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Germany's biggest foodservice company, Chefs Culinar, is upgrading to the newest version of Evatic, Asolvi's leading-edge software platform, to optimise its service chain and facilitate the acquisition of two companies.

Founded in 1981 and based in Kiel, Chefs Culinar supplies professional kitchen equipment and wholesale food products to six countries across Europe. Charged with servicing over 10,000 assets, Chefs Culinar has used Evatic software to manage all service and maintenance projects since 2011.

Now it's decided to upgrade to Evatic Insider under Asolvi's new licence agreement to take advantage of the software's newest features. Chefs Culinar's head of large-kitchen technology

Eric Holderied says, "Evatic Insider will streamline our service operation even further. We'll get access to the improved task handling and scheduling platform, which gives dispatchers more control and more flexibility. The just-released GDPR functions and documentation will help us comply with our new obligations. And the customer web portal will give our customers a lot more visibility. We'll also be able to better monitor our customer service levels thanks to the new customer satisfaction buttons in Evatic Mobile Service."

However, the main trigger for upgrading is Chefs Culinar's two recent acquisitions. This engendered a need to align the service management of the new companies with that of Chefs Culinar and its affiliatesHowever, the main trigger for upgrading is Chefs Culinar's two recent acquisitions. This engendered a need to align the service management of the new companies with that of Chefs Culinar and its affiliates. Holderied explains, "Evatic Insider comes with unlimited users so we'll be able to roll out the software across the two new companies easily and quickly. Integrating them with Chefs Culinar will be far smoother than if we'd stuck with the older version of Evatic."

Holderied goes on to explain one of the reasons why Chefs Culinar has maintained its partnership with Asolvi over the years. "Apart from the fact that its software makes service management a lot simpler and more profitable, the other thing we like about Asolvi is its commitment to knowing the professional kitchen industry inside out. They're keen to understand the needs and the problems that players in our industry face."

Asolvi currently stands as the number one vendor of service management software for professional kitchen companies in Germany.

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Asolvi is establishing itself as the supplier of choice for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the service management space across Europe. One of the ways it is doing this is by helping companies like Punt NL Groep in the Netherlands keep pace in a crowded market.

Punt NL Groep is an IT services, office equipment and document management solutions provider based in Drachten. It is modestly-sized and charged with managing and maintaining between 1,000 and 1,200 machines in the field (MIF).

There is intense pressure on companies of this scale to stay relevant in the document management space, which grows increasingly competitive and is dominated by constant technological change.There is intense pressure on companies of this scale to stay relevant in the document management space, which grows increasingly competitive and is dominated by constant technological change. That is why for the past three years Punt NL Groep has been using Asolvi's leading-edge software product, Evatic, an IoT-powered platform specially designed for the office print and document management industries.

Evatic combines automated data collection and processing with scheduling and task planning functionality, business intelligence tools and mobile technology to make the service operations of SMEs more profitable. Marco Visser, founder and CEO of Punt NL Groep, explains how Evatic is saving his company inordinate amounts of time so that it can focus on more important things.

"It saves us 20 hours a month of calculating and creating invoices and manually sending them out to customers after checking and re-checking," he says. "Now every step — from collecting the data from the machines to creating the invoices according to contract conditions to sending them out to customers — is all handled by Evatic automatically. Instead of 20 hours it takes us 30 minutes. It means our staff are able to be a lot more productive."

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We look at how power generation manufacturer Dale Power Solutions have improved their service delivery operations by using Eagle Field Service by Exel Computer Systems...

Company Profile:

Dale Power Solutions, based in Scarborough, employ around 300 people and have been manufacturing and providing maintenance services for generators and UPS systems since 1935.

The Challenge:

Dale Power Solutions had planned for increased efficiency throughout the business as a whole, but specifically targeted the service division for increased revenue growth.

The Solution:

A single ERP solution for manufacturing and service, with the flexibility to tune the solution to changing needs

The Benefits:

Increased efficiency through greater automation, as well as improved reporting, has supported a 40% increase in revenue

The Detail:

Is bespoke or off-the-shelf better?

Thanks to Exel's EFACS E/8, the best of both worlds is available. Following a business process review, Dale Power Solutions has found EFACS has improved its management reporting, enabled business process automation and supported strong business growth.

Founded in 1935, Dale Power Solutions is a leading provider of secure power solutions for situations requiring uninterrupted power. The company manufactures generators and UPS systems as well as providing maintenance services. Based in Scarborough, Dale Power Solutions employs around 300 people.

The company used to rely on multiple applications for its manufacturing and field service divisions. The software had limited functionality, so EFACS E/8 was selected and implemented in early 2014 as a single solution to cover both areas of the business, with 100 back office users and 75 remote engineer users.

While the manufacturing side of the system worked well, the initial deployment of the field service element had been to a basic level, without a great deal of tailoringWhen IT and Communications Manager Az Yasin joined the company in late 2014, he recognised that the system hadn't yet achieved its full potential.

"EFACS E/8 had been deployed with all the modules," says Az. "It was an off-the-shelf package along with one or two customisations."

While the manufacturing side of the system worked well, the initial deployment of the field service element had been to a basic level, without a great deal of tailoring. The company’s plan for 2015 was to rely on the flexibility of the solution in order to increase service operations from 30% to 50% of its turnover

"The key problem for us was that we were trying to grow our services. There were processes that needed to be fixed through EFACS E/8."

Although the original implementation had delivered improvements, with some business processes changed to fit. Not everything had been automated, including service engineer scheduling, and some spreadsheets remained in use. The reason? Insufficient business process mapping to identify the data required.

Gap Analysis:

A project team was formed in 2015 to improve the use of EFACS E/8 for increased business efficiency.

"We decided to do a gap analysis of the whole organisation," says Az. "We identified the key issues and listed about 100."

This list was divided into areas that could be fixed in-house and those that depended upon Exel's consultancy services. The idea was to streamline data and process flow.

"The key was giving end users improvements to meet their needs."

An improvement programme began with an Exel consultant spending 10 days on-site. As refresher training for the project team, the consultant also demonstrated the field service capability and then advised on the changes. These covered everything from quotation and contract management, through to service delivery and documentation.

"Exel know their product very well. They were able to guide us through."

Supported by temporary contractors and Exel's consultancy services, the project team set to work. New reports were written in-house making use of new custom fields for business data.

There were improvements for service, engineering projects, manufacturing amendments and the supply chain. The strength of the Customisation Toolkit provided a useful way to enhance standard functionality.

One task was a set of electronic forms for service engineers to record details, such as defects found. Used on mobile phones, this enabled data to be captured, processed and uploaded into EFACS E/8. Other highlights included new buttons to 'push' service data into other areas, such as new quotations.

Exel also delivered some of the required changes in a new software release.

"Exel performed well in making the changes. We managed to quickly achieve about 75% of what we set out to do."

New Efficiencies:

The company has seen a £10 million growth in turnover in three years to £35 million. Greater automation, backed by improved business reporting, has supported that 40% increase. For example, higher efficiencies in purchasing have benefitted manufacturing and service operations, including vehicle stock replenishment.

"EFACS E/8 has enabled us to grow quite rapidly," says Az. "The service division is using the system more thoroughly than ever."

Service engineers have new Samsung mobile phones. These run the field service application and support completion of the electronic forms. Service engineers have new Samsung mobile phones. These run the field service application and support completion of the electronic forms. Mobile usage is now better and quicker than before.

The inherent integration within EFACS E/8 allows the separate business divisions to feel joined up. There is now commonality between the business divisions, as it offers easy access to, and use of, shared information.

"We are looking to be clever with the Customisation Toolkit on some key processes in order to improve them further," says Az. "EFACS E/8 is very customisable and I think that is one of its biggest strengths for Dale Power."

 

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A new entrant into the Field Service Management Sector which offers both desktop and mobile software has been developed specifically for the SME contractor segment.

The solution which includes both desktop and mobile software, called Orthinc, works by connecting a company’s office administrators with their field engineers so that jobs can be more easily managed day-to-day. especially praised for its ease of use.

After sending job details to assigned engineers, it effortlessly collects and stores important data from the field such as materials ordered, stock used and time spent on-site. This information is then displayed on one simple page and can be used for fast, accurate invoicing.

Simon Jackson, the earliest adopter of the software, said that the system was an invaluable asset to his electrical business.

Simon Jackson, the earliest adopter of the software, said that the system was an invaluable asset to his electrical business. Since being approached by the Orthinc team one year ago to trial the so ware, I think it’s been moulded into the perfect tool for small and medium-sized contracting companies. We use it every day to send our engineers out jobs and receive information back from them. As well as improving our daily workflow, it has directly saved us time and money. For example, when seven invoices for parts went missing last month, Orthinc highlighted that we hadn’t charged our client for them which saved us around £350. We would never go back to our old system, it’s changed the way we work.

The Orthinc team began developing the software over 18 months ago with the goal of helping reduce contractors’ dependence on inefficient job management systems, such as complicated software, excel spreadsheets and order code books. Now, the team hope to go beyond that by providing the easiest, most accessible solution to job management.

Orthinc lead designer, Kieran McIntyre said: Time and money are the most important resources to contractors and poor processes can waste lots of both. Although so ware has attempted to provide a solution to this, none before Orthinc has really hit the nail on the head. For job management so ware to truly benefit contractors, it has to be genuinely easy to use – otherwise, you are just giving them another hurdle to jump. Simplicity has been our main focus here at Orthinc. We’ve worked hard to make a system that can be picked up by anyone and used straight away, so that its benefits are instantly felt.

The Orthinc software is available on both desktop and mobile devices and is accessible anytime and anywhere with an internet connection.

The team offer contractors a handy, no-contract 14 day free trial so that they can see if the software is right for them.

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IBS Bürosysteme reports that in 2017 it saved thousands of hours and nearly quarter of a million euros thanks to Asolvi's leading-edge software platform, Evatic.

IBS Bürosysteme is an IT and document management services provider based in Münster, Germany. It started out as a small sole proprietorship founded with very little capital by Karl Isfort in 1966.

It wasn't long before Isfort's entrepreneurial spirit and zest for success transformed the business into a leading player in office services, and one site spanning 170 m² became six sites spanning 15,000 m². In 1996, the IBS Logistics Centre became the largest office retailer in Münsterland.

Evatic has been contributing to the company's success for the last nine years, but last year its cost savings hit the stratosphere.

IBS Bürosysteme uses Evatic's sophisticated scheduling functionality, automated service ticket creation and the specially designed Evatic Mobile Service app for field engineers.

CEO Olaf Isfort explains, "These features combined save IBS Bürosysteme 30 minutes of manual and paper-driven activities on each and every service project. Since IBS Bürosysteme’s 12 field engineers undertake about 40 jobs each day, time saved per day is in the region of 20 hours. Last year this saved us an enormous €216,000."

Isfort is keen to stress that the benefits of Evatic for IBS Bürosysteme go beyond cost savings.IBS Bürosysteme also uses Evatic Consumable and Meter Management (ECMM), a machine-to-machine solution that boosts profitability, cuts out wasted toner and streamlines processing. ECMM is seamlessly integrated with IBS Bürosysteme's fleet management system and directly processes data from all the printers and copiers in the fleet, generating invoices and consumable replacements automatically.

"Evatic cuts out 45 hours a month of manual billing and toner replacement tasks," says Isfort. "Last year this generated a saving of €24,300 for IBS Bürosysteme."

But Isfort is keen to stress that the benefits of Evatic for IBS Bürosysteme go beyond cost savings. "We're able to keep a much closer eye on our profitability, performance and customer satisfaction than we could before Evatic's implementation," he says.

"Evatic's user-friendly dashboards let us monitor contracts, machines and customers, service and toner management, and whether we are meeting SLA requirements and reducing repeat service visits."

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Steve Wellen, CEO of FieldAware outlines the evolution of analytics and how field service organisations are reaping the benefits...

Research into field service management consistently shows that when respondents are asked what they are planning to invest in or are looking to implement, analytic tools, more and more, are being highlighted above other functionality.

No great surprise given that today’s field service operations can rely on many different systems and solutions, all of which generate huge amounts of data. However, being able to organise and analyse data in an effective, simple and reliable way is a major challenge and without the means of turning it into something actionable, many businesses just don’t benefit. So, where are we in the evolution of field service analytics and how are field service organisations making their data work smarter, not harder?

Data, data everywhere

Over the past decade, field service organisations have become overwhelmed by the increasing information coming in from multiple sources and in various formats. As field service has become more and more integrated with other business solutions, (including accounting, ERP and CRM), organising this data becomes such a complex task that it may simply end up being unused. Managers and team members may then revert to relying on what they used to do, or make decisions based on hunches to run the business, rather than use the business intelligence they need.

Business leaders understand the data they have cannot be ignored. The major challenge they face, however, is how to sift through the data and link it together in a meaningful way. Data is often from disparate systems, but needs to be collated and reported in an easily understood way, to reveal the valuable insights that are needed for day-to-day performance and longer-term business strategy.

A brief history of field service analytics

The early adopters of field service analytics have seen a transformation of the solutions available, and we have witnessed this evolution first-hand.

We have seen our customers move from their initial requirements of basic business reporting, through to needing a comprehensive business intelligence solution.

Early on, it was often a snapshot of what had happened that was required, for example, how many jobs had been completed. It soon became apparent that organisations had different performance indicators to manage, and individuals needed metrics specific to roles. A layer of sophistication was needed, with custom reports where customers could then dive deeper to retrieve further information.

They could explore the types of jobs that were being completed, monitor individual performance or compare geographies.

Using data to make business decisions then drove the need for further information and queries could be set up to examine any problems or if any differences were apparent, for example, time taken on jobs, cost variations or first-time fix rates.

In addition, alerts could be set to enable better management of SLAs by flagging potential issues such as at-risk jobs.

A continual journey

All useful perspective, but for those using analytics for the first time, there is now no reason to stop at what could simply be seen to be mimicking what paper-based processes capture on the ‘what’ and the ‘where’.

Leap forward and it is the ‘why’ within analytics capabilities that truly enhances the value. After generating basic reports, managers did not always have time, the knowledge or experience to translate the results into meaningful action.

Advances in analytics provide businesses with the ability to view data after it has been configured and cross-referenced using statistical modelling.

Better decisions can be made more easily as they are based on accurate, analysed information, and better decision-making means a more effective, efficient operation.

The future’s bright, the future is optimised 

Today, field service leaders realise they need analytics that enables them to make more informed decisions to continue to grow their business. Just having data is not enough – they need the ability to use the data to align service teams to work together towards meeting company goals and managing customer expectations. Organisations now demand analytics solutions that migrate from reactive to predictive operations.

They need to move from insight to action faster than ever before with business insights from finance, CRM, ERP, FSM solutions that they depend upon for everyday operations.

They need better teamwork and collaboration so that they can quickly arrive at consensus, act and capitalise on opportunities.

These include discovering hidden opportunities and finding the next big opportunity in the business intelligence.

The business is optimised not only through these day-to-day enhancements, but the operational insights are consistently fed back to business and management, enabling a real-time feedback loop ensuring that key metrics improve continuously - creating a cycle of continual improvement for the field service organisation and improved operations.

For more information on using analytics for your field service optimisation and how you can reap the benefits, visit www.fieldaware.com 

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De Kantoorspecialist, the Dutch wholesale supplier committed to improving life in the office, has just transformed its service operation from a patchwork of slow-moving parts into a fast, cohesive whole.

Established in 1989 and based in Veenendaal, De Kantoorspecialist is a Ricoh, Sharp and HP dealer that provides IT, print and document management services, audiovisual solutions, office equipment and furniture to workplaces all over the Netherlands. Its goal is to boost worker enthusiasm and productivity and generally make employees’ lives easier and more enjoyable.

Now De Kantoorspecialist is about to experience this philosophy for itself, courtesy of Asolvi and its leading-edge solution for print and document management providers, Evatic. Previously De Kantoorspecialist used a generic ERP system and a separate database for customer contracts and quotes. The software was not designed for print and document management providers and did not have contract or field service management components, which meant a lot of De Kantoorspecialist’s work was manual and labour-intensive.

Evatic collects real-time information directly from these machines and processes it according to a series of rules, automatically generating invoices, toner replacements and predictive maintenance alerts “We decided to implement Asolvi’s Evatic solution for a number of reasons,” says Evert van Engelenhoven, managing director of De Kantoorspecialist. “Evatic is all-encompassing and runs our entire operation, from sales to service. It’s specially designed for managed print services and enables proactive and cost-effective management of toner use and replacement, as well as automated meter readings and invoicing. We were also impressed by its excellent interface with Microsoft Office 365 and our accounting module, and the sophisticated contract management system which we’re also using for our audiovisual and IT services contracts.”

Evatic connects to all the multifarious machines in the field (MIF) that De Kantoorspecialist is charged with managing and maintaining. Evatic collects real-time information directly from these machines and processes it according to a series of rules, automatically generating invoices, toner replacements and predictive maintenance alerts. This saves time, cuts out wasted toner, reduces machine downtime and limits the number of field service visits required, all the while maximising asset lifetimes. Evatic makes managed print services smart by connecting printers and copiers to the ever-growing Internet of Things and empowering providers like De Kantoorspecialist to be more efficient, more productive and more proactive.

“With Evatic, we’ve entered the realm of smart printing and smart service management,” says van Engelenhoven. “We’re looking forward to having more control of our processes, a better overview of our profitability, and a reduced need to keep hiring more staff as our customer base grows.”

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IFS, a global enterprise applications company, has previewed major updates of its IFS Field Service Management™ (FSM) offering at the IFS World Conference in Atlanta today.

IFS Field Service Management 6 features a number of enhancements, including:

• New user experience (UX): With a completely re-engineered, fully responsive front end, IFS FSM 6 will run on any browser and on any device at any time. The new UX features user-centric and intuitive action patterns as well as stunning graphic designs including high-resolution charts and diagrams.
• Major performance boost in IFS Planning & Scheduling Optimization™ (PSO): The IFS PSO component of IFS Field Service Management yields a 50% improvement in processing performance on Microsoft Azure. In addition, the maximum number of activities per standard Dynamic Scheduling Engine (DSE) for dynamic responsive processing has been significantly increased.
• Next-generation configurability: Written in an all-new scripting language that empowers customers to configure data fields, workflows, and user behaviour, IFS FSM 6 eliminates the need for costly customizations, providing greater agility while evergreen service management capabilities ensure seamless updates.
• Key functional enhancements: Alongside these major new architectural changes, IFS FSM 6 introduces a multitude of significant new features and extensions to existing functionality in areas including increased scheduling optimization flexibility, warranty claims management, mobile synchronization, and UI improvements.
• Pay and deploy with even more flexibility: Customers can choose to deploy IFS FSM 6 as a true multi-tenant solution on the Microsoft Azure cloud, as a managed service in the cloud, or on-premise. This flexibility also offers customers choice in how they pay, from outright ownership to a monthly subscription.

“We are very excited to offer a preview of IFS Field Service Management 6, which leads the market in terms of usability, configurability, connectivity, and flexibility,” said Mark Brewer, IFS global industry director for service.

Choice is a good thing, and with IFS, the customer can decide what makes sense for their business.“With this major new release, we are further differentiating our value proposition but are continuing to provide customers with the ability to choose the functionality they need and deploy in the way they want—be it in the cloud or on-premise. Choice is a good thing, and with IFS, the customer can decide what makes sense for their business. Combine this flexibility with industry-leading functionality, leading AI and optimization technology and a new user experience and it is evident that IFS really does represent the most complete, connected field service solution on the market.”

One of the early adopters is Eickhoff, a leading manufacturer of machinery and gearing technology used in mining, wind turbines, and other industrial applications.

Commenting on IFS Field Service Management 6, Dietmar Schmitz, Head of Product Development Service at Eickhoff, said, “As a provider of mission-critical machinery, we see service as a core competency and competitive differentiator. Consequently, we needed a solution to manage our more than 6.5 million items in complex parts lists for over 15,000 custom units. IFS FSM 6 provides an engaging and effective way to make this possible.”

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Fast Lean Smart (FLS) is working with Royal Mail Property & Facilities Solutions (RMPFS) to implement a new scheduling software system to increase productivity and establish a site ownership model.

RMPFS wanted to upgrade its current scheduling and route planning software to achieve new levels of efficiency and productivity from its service operations. The company’s existing system is over 10 years old and no longer meets its needs.

“We looked at several scheduling and route planning systems providers, FLS being one of them,” says Scott Maddocks, Project Manager for RMPFS.

“After the initial demonstration, we carried out a number of FLS customer site visits to see the software in action. We engaged our management teams, our engineers and our unions because we wanted them all to be happy that the software would work.”

After the initial demonstration, we carried out a number of FLS customer site visits to see the software in action. We engaged our management teams, our engineers and our unions because we wanted them all to be happy that the software would work.In the end, FLS came out on top. “We chose FLS for a number of reasons,” says Scott. “The user front end was better than the other products we looked at, and FLS gave us confidence that their software could be integrated with our existing service management system. We also thought that FLS would be good to work with, more agile and better able to deliver what we wanted than the other suppliers.”

One of RMPFS’s goals was to plan jobs more efficiently. FLS’s ability to plan optimised routes in real time will help it do this. FLS software takes into account specific business priorities, traffic-based driving times and countless other variables for both planned and reactive work. RMPFS also wants to reduce the number of return visits its engineers have to do. FLS will give them a portal where they can see four weeks of planned work in advance and allocate the necessary resources to each job. Engineers will be able to request job assists and equipment hire in advance of the job using the new portal.

Another key requirement for RMPFS was the establishment of a site ownership model, i.e. the allocation of tasks to preferred engineers according to a set of criteria to ensure that the right skills are in the right place at the right time. “We wanted software that could navigate several tiers of engineer choices, to allow them to build their site knowledge and relationships and reduce their travel time,” says Scott. “FLS proved that its system was up to the challenge and could enable our engineers to work at preferred sites in preferred regions based on an extensive and complex series of rules.”

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