We have seen a seismic shift within the field service sector towards adopting a more proactive approach to service - but is this a mega trend in itself or is it indicative of an even bigger shift in the way we view service delivery?

Want to know more? This article is based around an exclusive fieldservicenews.com webcast which you can access @ http://fs-ne.ws/Y8ny30lsZUR

Within our industry we are currently seeing a seismic shift - that is the move towards predictive maintenance and whilst the traditional modus operandi of field service operations of a break-fix approach will likely still have a place within most service organisations processes for the foreseeable future, predictive maintenance, empowered by the Internet of Things, is becoming a massively prevalent discussion amongst companies in all sectors who are looking to seek enhanced competitive advantages over their peers whilst simultaneously improving their own performance efficiencies.

One company who have such developments on their roadmap is Daikin Applied UK who recently joined Field Service News and Salesforce for an exclusive webcast discussion on how service organisations are harnessing technology to bridge the gap between the mobile workforce and their customer bases.

Indeed, it is a topic that we have covered extensively here at Field Service News, but is this shift to preventative maintenance set to be a megatrend within our industry, as many are predicting, or is it suited to specific industries and certain organisations within those industries?

"Even within sub-sectors within manufacturing, we are seeing companies have different results and taking different approaches..."

“I think it is absolutely going to be a mega-trend,” commented Scott Flatman, Regional Sales Director, Salesforce during the session.

“It is going to be a real competitive differentiator for companies that want to go the extra mile and stay ahead of the competition,” he adds.

“I do think that we may see this in different guises depending on the industry, however. For example, manufacturers at the moment seem to be at the forefront of this shift, but then even within the wider manufacturing industry it would be wrong of us to broad-brush it as a complete mega-trend.”

“Yet even within sub-sectors within manufacturing, we are seeing companies have different results and taking different approaches.”

“For us, this capability of connecting our products to our customers and to our business is really important, but it is not a one size fits all solution,” adds John McCarthy, CRM manager, Daikin Applied UK.

“It is certainly a trend across a lot of the sub-sections of our industry but it won’t suit all of our customers. However, we do need to be offering these types of solutions, for us to continue to be a leader within our sector.”

Of course, it is this ability to tailor a service solution to customer requirements that is a critical part of the discussion not only around predictive maintenance but also service delivery in general in today’s markets, which are becoming increasingly customer-centric. But is there a direct correlation between asset connectivity and increased customer engagements and satisfaction?

"We understand that our technicians and engineers are the front line and the face of our business. So we put a lot of time and effort into ensuring they have the tools and resources that they need..."

“There certainly is,” McCarthy responds when this question is put to him.

“For us, we understand that our technicians and engineers are the front line and the face of our business. So we put a lot of time and effort into ensuring they have the tools and resources that they need as well as also giving our customers the tools and resources they need to get the most out of the services they get from us.”

“Ultimately this technology doesn’t take away from the fact that we have highly skilled factory trained engineers, but it certainly enhances it,” he adds.

“I think it is also changing the expectations of the customers,” comments Flatman.

“The very best service experience is to have no service experience at all. Let’s take the Daikin Applied UK use case as an example. If you have a chiller that is operating outside of its normal thresholds - wouldn’t be great if an engineer was passing on his or her way home wouldn’t it be great if they could drop in and give it a check, make some tweaks or perhaps perform a rest so they can resolve the issue before it arises - as opposed to a company having to wait for it to go down.”

“That can help avoid not just a negative service experience for the contact, but also avoid all of the compound issues that could arise from that one failure.”

“If we can help our customers avoid that happening, who can then help their customers and so on, for me that is going to be the real win for businesses.”

This is perhaps the true mega-trend that preventative maintenance is part of the shift away from a number of businesses operating only alongside each other in a transactional way, to organisations becoming much more integrated partners within a true business ecosystem.

Indeed, this concept is at the heart of what many in the sector are now calling advanced services, which can yield greater profit margins in a much more stable business environment and predictive maintenance is set to become a cornerstone of such approaches to service in the not so distant future.

Want to know more? This article is based around an exclusive fieldservicenews.com webcast which you can access @ http://fs-ne.ws/Y8ny30lsZUR

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