Service and the only way to do that is investing in cutting-edge technologies to offer a complete and innovative solution that can respond promptly to customers’ needs and that can adapt easily to the business processes to bring Field Service activities to the next level.

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The customer experience is a crucial differentiator between organisations and that experience needs to be consistent across the whole customer journey, Samir Gulati explains why this is so vital...

Today’s field-service customers demand responsive support, especially digital natives who are used to getting what they want when they want it.

But even though these customers expect field service to be speedy, it pays to slow down and examine the customer journey to better understand their expectations. Field-service providers then know what elements are worth measuring and can, therefore, leverage software solutions to direct their technicians to respond appropriately in real-time.

So let’s take a look at the five stages of the field-service customer journey, as well as the key metrics worth tracking at each step.

 

#1 The Service Request

The customer journey starts with the creation of a service request. But even a simple request carries the opportunity for deep insight so long as field service providers measure the flexibility of their engagement with the customer and their access to the servicer.

Can users submit such inquiries through multiple channels? Fewer and fewer customers want to communicate through a call centre. Instead, they prefer self-service online portals and machine-to-machine service requests generated automatically by their smart appliances.

But just as customers need access to technicians, technicians need access to customers - namely their service agreements. Automated registrations and entitlement checks, using preconfigured warranty information, allow service providers to assess maintenance options and confirm services instantly.

 

#2 Scheduling Service

Once a service request is submitted and subjected to the automated entitlement check, it’s time for scheduling. At this stage of the customer journey, scheduling options and response times matter most.

Customers should be able to easily book truth-based appointments, which reflect your technicians’ skill level and actual bandwidth based on a combination of real-time and historical data.

This ensures that the right technician is sent out to the right job, which increases first-time-fix rates.

That same information should populate estimated arrival and completion times so customers can plan for their field-service slots and appointments accordingly. Users can then utilize self-service scheduling to reschedule their service calls, at which point they have access to updated information regarding technician availability.

 

#3 Tracking Technicians

Modern customers value visibility and expect field-service companies to offer real-time tracking, much like Uber, for two reasons.

First is compliance with scheduling - simply, will the right technicians be selected, and if so will they arrive and complete their work on time?

This is as important for customer satisfaction as it is for maintaining a tight schedule and limiting unnecessary expenses. Second is real-time updates. If a technician finishes a job early or gets stuck in traffic, will the next customer in the queue receive a notification?

Furthermore, if a customer has extra information they’d like to communicate to the technician, can they send it directly to him or her without routing the message through a call centre?

Even simple messages that tell technicians, for example, what the code to a locked gate is or that the dog in the backyard is friendly can make all the difference in the timeliness and quality of a service call, but only if field-service providers open a direct line of communication between the customer and the tech.

 

#4 On-Site Repair

Once technicians arrive on-site, there are several key metrics that they and their employers ought to track:

• Preparedness: Does the tech have all the right information (and parts) necessary to complete the job on time?
• First-time-fix rate: the percentage of service requests resolved with a single technician visit.
• Time-to-repair: the average period of time it takes for a technician to repair a malfunctioning product.
• Time-on-site versus estimated: the difference between the estimated time-to-repair measurement and the actual repair time.

Field-service providers can use these measurements to assess the productivity and efficiency of their technicians as well as the effectiveness of their appointment workflows.

They can then fine-tune their processes and improve their service.

 

#5 Post-Service Engagement

Post-service engagement is the crucial last step in the field-service customer journey, which includes payment, customer satisfaction surveys, the ability to re-open a ticket, if necessary, and backend reporting.

By tracking order to cash (OTC), field-service companies can reduce the complexity in payment channels complicated by contract work, warranties claim management and sourcing parts.

And in a world where nearly 7 out of 10 customers leave reviews after purchasing products or services, channels for tabulating repeat services and gathering immediate feedback on services rendered can further provide valuable insight that field-service companies can act on immediately.

 

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Samir Gulati, is Chief Marketing Officer, ServicePower 

 

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More features about ByBox including the investment by Fransisco partners discussed in the podcast can be found @ http://fieldservicenews.com/?s=ByBox

 

Syncron™, a provider of cloud-based after-sales service solutions focused on empowering the world’s leading manufacturers to maximise product uptime and deliver exceptional customer experiences, has recently announced a $67 million minority investment from global growth equity firm Summit Partners. The partnership with Summit Partners will support Syncron’s continued development of its category-leading enterprise SaaS solutions and further expansion of its global operations.

Servitisation – where organisations transition from selling one-off products to selling the output or value that products deliver – is leading manufacturers to evolve their after-sales service operations from reactive, break-fix models focused on repair execution, to a new paradigm focused on dynamic repair prevention and maximising product uptime.

Syncron offers a fully integrated SaaS platform to optimise the performance of the after-sales service supply chain and enable global manufacturers to evolve to subscription-based uptime service models, which is critical on the journey to servitisation. The Syncron Service Cloud applies machine learning to multi-echelon logistics and IoT data designed to deliver predictive insights and drive enhanced customer experiences, greater efficiency and brand loyalty.

[quote float="left"]Syncron powers the after-sales service organisations of many of the world’s leading manufacturers, including Electrolux, Hitachi, JCB, Mazda, Siemens and Toyota[/quote] Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Syncron powers the after-sales service organisations of many of the world’s leading manufacturers, including Electrolux, Hitachi, JCB, Mazda, Siemens and Toyota. Syncron has more than 330 employees across 10 global offices and is a recipient of the Great Place to Work^® award.

“We are delighted to partner with Summit Partners to support Syncron’s next chapter of expansion and our path to IPO readiness,” said Anders Grudén, CEO of Syncron. “Summit’s deep experience collaborating with high-growth, enterprise SaaS companies will add valuable support to our vision of leading the transition from reactive, break-fix after-sales service to intelligently maximising product uptime and customer loyalty.”

“We believe Syncron is uniquely positioned to support global OEMs on their journey towards servizisation,” said Antony Clavel, a Principal at Summit Partners who will join the Syncron Board of Directors. “Across automotive, industrial machinery, high-tech, aerospace and many other industries, sophisticated manufacturers are working with Syncron to drive after-sales service excellence.”

“Syncron is an impressive technology company serving some of the world’s most respected manufacturing brands,” added Han Sikkens, a Managing Director with Summit Partners who will also join the company’s Board of Directors. “The Syncron team has delivered strong, profitable growth on a global scale and we look forward to supporting the company’s continued market leadership.”

Summit Partners manages over $14 billion in capital and has invested over $2 billion in European-headquartered growth companies. Syncron represents Summit Partners’ first investment in Sweden.

 

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Mark Brewer looks at how and why the two big technologies that are set to alter our industry forever are likely to converge...

To most people, the idea of a Digital Twin is largely just that - an idea. The concept may make sense, but they can’t be sure they’ve actually seen it demonstrated in the real world. Or at least not in any useful everyday purpose... yet.

It’s different for those working in Field Service.

Digital Twin is on everyone’s lips, an exciting buzzword that’s changing the shape of the sector and opening the door to new possibilities.

Forward-thinking Field Service organisations are already factoring it into their planning and monitoring activities and may even be deploying it where they can.

Why is Digital Twin such a hot ticket in our world?

 

Raising the game

The focus of Field Service centres on improving the reliability of an organisation’s assets. By enabling them to operate efficiently for longer, with less maintenance, you enjoy a greater return on investment while also spending less on upkeep and parts.

Clearly, the ability to accurately predict potential problems in those assets before they happen is a big help in achieving the above. Even more so, if steps can then be taken to not only rectify these issues but also provide a better experience for customers.

 

"A study by The Service Council found that four in ten incomplete service visits to fix equipment would benefit from the use of live video or AR..."

 

AR combined with the Internet of Things (IoT) does all this... which explains why the Field Service sector is so excited about it. The result is known as the Digital Twin – creating a bridge between the physical and the digital.

A study by The Service Council found that four in ten incomplete service visits to fix equipment would benefit from the use of live video or AR

Better connectivity, together with more accessible relevant tools were considered to improve the speed and quality of issue resolution - meaning that less pressure is put on company resources on-site.

 

A remote revolution

Thinking about practical examples, it’s not too difficult to see what a difference a Digital Twin would make, almost immediately.

Imagine you’re maintaining an elevator that’s installed in one of your customer’s offices.

Thanks to AR, your engineers can view a digital representation of that elevator, on their screen in your offices or on the road on their iPad, nowhere near the physical location of the asset. They can monitor operations virtually, from the comfort of their desk and without having to visit the elevator.

The 3D model on their screen is generated using engineering data with the output of the various sensors installed on the physical equipment augmented onto this. Some show power consumption, to see how efficiently things are running. Others might show spikes in voltage or the level of vibration and wear generated by the hoist as it runs up and down the building floors, whilst also indicating the number of trips completed and speed.

 

"On-screen augmentations and animated sequences give those involved an accurate visual indicator of any parts required, and how they may be assembled or disassembled..."

 

In short, it gives your engineer a comprehensive insight into the status and performance of the equipment.

When an issue does arise or a part needs replacing or upgrading, instead of having to drop everything and go directly to the site, they may instead be able to talk to a trained individual who may be based on-site, and direct them through the repair/replace process. Using a connected device such as an iPad or laptop, the on-site employee can share live footage and follow the remote engineer’s lead to perform the required maintenance.

On-screen augmentations and animated sequences give those involved an accurate visual indicator of any parts required, and how they may be assembled or disassembled. What’s more, the engineer can tag other team members who may either have useful knowledge to contribute or might just want to learn how to perform the task for next time around.

 

Sharing knowledge

Given that service parts and equipment are becoming increasingly complex and expensive, this process offers a great alternative for Field Service providers to continue providing excellent service while improving uptime and consequently saving customers time and money.

Moreover, it promotes the idea of ‘democratised knowledge’ - the sharing and passing on of vital skills and expertise from experienced engineers to workers that are onboarding. This way, as the seasoned workforce ages, their insights are therefore not lost but live on in even more tech-savvy younger employees. Which is a huge benefit when it comes to training and upskilling.

As said, the benefits of the Digital Twin in Field Service could be game-changing which is why so many of us in the industry are talking about it. Looking beyond predictive maintenance, the Digital Twin also opens up the opportunity to provide value-add recommendations to your customer in the use and operation of your equipment, as well as giving valuable insights to your own R&D organisation for future engineering changes.

What could the Digital Twin mean to you, your organisation and the service levels you are able to deliver to your customers? 

 

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Mark Brewer, is Global Industry Director, Service Management, IFS 

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simPRO has made another splash in the United Kingdom’s job management technology sector by strengthening the relationship between contractor and customer through an ‘on-the-job’ quoting and sales module.

With simPRO’s Quote and Sales module, engineers will gain the ability to conduct previously office-exclusive tasks on the job site, with an emphasis on field sales capabilities.

The module provides detailed information on goods, services and materials which customers can select from an aesthetically pleasing layout. Engineers can then provide accurate real-time estimates for customers to act upon in their own time or on the spot.

The module will also sell customers membership options which can influence the price of every option offered within a quotation.

simPRO’s Quote and Sales module is the first of many services available through the company’s new simPRO Mobile line, which was developed to allow job management tasks to be conducted from previously inconvenient locations.

simPRO Chief Technology Officer Jonathan Eastgate said the module’s function would help businesses across the UK extend service offerings and bring new efficiencies to mobile sales and administration.

“With our new Quote and Sales module, engineers can present multiple options for their customers before quoting and can even upsell on products and services. They can also then show images of catalogue items, play videos and display supporting materials such as manuals to customers which makes the whole quoting process very interactive.”

Mr Eastgate said the ability for engineers to make efficient on-the-job sales and to cut through red tape without the need of a desk is not just a win for businesses that use simPRO.

“Our clients’ customers also benefit from the drastic reduction in logistical stress. Imagine a world where you can immediately receive an on-site sales consultation, select what you need from a range of options, receive and sign for a quote and then see the work begin straight away.

“Often what gets in the way of this is the need to add that administrative step – to stop what’s happening on the job site and take an administrative step to place orders, generate quotes or make additions or alterations to a job,” he said.

“What matters most is the work done by those who use simPRO and the benefits that are felt by all parties involved. We want businesses throughout the UK to succeed and their customers to receive the best service.”

Successfully integrating with external systems like Quickbooks, Xero, Gmail and Outlook, simPRO will also provide Quote and Sales module users real-time office-to-field connectivity with technical support available 24 hours a day, six days a week across the world.

The Quote and Sales module will be available to the UK’s current field licence-holding simPRO Enterprise customers at no extra cost, giving simPRO’s mobile users the ability to take to the road immediately for free.

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Kevin McNally, Sales Director for Asolvi gives us a sneak preview of a forthcoming white paper that outlines how to build a case for investment in Field Service Management systems by outlining how Return On Investment is such a fundamental part of the equation...

 

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Is building a case for investment in FSM a key topic for you?! There is a full white paper on this topic available to fieldservicenews.com subscribers. Click the button below to get fully up to speed!

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Whilst, of course, each and every business has its own unique strengths and weaknesses, there are now certainly enough case studies available on this topic for us to be able to predict fairly confidently, that the implementation of a field service solution if done correctly, will likely  deliver considerable Return on Investment (ROI) within a relatively short time-frame.

In fact, perhaps the biggest challenge is exactly how to calculate the ROI that you are achieving as the benefits come in many different guises and various different aspects of the business!

For example, when implementing a Field Service Management (FSM) solution you can expect to see ROI come from various areas of business expense, including:

• Increasing the utilisation of your existing resources, both in the office and the field allowing you to achieve more without adding additional resources by taking advantage of tools that deliver improved scheduling and workforce planning.
• Warranty control, how often is your service just given away for free because it is uncertain to your engineer if the customer is under warranty – it happens more than you would imagine even in the biggest of businesses, especially if you don’t have a warranty management embedded in your FSM system.
• Reducing the costs of unnecessary second visits. By having greater visibility into the service call as well as parts availability field service companies can ensure the right engineers are being sent with the right tools to do the job first time around. Given that the truck roll is generally the biggest cost line on a field service P&L improving First-Time-Fix will likely deliver significant ROI all by itself.
• Greater transparency and detail within your parts management etc, It is not just with improving first time fix that parts management within an FSM can deliver ROI. Field Service operations are unique in that stock is by necessity in constant transit. Companies can have millions of pounds tied unnecessarily up in van or garage stock which can disappear into a reporting black-hole unless a fit-for-purpose solution is in place.
• Significant costs that might have seemed a necessary evil such as paper and ink can be eliminated through digitising admin in the field with mobile technology.

 

The Impact of the Cloud

Perhaps the most important development of recent years in terms of gaining ROI from an FSM solution is the shift to Cloud becoming the most prevalent means of deployment for such systems.

Indeed, the benefits of Cloud computing are numerous but in terms of the ROI equation, there are perhaps three big aspects to consider.

Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, the widespread adoption of Cloud has led to most FSM solutions now being offered on Software as a Service model, where the FSM solution provider charges a monthly fee on a per-user basis. One of the big impacts of this trend has been that smaller and medium-sized companies that previously would have found such systems cost prohibitive on a CAPEX basis, could now access the tools that enabled there larger competitors to deliver more efficient service.

However, as the cost of a FSM solution is spread out on a monthly basis, it also becomes far easier for the ROI of that investment to become visible on a P&L sheet that isn’t carrying the heavy initial burden of the outlay of a CAPEX investment.

 

"When a solution is deployed by Cloud there is far less drain on internal resources for the service provider as the FSM vendor now bears a much heavier share of the workload in terms of actual IT support etc..."

 

Secondly, when a solution is deployed by Cloud there is far less drain on internal resources for the service provider as the FSM vendor now bears a much heavier share of the workload in terms of actual IT support etc.

Additionally, unlike an on premise solution which could be vulnerable to unseen issues such as flood, fire or even malicious attack, a Cloud-based solution will allow a service organisation to continue operating even should the unthinkable happen – meaning no lost revenue that may be generated from field service related streams.

Finally, Cloud based FSM solutions are in general, significantly quicker to implement compared to more traditional on premise equivalents, meaning that the field service operation can feel the benefits sooner, and thus start seeing that ROI quicker as well.

It is important to remember however, that ROI is just one of many aspects that can be used to build a case for investment in a FSM solution and we shall be exploring this and others in a forthcoming white paper with fieldservicenews.com

 

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