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ServiceMax, Inc., a leader in asset-centric, Field Service Management software provides the following preliminary results for its fiscal Q3 2022 that ended on October 31, 2021.

Preliminary Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2022 Financial Highlights

• Total Revenue: Total revenue was $33.2 million during the third quarter of fiscal 2022, representing an increase of 20% year-over-year. Excluding the impact of purchase accounting for the third quarter of fiscal 2021, total revenue increased 19% year-over-year.
• Subscription Revenue: Subscription revenue was $28.7 million during the third quarter of fiscal 2022, representing an increase of 23% year-over-year. Excluding the impact of purchase accounting for the third quarter of fiscal 2021, subscription revenue increased 21% year-over-year.
• Operating Results: Loss from operations was ($14.0) million during the third quarter of fiscal 2022, compared to ($15.8) million during the third quarter of fiscal 2021. Non-GAAP loss from operations was ($3.0) million during the third quarter of fiscal 2022, compared to ($5.6) million during the third quarter of fiscal 2021.

Business Highlights

• Closed acquisition of LiquidFrameworks on November 1, 2021, which advances ServiceMax's Field Service Management capabilities in the energy sector ("LiquidFrameworks Acquisition"). The acquisition was financed with cash on hand and a new $100 million term loan.
• Announced that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") has declared effective Pathfinder Acquisition Corporation's ("Pathfinder") registration statement on Form S-4 (File No. 333-258769) relating to the previously announced proposed business combination of Pathfinder and ServiceMax (the "Business Combination"). The Extraordinary General Meeting of Pathfinder shareholders to approve the pending Business Combination between Pathfinder and ServiceMax, among other items, is scheduled for December 7, 2021, at 10:00 am ET.

The foregoing financial information for the quarter ended October 31, 2021 is unaudited and subject to quarter-end adjustments in connection with the completion of our customary financial closing procedures. Such changes could be material. ServiceMax will release full financial results for the three and nine months ended October 31, 2021, on December 9, 2021.

Financial Outlook

ServiceMax is providing financial guidance for its fourth quarter ending January 31, 2022, inclusive of the LiquidFrameworks Acquisition, as follows:

• Total revenue between $38.5 million and $39.5 million, representing an increase of 37% year-over-year at midpoint of the range.
• Subscription revenue between $34.0 million and $35.0 million, representing an increase of 42% year-over-year at midpoint of the range.
• Non-GAAP operating loss between $(7) million and $(6) million.

ServiceMax is providing financial guidance for its fiscal year 2022 ending January 31, 2022, inclusive of the LiquidFrameworks Acquisition, as follows:

• Total revenue between $134 million and $135 million, representing an increase of 23% year-over-year at midpoint of the range.
• Subscription revenue between $116 and $117 million, representing an increase of 28% year-over-year at midpoint of the range.
• Non-GAAP operating loss between ($18) million and ($17) million.

Financial Outlook

On July 15, 2021, ServiceMax entered into a business combination agreement with Pathfinder, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company co-sponsored by affiliates of HGGC and Industry Ventures, which was amended and restated on August 12, 2021. The Business Combination is expected to close in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2021. The transaction is expected to deliver as much as $335 million of gross proceeds to the combined company, assuming no redemptions by Pathfinder shareholders, and including proceeds from a strategic common equity investment immediately prior to closing by leading software companies (PTC Inc. and Salesforce Ventures) at the same per share valuation as the Business Combination transaction. The closing of the Business Combination is expected to result in ServiceMax becoming a Nasdaq listed company under the ticker symbol "SMAX".

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Further Reading:

• Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
• Read more about ServiceMax on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/servicemax
• Find out more about ServiceMax @ www.servicemax.com
• Connect with ServiceMax on LinkedIn @ www.linkedin.com/company/servicemax/
• Follow ServiceMax on Twitter @ twitter.com/ServiceMax

In this article for Field Service News, Daniel Brebac, Director of Global Customer Transformation at ServiceMax, discusses why many service organizations are struggling to fill the gaps in their workforce right now and how they can improve their recruiting strategy.

A couple of years ago I was at a Field Service conference, engaged in the round robin style networking chats that we all know so well. Those are generally an opportunity for the companies that sponsor the show to chat with the individuals that attend. You have some nice banter about what the company or individual does, then you go on your way. On this occasion, two conversations stuck in my memory. One because I found it fascinating how their organization was attempting to turn the plant-based beverage market on its head, and the other because they seemed to have solved one of the largest issues that has plagued many asset service management companies – discovering the future of service techs.

For as long as I have been involved in service, my experience has led to a few truths:

#1 - Proactive maintenance is beneficial only if you are collecting and analyzing actionable data

#2 - Tracking parts can lead to one of the largest bottom-line savings in the service organization

#3 - Most service companies are still wrestling with how to counter the silver tsunami and attract the next generation of service talent to their organization

When trying to recruit more people to the abundance of career opportunities that exist in service, it helps to know what is important to your audience. I am reminded of a quote by Tracee Ellis Ross: “I am learning every day to allow the space between where I am and where I want to be, to inspire me and not terrify me.” The company that solved the issue around the future of service techs understood this. The Vice President that I spoke with had a connection to the local high schools and started his recruiting there. They shared the vision for where their target audience wanted to be in life, and how they could help get them there. As they joined the organization, these young adults received training, benefits, and were well compensated for the work that they did. Additionally, the company made sure to do annual resume reviews with the service techs, where they would help them to spruce up their resume to ensure they were prepared to take the next step in their journey if they wanted to look for growth opportunities in the future.

Let’s go back to the points of importance, because I don’t want anyone to miss the key takeaways when building their new recruiting strategy.

#1 – Compensation and Benefits

Let’s get down to brass tacks here – if a tech can make more money going somewhere else, or doing something else, there is a good chance they will leave. You must ensure that your compensation package is competitive in the market. Do your market research. I once spoke with a group of techs that jumped back and forth between companies for incremental raises.The companies spent more money on recruiting the service engineers back, than if they had just given them a raise in the first place!

#2 – Career Path

Many would assume that helping an employee with their resume will cause them to leave. In working with an employee on this, the company is demonstrating a couple things: they are committed to your growth as an individual, and they are recognizing your continued increased value over the years you’ve invested. Perhaps the tech doesn’t realize that they now have senior level experience on XYZ machine, and that qualifies them to spend some time training the new hires, instead of in the field. For techs with young families, this can be a huge benefit. Many techs spend a lot of time on the road, and the ability to spend a little more time at home with their family can lead to increased levels of employee satisfaction and retention. Expanding on that idea a little further, organizations must realize that there is not a singular path to becoming a valued part of the service team; multiple paths with varied career growth options is a must.

#3 – Emerging Technology

Generations that have grown up with the internet and cell phones in their hands have an expectation of utilization of technology to simplify their work. Many service organizations and solution providers have begun implementing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Augmented Reality (AR) solutions into their service organization. Knowing they will be able to utilize future technologies in their workplace is exciting, has the benefit of making their job easier, and gets your techs in the field independently at a faster pace. If they have an issue with an asset, and a senior tech is available to coach them while working on the piece of equipment, the job is done quicker, the first time, and the need to return is reduced.

Many organizations are struggling to fill the gaps in their workforce right now; but the service industry has the distinct advantage in that it can provide on the job training, a shorter onboarding time, future careers opportunities, and strong compensation. Showcasing these strengths and understanding who you are trying to recruit will position your business for continued growth well into the future.

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Further Reading:

• Read more about Leadership and Strategy @ www.fieldservicenews.com/leadership-strategy
• Read news and articles about ServiceMax @ www.fieldservicenews.com/servicemax
• Find out more about ServiceMax @ www.servicemax.com/uk
• Connect with Daniel Brebac on LinkedIn @ www.linkedin.com/danielbrabec/
• Follow ServiceMax on Twitter @ twitter.com/ServiceMax

ServiceMax, Inc., a leader in asset-centric field service management, has announced that FUJIFILM Healthcare Europe has selected and deployed ServiceMax’s field service management platform for the digitization of its service operations in Europe. As part of its move from a product-focused services strategy to outcome-based solutions, ServiceMax is empowering FUJIFILM Healthcare Europe to better support hospitals and other medical providers with more personalized solutions and service maintenance as they continue the expansion of treatment and diagnostic capabilities available to patients.

SERVICEMAX DRIVING OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE, EFFICIENCY AND DIGITAL MONITORING OF KPIs

“By digitizing its service operations, FUJIFILM Healthcare Europe will drive operational excellence through optimised processes, delivering greater customer and employee satisfaction and more efficient service planning.

“We already had plans to move our service technicians away from pen and paper, but COVID-19 forced us to rethink healthcare and connect digitally,” said Jean-Luc Budillon, President and COO at FUJIFILM Healthcare Europe. “Our vision is to become a leading healthcare company with excellent customer experience and innovative solutions. With our shift to outcome-based solutions, the ServiceMax platform ensures we will always be able to provide timely and personalized assistance to our engineers whilst still being able to prioritize individual relationships and commitments with our customers. We are a passionate team going the extra mile for our customers, and ServiceMax is the right partner to help us take service care to the next level.”

By completely digitizing its technical service support process, FUJIFILM Healthcare Europe has instant and easy access to critical customer information, such as machines installed, contract details and warranty duration, as well as specific parts. The company can now optimize service planning and improve the management of spare parts, and ultimately provide a better customer experience.

“With ServiceMax, we can plan resources more efficiently and provide faster and more proactive customer support with all the necessary information directly available, enabling our engineers to take immediate decisions,” added Robbert Merkus, Head of Services Europe at FUJIFILM Healthcare Europe. “ServiceMax also simplifies our review process with dashboard monitoring and management of all KPIs for our outcome-based solutions.”

ServiceMax was deployed in Italy in November 2020 and is currently rolling out across Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, UK, DACH and France.

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Further Reading:

• Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
• Read more about ServiceMax on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/servicemax
• Read more about Healthcare on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/healthcare
• Find out more about ServiceMax @ www.servicemax.com
• Learn more about FujiFilm Healthcare Europe @ hce.fujifilm.com
• Follow ServiceMax on Twitter @ twitter.com/ServiceMax

We know that the service department is probably the single largest contributor to the margin of your organization. But when I would ask you: when do you know you are doing a great job? What is your reference, your yard stick? We know the call for great, greater and greatest. CFO’s want even more margin contribution. CEO’s want to have more revenue and market share.

In this article, Coen Jeukens, VP of Global Customer Transformation at ServiceMax, and Joe Kenny, Vice President, Global Customer Transformation & Customer Success at ServiceMax, will show you some basic building blocks to manage your Service Profitability & Growth agenda.

It is an age-old dilemma for Operations Managers. Your CEO wants XX% revenue growth, your CFO wants XX% cost reduction, your CRO wants better references and higher NPS scores, and you are supposed to deliver all of this with zero additional investment, because – of course – you have been doing this for years with no additional cash, so why would you need it now?

To top all of this off, you had very little idea of where you stood, operationally or financially, at any given time. And this was due to the fast that access to real time data, a current view into work in process, and accurate financial information was all impossible to come by.

Historic Challenges

I often speak at conferences and participate in webinars, and I often relate this anecdote – in March I would lay out my operational plan, based on the most recent P&L statement I had received (January’s), intending to address performance weaknesses I had uncovered. My team would execute the plan and in May I would receive my March P&L to see if the response to January’s performance shortfalls were successful of not. It was madness.

Now, layer onto that, the fact that 30, 60, 90-day invoicing accruals were also Operation’s responsibility, even though we had an AP department. This process greatly impacted both revenue and cost, as the cost of service was consumed, but the associated revenue may not have arrived in 90 days.

Enter the Age of Digital Transformation

Fast forward to today, and service operations managers have been given a lifeline—digital transformation. Digital transformation can be like a light switch, illuminating what is happening in real time, allowing service operations leaders to adapt to circumstances immediately. They can reallocate precious resources instantly, validate payment status and credit status prior to service delivery, and see and understand the impact of operational plans in real time.

Digital asset and service management platforms can provide real time performance measurements, both foundational and top line. This includes data round first time fix rate, mean time to repair, mean time between failures, and equipment up time. With this data, operations managers can organize and drive for peak utilization of labor resources while ensuring that the training and quality of the work is optimal, thereby increasing the efficiency of their organization and lowering the cost to deliver excellent service.

With today’s platforms, functionality and tools, service operations are finally on par with our commercial partners and can see, and act, on upsell, cross sell, renewals, and service contract extensions instantaneously. In addition, we can support sales by identifying and helping them target competitors’ equipment for targeted replacement, becoming the eyes of the commercial team on the customer’s location.

Newfound Financial Control

Utilizing a digital solution allows for real time tracking of labor, parts consumed, travel, and any other costs associated with a service call, regardless of whether it is a T&M call or in support of a warranty/service contract entitlement. This is a key advantage that enables service operations leaders to not only manage labor and parts expenses far more granularly, but they can also evaluate the revenue associated with the service provided to validate if the pricing is correct based on their revenue and margin targets.

This ability to understand the Cost to Serve an asset or entitlement agreement in real time is a huge step forward for service operations. It gives them the data they need to truly align entitlement pricing, cost control, operational efficiency and productivity to accurately manage and forecast their performance and address fundamental issues that are obstacles to achieving their own performance objectives.

The evolution of equipment and asset service management platforms has greatly assisted service operations professionals in attaining the insight, visibility, and control that their commercial and financial counterparts have enjoyed for decades. As asset and equipment maintenance and service becomes a larger and larger part of most organizations’ revenue and margin contributions, it is important that they equip teams with the technology that enables them to better manage and control their operations.

ServiceMax will be exhibiting at the Field Service N Expo on October 27^th and 28^th and can be found on stand B6.

To sign up for the FSN Expo please click here.

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Further Reading:

• Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
• Read news and articles about ServiceMax @ www.fieldservicenews.com/servicemax
• Read more articles by Coen Jeukens on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/coen-jeukens
• Read more articles by Joe Kenny on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/joe-kenny
• Find out more about ServiceMax @ www.servicemax.com/uk
• Follow ServiceMax on Twitter @ twitter.com/ServiceMax

The top three most important trends affecting the future of field service are new pricing models, data as an asset, and standardizing and simplifying processes, according to new research conducted by Bain & Company and ServiceMax, a leader in asset-centric field service management software. The global study, “Future of Field Services”, which includes survey data from 283 field service technicians and 25 service executives across the US and Europe, looked at the future of services, organization maturity and trends across commercial models, operations and technology, as well as key challenges and enablers in the field service arena.

THIS CO-AUTHORED GLOBAL STUDY EMPHASIZES THE EVOLVING SERVICE BUSINESS MODEL, THE IMPORTANCE OF ASSET DATA AND OPPORTUNITIES TO REDUCE WASTE AND FRICTION

“In addition to giving us insights into the future of service, the research highlights opportunities to both eliminate waste and reduce friction in service organizations, as well as increase service value and monetize engagement,” said Sumair Dutta, industry analyst and senior director of digital transformation at ServiceMax. “Field service is changing, and the pace of change is likely to accelerate in the next three to five years. This study shows key areas where service executives can close the gap between strategic expectations in the boardroom and tactical execution by technicians in the field, such as empowering cross-selling and upselling enablement, streamlining and simplifying processes, and properly training a digitally-empowered field force.”

According to service executives, the number one trend set to impact the future of field services is the creation of new commercial opportunities, such as the evaluation of new pricing models. Executives increasingly expect their field forces to play a role in selling services, with some companies generating up to 30% of service revenue originated by technicians. However, 70% of surveyed technicians feel they are not particularly skilled to drive sales.

Service executives said the second most important trend is harnessing data as an asset. However, 47% claim current tools aren’t easy to learn and use, and 60% of technicians say that when they’re asked to collect data, they don’t know the reason behind it. Increased access to data is particularly important for supporting dynamic pricing and changes to the commercial model, such as shifting from selling reactive service to selling solutions and outcomes.

Service leaders identified the standardization and simplification of processes as the third most important trend. However, one in three technicians report struggling with current processes. To address this, service leaders should prioritize standardizing the largest part of processes, customizing to specific market dynamics only when required, and embedding customer feedback loops into process continuous improvement efforts.

“In capital-intensive industries, field service has become increasingly critical to growth, profitability and commercial performance,” said Prashant Iyer, a partner in Bain & Company’s Advanced Manufacturing & Services practice. “We at Bain & Company believe that the people closest to the work, those on the frontlines, often have the most valuable input about their business. While there’s no shortage of trends affecting the quickly evolving field service market, this new research allows us to narrow in on the most critical pain points and solutions, as told by the technicians and executives leading this work.”

The full Bain Brief can be accessed here

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Further Reading:

• Read more about Leadership and Strategy @ www.fieldservicenews.com/leadership-and-strategy
• Read more about ServiceMax on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/servicemax
• Download a copy of the "Future of Field Service" study @ lp.servicemax.com/Bain-Report-2021
• Find out more about ServiceMax @ www.servicemax.com
• Follow ServiceMax on Twitter @ twitter.com/ServiceMax

Is social media being woefully underused in our industry, or is it a saturated mass communication tool that lacks the nuance required for effective customer interactions that drive service excellence amongst field service companies? Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News writes... 

Social media has perhaps had a more significant impact on human society than any other technology in our history. It has evolved rapidly from sharing pictures of cute cats to becoming an integral; some may even say insidious aspect of twenty-first-century living.

Rightly or wrongly, almost every aspect of our lives is touched by some form of social media. Regardless of whether you wish we had all just quit at the cat videos or if you've developed turbo-speed thumbs as a Facebook superuser, there is no denying the prevalence of social media.

And yes, social media advertising and PR are now a standard part of any communications strategy. We can confidently say that field service companies are all using social media.

The question is, can we, or indeed, should we be using it more?

In a recent session online discussion group hosted by Field Service News, Drs Severina Cartwright and Chris Raddats of University gave an excellent presentation based on a paper the two had co-authored with Dr Hongfei Liu of Southampton University. The paper outlined the strategic use of social media within business to business marketing.

In her presentation, Dr Cartwright outlined the findings of the paper, which was a review of the current academic literature, and she outlined three key areas that are prevalent in terms of how business-to-business organizations are leveraging social media.

These were:

Social Media as a sales facilitation tool:

• Moving away from the dyadic face-to-face relationships
• Introducing the early processes of a sale before a salesperson even initiates contact
• The emerging phenomena of social selling

Social media as an integrated communication tool:

• Creation of timely and valuable content
• The creation of both corporate and personal personas
• Influencing customers' reactions and engagement via the linguistic style of corporate content

Social media as an employee engagement tool:

• Empowering and driving employee citizenship and allowing them to develop a personal brand in line with the parameters of the corporate guidelines
• Positioning the organization and the employees as thought leaders

 

Dr Cartwright's presentation gave those in attendance an excellent viewpoint into the broad trends of social media use amongst business-to-business focused organizations, which offered plenty of food for thought for those on the session and led me to the question – are we underestimating the power of social media within the field service sector?

For example, would social media prove to be an effective tool for fault reporting or even triage, particularly as we continue to see the demographic shift within the workplace as millennials replace baby boomers and more modern forms of interaction become the preference?

To dig a little deeper into this hypothesis, we spoke to Katharina Streater, Senior Product Marketing Manager, ServiceMax.

When it comes to triage, however, Streater believes that social media doesn't offer enough depth of insight to provide meaningful value.

"While social media serves as a powerful tool to generate brand awareness and connect companies directly with their users, I don't believe it is an appropriate tool for service triage at B2Bs who manage a large installed base," Streater explains.

"Therefore, I don't think field service organizations are underestimating social media; rather, they are choosing to leverage it only in the places that drive value.

"For asset-centric service organizations, a support case requires more than a brief rundown of the problem by a user whose social media profile is not associated with their business, or even their full name. To properly handle a case, the agent needs to authenticate the user, identify the asset that needs service and the company they're associated with. Then they need to find the correct information on the customer contracts and the service level agreements before tackling the issue."

 

"Using social channels for support requires several manual steps until a case is resolved, and most often ends with taking the service request offline—often because it contains details that are proprietary or are a matter of data privacy..."

- Katharina Streater, Senior Product Marketing Manager, ServiceMax

 

These are all, of course, highly valid points that would suggest that the power of social media is an ill-fit with triage. However, perhaps the most critical issue of adopting such an approach wouldn't necessarily be in the triage, but in providing step-by-step issue resolution and giving the customer the clear understanding that their issue is being taken seriously and there is someone at the other end that is taking personal responsibility to ensure resolution – something that can be diluted by both social media and even many support ticket solutions if poorly implemented.

As Streater adds, "Social media is focused on communication, not providing a 360-degree view into a customer's SLA and asset data–information necessary to resolve a case.

"Using social channels for support requires several manual steps until a case is resolved, and most often ends with taking the service request offline—often because it contains details that are proprietary or are a matter of data privacy.

"What's more, communicating the wrong entitlement coverage puts service organizations at risk of revenue leakage."

This doesn't mean that social media doesn't have its place amongst the tools deployed by field service companies. As per Dr Cartwright's presentation, the role of social media in terms of employee engagement can be a significant positive.

 

"Our customers do see the value in connecting directly with end customers on social media, keeping an eye on customer sentiment, and responding when necessary..."

 

Such use wouldn't necessarily need to be on an external social media platform either, instantly thoughts go to the use of internal systems to help drive knowledge bases for engineers and technicians. The same gamification aspects common across social media (such as badges, for example) can be used to drive additions to a knowledge base from a pool of end-users. Similarly, upvoting and downvoting can drive the best solutions within the knowledge base to the top of a search - assisting in the surfacing and identification of the best potential resolution to any specific issue.

In terms of customer interaction, social media can play a considerable part in measuring broader customer sentiment analysis.

Indeed, in a recent study by Field Service News Research that focused on technology and customer satisfaction, we saw that those companies who monitored more sophisticated metrics such as social media and sentiment analysis were more than two times as likely to state that they believed their CSAT metrics offered a highly accurate reflection of their customer service standards.

This is something Streater also sees within the ServiceMax customer base.

"Our customers do see the value in connecting directly with end customers on social media, keeping an eye on customer sentiment, and responding when necessary," she comments.

However, the removal of the dyadic relationship that Dr Cartwright reflects is a trend within the use of social media as a sales-facilitation tool, is the exact aspect we want to avoid in the role of service triage and continuing resolution.

"Instead of relying on social media for service triage," Streater explains, "our customers prefer to manage and control the process end-to-end from a secure, compliant app or portal experience. As opposed to social media, these tools give customers full visibility into their assets and service history and allow them to connect directly with a support agent who has all the information on hand to resolve the case."

Social media is indeed a powerful and prevalent tool. There is undoubtedly more we can do with it as an industry; however, as with every technology, it is essential to understand its limitations and strengths to use it appropriately.

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Further Reading:

• Read more from Academia @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/the-view-from-academia
• Read more from Field Service News Research @ https://research.fieldservicenews.com/
• Read more about Digital Transformation @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/digital-transformation
• Read more about ServiceMax on Field Service News @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/hs-search-results?term=servicemax
• Find out more about ServiceMax @ https://www.servicemax.com/uk
• Follow ServiceMax on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/ServiceMax

In this new article for Field Service News, Coen Jeukens, VP of global customer transformation at ServiceMax, explains how to create a custom fitness plan to keep your assets in shape...

Do you have this feeling that the battery of your phone drains faster and faster? Internet forums are full of testimonials and resolutions for keeping your battery in tip-top shape. How does this apply to B2B products, equipment and assets? Can asset owners monitor the performance of the equipment, and what handles do they have to maintain output/ outcome at the nominal level promised at point of sale?

For many years I’ve captured the digital and service transformation journey in a single tagline: “from fixing what breaks to knowing what works.” The message is driven by a simple principle: customers expect things to work. Even more, they expect the outcome of the asset to be stable over the lifecycle.

Another simple truth is that everything eventually deteriorates and breaks. This prompts the following questions:

• What is the life expectancy of the asset?
• What do I need to do to keep the asset in shape?
• What can I do to extend the life cycle of the asset?

Building a Fitness Plan

Preventive maintenance might be the first thing that comes to mind as the way to keep your assets in shape. But what does preventive maintenance (PM) prevent? And how does it affect asset performance and life expectancy? This was a tough question to answer when one of my counterparts in procurement, who was looking to reduce the selling price of a service contract, asked me, “What will happen when we reduce the PM effort by lengthening the interval?” This was even more difficult to answer when it became a numbers game, and the purchaser asked me to prove the offset between PM and break-fix.

So where do we look next? I propose condition-based maintenance.

We know that the performance of an asset will deteriorate over time, and we know the rate of deterioration will depend on various attributes like aging and usage. Because these attributes are measurable, we can use them as levels to trigger a service intervention.

So rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach based on time intervals, you can create a custom fitness plan for keeping your assets in shape. One that looks at the condition of the asset in relation to its expected performance. This can look like an intervention being triggered when the output of an asset or the viscosity of a lubricant drops below a certain threshold.

To continue with the fitness metaphor, we often don’t just want to stay in shape—we also want to increase our longevity and even get in better shape as we age. When it comes to your assets, this is where mid-life upgrades, booster-packs and engineering changes come into play. And in the same way that you use predefined levers to trigger service interventions, you should use these levers to trigger updates, upgrades and lifecycle extensions.

Both of these service strategies use asset health at the core of your service delivery model, steering you away from ‘fixing what breaks’ and towards ‘knowing what works.’

A Real Life Example

Imagine you have a pump and valve combination that has a nominal capacity of 140 m3/h.

If you used a preventive maintenance model that runs every 6 months, it would not take into account the age of the pump and valve combination, nor would it account for the corrosiveness of the transported materials.

But if you took a condition-based approach using IoT-connected sensors, you could measure attributes like vibration, temperature, and energy consumption and use them as indicators for asset performance. For example, if the capacity drops below 130 m3/h, a service intervention would be triggered. It’s like the pump saying: “I’m not feeling well, I need medicine.” On top of this, if you detect the pump is consistently pushed beyond original specifications, you can know that it’s necessary to initiate an upgrade conversation to safeguard asset health and durability

Asset Centricity

The common theme of these service strategies is asset centricity. It’s about putting asset health at the core of your service delivery model and continuously comparing an asset’s current output with its expected performance.

By looking at current performance, expected performance and demand, you can also advise your customers on when it’s time to downgrade or upgrade the asset. Through this asset-centric lens, you can truly become a fitness coach, advising your customers on the right fitness program that will keep their assets in tip-top shape.

Learn more about IoT and condition-based maintenance here.

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Further Reading:

• Read more about Leadership and Strategy @ www.fieldservicenews.com/leadership-and-strategy
• Read news and articles about ServiceMax @ www.fieldservicenews.com/servicemax
• Read more articles by Coen Jeukens on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/coen-jeukens
• Find out more about ServiceMax @ www.servicemax.com/uk
• Follow ServiceMax on Twitter @ twitter.com/ServiceMax

In this new article, we look with SimPRO at how field service organisations can consolidate and fully integrate new technologies within their existing technology ecosystem...

What's in your current tech stack?

Over the past 10 years the field service industry has seen a boom in technologies aimed at streamlining daily operations. Adopting new pieces of software has since become key to running a large and successful field service business and solving everyday problems in the office and the field. Office managers and admin teams use accounting software to invoice and track cash flow, stock management software to oversee stock levels and order job-specific materials, and mobile apps to schedule field staff and communicate job-specific information. On top of this, teams in the field are utilising technology to help cost and quote jobs, submit health and safety compliance, communicate effectively with customers using email and SMS automation, and much more. As new technologies have gradually been adopted however, many businesses are noting a common issue: The different pieces of software in their tech stack do not integrate with one another, resulting in too much time spent on double data entry and a lack of reporting capabilities. If this sounds familiar, it may be time to update your tech stack to ensure all the software and apps your business is using integrate with one another.

What should you look for when identifying the best tech stack for your field service business

Is it cloud-based?

Does it integrate with your accounting partner?

This one is a deal-breaker. If the tech you’re using to track timesheets and travel times, manage stock levels, raise POs and quote jobs does not integrate with your accounting software how will you ensure your invoicing is accurate and you’re reporting on all accrued costs?

Does it integrate with your key suppliers?

Managing stock levels and ordering job-specific materials requires time and resources. When it comes to choosing a piece of software to streamline the process it’s advisable to choose one that both allows you to order stock as part of a specific job and syncs with your key suppliers catalogues. This integration with key suppliers not only saves time, but will ensure you have up-to-date pricing for more accurate estimating.

Does the mobile app act as more than a timesheet?

For bigger businesses in particular, having your field staff head into the office daily to collect and submit paperwork wastes precious time. To ensure field staff are maximising their billable hours businesses need to choose the best mobile app for their workflow. When picking a mobile app it is important that it can assist with the scheduling and dispatching of field staff, as well as tracking their progress in the field. But more than that, it’s key to choose an app that acts as a medium for field staff to upload job notes and photos, submit compliance forms and quote from the field.

Are you able to automate your customer communications?

In order to automate customer communications your SMS or automated email service needs to be able to pull data from both your scheduling system (to update customers about your expected arrival times), and your accounting system (to send and chase up unpaid invoices). If these systems don’t integrate with one another this could lead to wasted time spent on double data entry.

Can you report on productivity and profitability?

As well as the additional administrative time caused by non-integrated technologies, another limitation you may encounter is the shortfall in your reporting abilities. By ensuring all the technologies you’re using talk to one another you’re also ensuring you can report on all aspects of your business in real-time. This is invaluable as reporting not only allows you to track the productivity and profitability of jobs, but also enables you to highlight areas of improvement and potential cost savings.

It is safe to say that more and more technologies will continue to emerge in the field service industry. When it comes to assessing whether your business needs to add these to your tech stack however, the most important thing to consider is whether it fully integrates with your entire technology ecosystem. Only when your tech stack is integrated will you reach peak efficiency, grow your business and grow your profits.

Streamline your tech stack with cloud-based job management software, simPRO. This end-to-end system provides solutions for every field service workflow, including service, project and maintenance jobs, and integrates with key accounting software and suppliers.

simPRO can help businesses of all sizes streamline their processes and increase visibility, ultimately increasing profitability. Interested in aligning your tech stack with simPRO?

Learn more here.

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Further Reading:

• Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
• Read news and articles about SimPRO @ www.fieldservicenews.com/simPRO
• Learn more about how SimPRO can help field services organisations @ www.fieldservicenews.com/all-about-simpro
• Find out more about simPRO @ www.simprogroup.com
• Follow SimPRO on Twitter @ twitter.com/simprosoftware

Having recently caught up with ServiceMax CEO, Neil Barua, Field Service News Editor-in-Chief, Kris Oldland realised just how unusual the story of ServiceMax is amongst tech companies. It is a story of twists and turns and now that Barua is driving forward his own chapter in that story, Oldland felt it was an appropriate time to recount the epic tale of the start-up that changed the industry before becoming worth almost a Billion Dollars and ask Barua where the next chapter is going to be set in these most disrupted of times...

Most tech companies have a decent origin story.

Indeed, many could (and often have been) the subject of an entire book of their own. However, not many companies have the oh so many twists and turns that ServiceMax has had. The life story for most companies within the small $25Bn corner of the enterprise tech world that we in the field service sector call home is mostly Mills and Boon. A brief account of love that ends in the protagonist being whisked away to a quieter life far away from the frantic frontier world of innovation.

The tale of ServiceMax, at least to my mind, is more akin to the great epics, with a far less linear but ultimately more fulfilling story to be told, and like most great epics, it is a story that spans more than one volume.

Maybe it is simply because I have been personally close to the story from near the very start that I see it in this way - although I personally don’t think it is just that. I’ve been there at the birth of several companies within our sector. I’ve watched them flourish and then watched them fade back into the general noise of the industry as the cycle of innovation and acquisition, acquisition and innovation rumble ever onwards.

Such companies, the Coresystems’, the TOA’s and the FieldOne’s, all had their stories. They all had their heroes, and they all had their moments in the sun. Yet, there was a sense of inevitability when it came to the final chapter. Slowly, inevitably, they became assimilated into the corporate colours of the respective industry giants that acquired them along the way. There is no shame in that. Indeed, it is the way these things are generally done; ultimately, the innovators almost always end up becoming a footnote in someone else’s story.

 

"From these humble origins, which can be traced back to a two-week project Athani and Hari initially built for a client under the moniker of Maxplore, ServiceMax quickly rose from start-up to genuine market leader in record time..."

 

And this is what makes the ServiceMax story so intriguing.

Despite being the biggest prize of them all, despite hitting the headlines across the global technology press when GE acquired them for close to a Billion dollars, simultaneously shining a spotlight onto our sector like never before, the GE chapter remains a footnote in the ServiceMax saga and not the other way around.

As I say, I’ve been privileged to have a front-row seat for almost a decade in the ServiceMax journey. For me, as an outside observer watching the company move through its various evolutions, there are three very distinct personas of a company that has dominated our industry headlines for that same period.

Firstly, there was the brash, brightly coloured ServiceMax, all bold colours, orange lettering against a big blue cloud if I recall. Built on the Salesforce platform but identifying a gap in the market and meeting it long before the rest of the world had begun to catch up. This first iteration was the story of the plucky start-up rising to become the industry titan. It was a true story of disruption and vision.

It was only over the year’s as I got to know then CEO Dave Yarnold better that I realised just how humble the origins had been for the company. I remember Yarnold recalling one story about their rented office in a tucked-away corner of Silicon Valley lovingly nicknamed the beige palace and having to head over to Best-Buy to pick up a TV so he and founders Hari (Subramanian) and Athani (Krishna) could give a presentation to their first-ever prospect.

Yet, from these humble origins, which can be traced back to a two-week project Athani and Hari initially built for a client under the moniker of Maxplore, ServiceMax quickly rose from start-up to genuine market leader in record time.

“We looked at what everybody was doing around service and we thought everyone was missing the point,” Yarnold explained in an interview with me back in late 2016. It was this confidence that they had found a missing piece of the puzzle that oozed throughout the business. The best way to describe how ServiceMax operated in this period was with the confident swagger of a youthful start-up that knew they were destined for the stars.

Of course, the rise was meteoric. By the time they had reached the top of the FSM tree, the value of that success was the acquisition of ServiceMax by GE for an eye-watering $915 Million. While rumours of various potential suitors to acquire the Pleasanton based company had been circulating for some time, this was an acquisition from the left-field not only regarding the price tag but also, who was paying it.

However, as the dust settled, increasingly the acquisition on the surface at least, seemed to make sense. As Scott Berg, former ServiceMax COO who took over the CEO mantle from Yarnold after the initial transition to GE had been completed, explained to me when I sat down with him at the Minds and Machines conference back in 2017.

“I think with GE being largely a company and culture built around engineers, we have both shared an asset centric perspective on service. For us, it was always about a system of assets in the field that customers wanted outputs and outcomes from - we were never about being your typical field service, scheduling only solution. For us it was an awareness of the people, the schedule and the asset. And certainly GE’s culture is grounded in engineering, machinery and assets - so we are on the same page.”

Indeed, if the first iteration of ServiceMax was characterised by a swashbuckling and pioneering approach to rethinking field service management, the GE period in their history was one better characterised by a more restrained and cohesive approach as part of a bigger, more holistic whole.

 

"If you look at GE as a company, I like to call it the largest field service company in the world. There are tens of thousands of technicians, and the vast majority of revenue at GE is derived from service contracts”

- Scott Berg, Former CEO, ServiceMax

 

As Berg had explained, “if you look at GE as a company, I like to call it the largest field service company in the world. There are tens of thousands of technicians, and the vast majority of revenue at GE is derived from service contracts”. Suddenly, the vision of the future of field service management that Hari, Anthani and Dave had successfully convinced our sector was the way forward was now backed up by an organisation that had the engineering gravitas to put it to the test and had backed that vision with an investment that broke all records within the FSM sector.

For many FSM companies, this is where the story may have ground to a halt. ServiceMax was increasingly aligned within the ill-fated GE Predix platform as part of GE Digital; this is the point in the story where all too often, rebrands occur, and the identity at the core of the acquired business is slowly eroded.

Yet, while the wider GE Digital business faltered (most notably Predix, which at the time was the archetypal solution for a problem no one had yet found), ServiceMax continued to report above industry earnings.

Indeed, when GE finally made the decision to carve out their GE Digital business into a standalone company (against a backdrop of analyst rumours of a distinct lack of buyers for the various elements of the portfolio and GE’s confidence in their move into growth tech markets appearing to wane), it is little wonder that ServiceMax, the jewel in the crown that had continued to shine in an ailing portfolio, remained the one valuable asset that GE could cash in on.

As such, SilverLake, the private equity firm with investment in significant technology brands such as Dell Technologies, Stripe and Peloton among many others, were able to take advantage of the uncertain future of GE Digital and introduce the third chapter into the ServiceMax story.

And the man shaping this latest chapter of the story is Neil Barua, current CEO of ServiceMax. I recall first meeting Neil within just a few days of his announcement as CEO as we met over a beer in the dry heat of the Palm Springs desert. It had been a long day for us both; I had been chairing the mainstream at Field Service USA; Neil had literally just arrived an hour or so before we met.

Yet, at the time, I recall saying to him that his passion for the role he had just taken on and the belief he expressed in the importance of how the field service sector keeps the world turning had echoes of some of those earliest conversations I had held with Yarnold almost a decade earlier.

It’s hard to pinpoint, but there was already a distinct hint of the confidence, the belief and the sheer desire to be the change that the world needs that came across in that first conversation.

Of course, in the two years in between, our world has changed immeasurably. The appealing idea of another relaxed conversation in the Californian sun seems like a long way off still as the dust settles from the pandemic.

Yet, in many ways, everything Barua said to me that evening about the importance of the field service sector was laid bare for us all to see as we collectively made our way through what have been truly unprecedented times.

 

“This is a time period where partnerships really matter, so we’ve reached across the aisle on both sides to make sure we do right by our customers...”

- Neil Barua, CEO, ServiceMax

 

His point about field service engineers being the unsung heroes of industry, now seems more prescient than ever after a year where it has been the field service workers that have quietly kept things ticking over while the rest of us adapted to the monotony of lockdown life safe in our private bubbles.

Neil and I have spoken occasionally in the intervening period, most notably after the announcement that Salesforce Ventures invested a further $80 Million into ServiceMax at a time when the partnership between the two is being firmly re-established.

It is another interesting twist in the tale, and to return to our literary metaphor from the beginning of this article; it is almost the classic plot of lost love rekindled. The classic 90s rom-com story arc of a reunion between two high-school lovers that had grown apart as they made their own paths in the world before rediscovering their affinity for each other at a later point when they are now both mature enough to realise how much they genuinely compliment each other.

ServiceMax, as we’ve covered, have had their growing pains, especially in the fall-out of the uncertainty of the GE Digital restructuring, but so to have Salesforce.

Like ServiceMax, they are another industry pioneer who for so long had so much potential to dominate within the FSM space given their position as the world’s number one CRM. Yet, somehow they never quite managed to hit the mark in terms of truly understanding the market’s needs in the granular detail that their peers and competitors did. This very much changed with the acquisition of ClickSoftware.

While the technology acquired was well accepted as an industry leader in the scheduling space, it was the depth of knowledge from former ClickSoftware CEO Mark Cantini (now GM Field Service Salesforce) and down throughout the team that has since moulded Salesforce into a true giant in the industry.

With Silverlake’s backing of ServiceMax and a newly invigorated Salesforce working in closer harmony, each aware of their own particular strengths they bring to the table, it is a formidable combination – and as our industry goes through the birth pains of seismic change brought on by the global disruption of the pandemic, to be blunt, our sector desperately needs our brightest and best innovators on top of their game and pulling in the same direction wherever possible.

As Barua commented when I spoke to him about the partnership while we were still in the depths of the pandemic, “this is a time period where partnerships really matter, so we’ve reached across the aisle on both sides to make sure we do right by our customers.”

At the heart of that partnership is Asset 360, which was at the centre of our last discussion when we caught up on Zoom a little earlier in the month.

“What does successful service delivery look like?” It was a question that we had drifted into as we had started to discuss just how much the perceived value of field service may have changed as our industry adapted to a post-pandemic world.

 

"As we continue to grow rapidly and expand into new industries with Asset 360, our core tenant of customer obsession still remains central to everything we do. All decisions we make around product and partnerships are all done with our customers in mind..."

- Neil Barua, CEO, ServiceMax

 

“For me,” Barua replied, “it absolutely requires a collection of well-orchestrated actions and data - an all-encompassing solution that supports the post-pandemic world. Honestly, that’s precisely where Asset 360 comes in – there really is no use case that we cannot support in this new era of work.

“It is one of the many reasons, that I’m incredibly optimistic about ServiceMax’s future. Despite all of the challenges and hardships we’ve faced in the last 18 months, we’ve moved so far, so fast and now the momentum is strong, to build a future that will take advantage of technologies to drive service excellence to a whole new level.”

Yet, for all the technological innovation that has come out of the ServiceMax team across the years and various iterations, there is one thing that remains consistent throughout. One thing that has become so woven into the company’s DNA that it has permeated through every incarnation and continues to shine through under Barua’s leadership.

That is an intimate understanding of the importance of customer-centricity, both for ServiceMax themselves but also for the industry they serve.

“As we continue to grow rapidly and expand into new industries with Asset 360, our core tenant of customer obsession still remains central to everything we do. All decisions we make around product and partnerships are all done with our customers in mind,” Barua explains.

“Our priority will always be to help them run more profitable, efficient service operations and ensure uptime on the world’s most important assets,” he adds.

If the first iteration of ServiceMax had the brash confidence of the arrogant start-up set to conquer the world, and the second iteration of ServiceMax had the confidence of being part of one of the world’s most iconic and successful brands, then this third iteration of ServiceMax has the confidence of a company that has been at the forefront of the industry for so long that they don’t just get the t-shirt, these guys make the t-shirts now.

Despite the significant investment from both Silverlake and Salesforce Ventures, ServiceMax distinctly has an air of entrepreneurship back in the mix and that stems no doubt from Barua’s own personal flair.

The entrepreneurial innovator is a role that just seems to suit the company better perhaps than the smaller cog in the corporate wheel that they had become under GE. It is hard to explain why, but some companies just have a natural persona and this third iteration of ServiceMax just seems to have found the right blend that fits with their corporate DNA.

Indeed, it is this blend of individual flair met with genuine passion and deep subject matter expertise that for me personifies ServiceMax and it is one that permeates across many members of the team I have grown to know well over the years (such as senior members of the Global Customer Transformation team like Kieran Notter and Coen Jeukens two of the brightest minds in the industry.)

Yet ServiceMax, also are making more measured movements this time around, perhaps having gone through the corporate machine, but equally in no small part down to Barua’s leadership and previous experience as CEO at fintech provider IPC Systems.

As our industry moves through yet another mass evolution, once again at a breakneck pace, indeed at a more incredible pace than ever before, I fully expect Barua’s iteration of ServiceMax to be at the vanguard of the innovation once more.

Whatever comes next, though, in the ServiceMax story, it almost certainly won’t be part of the standard script