White Paper: Three Core Arguments To Use When Seeking ...€¦ · A field service management...

White Paper Three Core Arguments To Use When Seeking Investment In Your FSM Systems

published by

in partnership with

wwwfieldse vicenewscom 2

Introduction

Often it is the field service manager whose day-to-day interactions with field service engineers and customers alike give them crucial insight into the areas in

which their service organisation requires improvement who is the first to identify the need for investment in upgrading replacing or improving their field

It seems like only a short time ago that one of the key discussions within the

global field service sector was whether companies should shift the focus of

their field service operations from being a cost centre to a profit centre

At the time this was a major break from tradition in terms of how field service

was placed within the business and how it was perceived at large Service was

often very much a necessary evil that was in place to support product sales

Service delivery was an opaque mystery for all of those in the business whose

role lay outside of the service domain

Fast forward to today and the world in which we live is radically different The

shift to field service being a profit centre has become the norm and as we

enter an age of servitization advanced services and outcome based service

offerings we are beginning to see service revenue often becoming a significant

if not primary line on an organisationrsquos profit and loss sheet

In such an environment it is of course essential that every single aspect of

field service operations is fully optimised To achieve this a modern field

service management (FSM) system is essential

A Return on Investment is one of the key selling points that FSM solution

providers will put forward when engaging with their prospective customers for

a good reason ndash it is something that catches the attention of the C-Suite and

can be delivered in several different areas within the field service operations

These include

Reducing lsquoWindscreen-Timersquo

Perhaps the most obvious and most effective area in which a company can see

ROI on an FSM solution is by increasing the effective time of their engineers

through better scheduling

Whether it be the move from spreadsheets and whiteboards to a relatively

simple assisted scheduling solution or upgrading a solution from a standard

scheduling tool to something more advanced which utilises artificial intelligence

based algorithms and real-time traffic data - improving the routing and

dispatch of your engineers can lead to significant reductions in lsquowindscreen

timersquo for your engineers

The ability to leverage more efficient scheduling can enable an organisation

to see their engineers spending more time on site with customers and being

productive ndash this is often referred to as engineer utilisation

In some cases the results can be as dramatic as adding in an extra couple

of jobs per engineer per day but even a small amount of minutes saved per

engineer each day will translate into significant cost reductions when

multiplied across a fleet

service infrastructure

It is the field service manager who has to find the balance between ever-increasing customer expectations and growing demands from the executive board It is

a dichotomy of constantly trying to do more with less It is the field service manager who is seeing his team heading towards retirement age while he struggles to

replace them with an influx of millennial recruits It is the field service manager who can see the importance of investing in improved service management software

to improve his and his teamrsquos ability to tackle these day-to-day challenges more effectively and to drive their service delivery towards the levels of excellence both

his board and his customers demand

All too often it can take years for that field service manager to convince his organisation to invest in a project to enhance their service delivery capabilities ndash if

they ever do so at all But with the current pace of competitive change at an all-time high any delay in pushing forward such a project could put a business at a

competitive disadvantage

With this in mind this white paper looks at three key areas in which field service managers can build a case for this investment to take to the board to expedite a

decision

Stay with the numbers - building a case with return on investment (ROI)


Increasing first-time fix rates

As the adage goes if you can make a repair on the first service call you are

breaking even every time you need to send an engineer to the same site after

that you are losing money Fortunately there are many areas in which

technology can help improve a field service engineerrsquos chances of performing

the right repair the first time around As with the service call itself letrsquos start

with the triage and diagnosis of the fault

The implementation of easily accessible knowledge banks can be of benefit not

only for the service engineer onsite but also the contact centre agent who may

be able to troubleshoot the problem and either help identify the problem so

the engineer is arriving fully prepared or even provide remote assistance and

guidance to avoid the need for a service call entirely

To add another layer of automation to this process artificial intelligence (AI)

can be embedded within the triage process allowing for effective diagnosis

of multiple calls simultaneously ndash with handover to a human agent for more

complex queries a seamless transition

Beyond the triage stage knowledge banks are also incredibly useful for the

field service engineer onsite to both diagnose problems and guide them

through maintenance on assets that may be unfamiliar to them

However while knowledge banks can be useful in improving first-time-fix rates

solutions that allow for engineer to engineer communications are shown to

have an even more dramatic impact on this core KPI

Recent Field Service News research revealed that 86 of companies who

have implemented some form of engineer-to-engineer communication stated

that they saw an improvement in first-time-fix rates Another means of

increasing this metric that has emerged within recent years is the concept of

connected field service This is where assets are connected to the Internet of

Things (IoT) and can identify faults themselves ahead of failure

This allows for a shift away entirely from the traditional break-fix approach to a

far more cost-efficient preventative maintenance approach While this is not a

transition that can be made overnight it is one in which the savvy field service organisation should be heading towards as it offers a means of delivering better service in a less costly manner

Removing unnecessary costs within the business

Indeed there are many touchpoints within the field service operation where

an FSM solution can bring further cost reductions both quickly and often

surprisingly simply

For example the shift to a fully digital workflow can see a significant reduction

in costs simply by removing paper and stationery costs from a business While

this may not seem at the outset like an area where significant savings can be

made it can often add up to tens and even hundreds of thousands of pounds ndash

and this is just the tip of the iceberg

As a field service organisation introduces more and more elements of

digitalisation into their business processes both within the back office and in

the field additional savings become apparent

For example dedicated inventory management solutions designed for tracking

van stock and the regular movement of parts that occurs within a field service

cycle can offer far greater visibility into stock across the business and offer

major cost savings as cash tied up in unnecessary stock can be eliminated

Similarly providing engineers and customers alike access to parts ordering via

eCommerce portals can open up new revenue streams that are easy to

implement and quick to establish

Another quick win that comes from digitalisation of field service workflows lies

within shortening the service to cash cycle This can be vastly improved by

simply automating the invoicing process and connecting it to the field service

engineerrsquos ability to collect job completion approval from the client via a

mobile application while onsite

Ultimately there are many ways in which an FSM solution can deliver a clear

and tangible return on investment across the field service operation and when

implemented correctly this can be achieved within a relatively short time frame

of between just six to eighteen months When we consider that with the

advent of Cloud computing and the introduction of the Software as a Service

model the initial outlay for implementing a solution is also reduced the

potential ROI of an FSM solution makes for an incredibly powerful argument

ldquo86 of companies who have implemented some form of engineer-to-engineer communication stated that they saw an

improvement in first-time-fix ratesrdquo

fieldservicenewscom research 2018

One of the big challenges for companies when it comes to

delivering a return on their investment in a field service

management solution is that often they (or the vendors they are

working with will have set their targets and expectations far too wide

The result of this is of course disappointment at both the executive

level and the operational level and ultimately can make gaining

approval for and subsequent implementation of future field service

management centred projects even harder

The solution to overcoming this all too frequent issue is incredibly

simple When approaching the initial project there is a six-word mantra

to remember ldquodonrsquot try to boil the oceanrdquo

A field service management solution can revolutionise how your

field service operations run It can improve your internal efficiencies

drive revenue and delight customers But remember field service is

a complex beast with many moving parts and if you try to optimise

everything at once the chances are you may well fail to optimise

anything at all

At HSO we advise our customers that an iterative approach is almost

always the way we have seen our clients achieve the most significant

benefits both in the short and long term

We believe it is vital that we have a firm and comprehensive

understanding of where our customers are in terms of their

capabilities processes and existing technologies at the beginning of a

project That can then provide us with a mechanism for actually

identifying the best approach and allow us to build a comprehensive

roadmap that isnrsquot just a tick box exercise but builds a technology

platform that meets

the exact needs of their business Letrsquos take scheduling as an example

If an organisation is moving from manually scheduling their engineers

with a dispatch team using a spreadsheet in the first instance we may

not want to see a huge amount of automation added to the solution

The reason for this is that when it comes to scheduling you first need

to understand how you want to schedule your work Simply by moving

through the process of using a dedicated scheduling solution as a

company and more importantly its dispatchers are going to begin to

see benefits as they begin to see scheduling in an integrated way

We can then begin to introduce some light touches of automation as

the processes become more refined and clarified to begin to bring

some further order into the workflows and as time moves on we

can begin to ratchet up the use of automation as more advanced

constraints are introduced

Once we reach this point this is also when we can start exploring what

other technologies should be introduced ndash for example real-time alerts

that tell the customer where their engineer is or improved triage in the

contact centre to improve first-time fix rates

By adopting such a layered approach a field service organisation

will not only see a direct return on investment on their initial

implementation sooner but will also minimise any potential early costs

while simultaneously reducing risks as well

Build Your Development Road Map with Many Stages to Secure Easier Return on Investment

Paul Muggleton Services Director HSO explains why the temptation to try to achieve too much too quickly should be replaced with a clear well planned iterative approach when it comes to implementing field service management systems


When it comes to field service there is one maxim that rings truer than

any other ndash it is people that drive your success With this in mind it is of

course vital to protect the most valuable of all our assets ndash our staff

The field service worker is inherently vulnerable

Field service engineers can be found in all manner of hazardous environments

ndash whether it be up pylons or deep underground Working in isolated locations

with heavy machinery or surrounded by explosive materials ndash the field service

engineer can be found tirelessly keeping the world moving

And more often than not they are working alone while doing it

For this reason it is little wonder that staff-safety is one of the most prevalent

arguments put forward for investment in an FSM system ndash sometimes even

ahead of the ROI discussion - which as we have just seen is also particularly

robust

Often the scenario is that heavy industry regulation and legislation will drive

the case forwards with certain industries such as healthcare insurance or

power generation being prime examples of this However it is equally

common that an organisation will of their own volition ensure that they have

made every effort to meet their moral obligation to put their workerrsquos safety

at the forefront of their working priorities The interesting thing is that often

by doing so they will once again see instant ROI through reduced insurance

premiums that reflect the reduction of risk ndash and this is on top of all of the

other potential savings we mentioned in the first section of this paper

However while these obvious benefits are easily identified a focus on Health

and Safety doesnrsquot always have to be about risk avoidance and aversion A

safety-first approach can yield significant other business benefits as proved by

Alcoarsquos former CEO Paul ONeill - who increased profits five-fold when

adopting such a position when he took on the CEO role

Making Health And Safety A lsquoKeystone Habitrsquo

ldquoI want to talk to you about worker safetyrdquo

These were Paul OrsquoNeillrsquos words in his first speech as CEO of Alcoa The room

was full of nervous investors as Alcoarsquos stock had been volatile after a series of

failed products It was a room expecting to hear promises of improved

margins and bottom lines Wall St was eager to hear of anticipated revenue

projections and potential industry innovation

But OrsquoNeill was resolute in his focus and that focus was Health and Safety

ldquoEvery year numerous Alcoa workers are injured so badly that they miss a

day of workrdquo OrsquoNeill continued ldquoOur safety record is better than the general

American workforce especially considering that our employees work with

metals that are 1500 degrees and machines that can rip a manrsquos arm off But

itrsquos not good enough I intend to make Alcoa the safest company in America I

intend to go for zero injuriesrdquo

The room fell silent

Across the following thirteen years that OrsquoNeill remained at the helm of Alcoa

profits increased by 500

It is a case study highlighted in Charles Duhiggrsquos excellent book the lsquoPower of

Habitrsquo in which OrsquoNeill discusses exactly how his focus on Health and Safety

had such a profound impact - across OrsquoNeillrsquos tenure Alcoa dropped from 186

lost work days to injury per 100 workers to 02 By 2012 the rate had fallen to

0125

But the interesting thing is that that impact extended beyond worker health

with the companyrsquos profits hitting a record high just one year after OrsquoNeillrsquos

speech

As OrsquoNeill commented himself in an interview with Duhigg ldquoI knew I had to

transform Alcoa But you canrsquot order people to change So I decided I was

going to start by focusing on one thing If I could start disrupting the habits

around one thing it would spread throughout the entire companyrdquo

Focusing on that one critical metric what Duhigg refers to as a ldquokeystone

habitrdquo created a change that rippled through the entire business and changed

the culture within Alcoa This focus on worker safety lead to closer

examinations of inefficient processes mdash something that will resonate with

many field service organisations also

How An FSM Solution Can Reduce The Risk For Your Field Service Engineers

It is evident then that not only is Health and Safety a significant driver for

investment in FSM solutions it can also yield many additional benefits ranging

from the more self-evident risk reduction through to the less tangible but

equally impactful aspects such as refinement of processes and establishment

of company-wide best-practice

Protect your most valuable assets - your staff


So letrsquos take a moment to explore some of the practical ways in which an FSM

solution can provide additional safety for our field workers

Lone Worker Protection Perhaps the absolute most dangerous aspect of field service work lies in the

simple fact that the field service worker is very often working alone Often the

thin line between an accident and a tragic loss of life is simply the speed in

which help arrives and when a field service worker has no colleague to alert

the rescue services of an accident technology is required to fill the gaps

Indeed lone worker technology is a thriving sector within its own right with

various technologies including wearables that track vital health indicators such

as heart rate temperature and perspiration able to communicate to HQ should

an engineersrsquo health suddenly deteriorate

However there are also many lone worker aspects already embedded within

many FSM solutions These are often simple yet highly effective tools that

utilise the field engineerrsquos mobile phone or tabletrsquos GPS signal and whichever

FSM application the engineer is already using to receive their work orders

Something as simple as an automated call to the engineer if their app isnrsquot

showing the correct activity within a specific timeframe can help identify

quickly when an engineer could potentially be in danger as a result of an

accident Similarly simple geo-fencing could identify when an engineer has had

to travel to a particularly remote area and ensure that the engineer lsquochecks inrsquo

at specified intervals

Vehicle Management Field service engineers spend more time in their vehicle than anywhere else so

it makes huge sense for vehicle maintenance to be a significant part of the

wider field service management health and safety considerations

As with lone worker protection many dedicated fleet management solutions

incorporate vehicle maintenance solutions often using detailed telemetric

data to keep track of the health of the vehicle However a simple visual

inspection at the beginning and end of a shift can have a major impact on

reducing regular wear and tear of vehicles once again not only minimising any

risk a field service engineer is exposed to but also reducing costs via lowered

insurance premiums and preventive rather than reactive maintenance of fleet

vehicles

Such a visual inspection can be promoted within a standard FSM solution by

utilising a dedicated checklist that must be completed before an engineer can

access his jobs at the start of the day or log his final job completion at the end

of the day

By embedding such tasks directly into the engineersrsquo workflow an organisation

can achieve maximum participation and by collating the data and then

connecting it to the wider scheduling system Any non-urgent vehicle

maintenance can be automatically allocated to occur when the engineer is on

scheduled leave

On-site checklists Using the same approach as outlined above we can also guarantee that

the correct procedures are followed every time an engineer completes a

maintenance task

Often it is not a lack of experience that puts an engineer at risk it is simply the

natural human tendency of complacency All too often we hear stories of the

experienced field service engineer who was just that little bit rushed or whose

mind was just that little bit distracted that they forgot to turn off the mains

power before beginning a repair

These are stories that tend to not end well

Once again by embedding a checklist within the engineerrsquos workflow one that

must be completed to allow the engineer to progress with the job he is working

on such issues can be significantly reduced if not overcome altogether

ldquoAll too often we hear stories of an experienced field service engineer who was just that little bit rushed or whose mind was just that little bit distracted sadly

these stories tend to not end wellrdquo

When it comes to ensuring your field service engineers are

working in the safest possible environment technology can play

a major role whilst also assisting companies in exercising their duty of

care towards their field workers

Take for example Geofencing which was recently added to Microsoft

Field Service This monitors the GPS position of the engineer and can

automatically notify the contact centre if the engineer has not left the

site beyond a certain time So in a lone-working situation you have

an additional capability to alert you to a potential safety issue Risk

Assessments also bring real benefits

Todayrsquos mobile software can be configured so that an engineer is only

able to open a job once he has gone through a full risk assessment

questionnaire on the device The questionnaires themselves can now

be made flexible so the questions are relevant to the type of work for

the job in question and hence to the risk involved This makes sure that

all relevant risks are being considered and minimised In future it is

possible that some engineers will wear body-cams or similar devices to

help ensure their safety perhaps in sectors where engineersrsquo security

is a concern

There are numerous areas that field service organisations need to

focus on when it comes to health and safety

Several areas immediately spring to mind Risk Assessments Method

Statements Working Hours amp Breaks We already mentioned Risk

Assessments

Method Statements are the next step to ensure safe working practices

In the past this involved carrying hefty paper folders and it was

difficult dealing with site-specific documents Nowadays this is a lot

simpler Method statements can be stored against a site record and

accessed seamlessly by the engineer via a hyperlink

Working hours need to be monitored too

Thinking about a single day we need to ensure that an engineer does

not work excessive hours and also that they take the required breaks

When we combine the real-time data we get from mobile data about

engineer whereabouts and time entries with the power of business

intelligence tools such as Power BI we can monitor these and take

immediate action if we think an engineer is overloaded The same

applies when planning

In my role with HSO I have regular interaction with many field service

organisations from various sectors and I have been told by several of

service managers that they got considerable benefits from emphasising

Health and Safety

A lot of these are to do with employee engagement and can be difficult

to measure though Once an engineer feels that the company cares

about their Health amp Safety they are less likely to change employer

Employee retention in turn reduces recruitment costs for the field

service organisation and subsequent training costs

This can be important for engineers who may think their employers see

them just as a ldquonumberrdquo A more quantifiable measure is the number

of accidents and ensuing days lost to sickness Particularly in smaller

companies any long-term absence can have a huge impact

Why Health And Safety Measures Can Lead To Wider Benefits Within A Field Service Organisation

Daniel Wieder Field Service Consultant HSO outlines some of the ways field service management solutions can help improve health and safety amongst the field workforce and why in doing so many companies see additional benefits within the wider business also


Implementing an FSM system used to offer a Competitive advantage today you may face competitive disadvantage without it

In previous years one of the strongest arguments for adopting or upgrading

an FSM solution was that in doing so you would be able to gain a competitive

advantage However the prevalence of such systems and the introduction of

Cloud-based SaaS models which have essentially democratised the use of such

systems amongst companies of all sizes has now flipped this notion on its head

We have now reached a point in the evolution and development of field service

delivery that put simply it is now incredibly challenging if not impossible

to meet the demands and expectations of modern customers and executive

boards alike without such systems in place

Indeed those companies not implementing at least a fundamental layer

of technology across their field service processes or those not prepared

to upgrade from their legacy applications now risk putting themselves in a

position of significant competitive disadvantage

As we have touched upon lightly a little earlier in this paper customer

expectations have increased significantly in recent years as we move into what

is becoming termed lsquothe experience economyrsquo

Service is no longer a mere functional maintenance and repair role In a world

of digitalisation the field service call often represents one of the very few

human-to-human interactions that an organisation will have with their clients

This in and of itself has elevated the importance of the service experience

For the service engineer to merely fix the problem under cover of dark is not

enough in todayrsquos world The engineer must be a true brand ambassador for

the customer and the eyes and ears for your sales department as well They

must be able to offer your customers a detailed overview of the performance

of their assets outline where the gaps in their service coverage may be and be

able to order required parts and consumables seamlessly and cohesively

Of course the requirements of the engineer vary from industry to industry and

company to company However the overarching megatrend of the engineer

evolving from repairman to true brand ambassador is proving to be universal ndash

and underpinning this transformation is the modern FSM system empowering

the engineer by putting knowledge insight and access at his fingertips via the

mobile phone in his pocket

It is worth remembering that in the twenty-first century when it comes to

service you are no longer competing with the companies in your direct sphere

of business You are now competing with the best service experience your

customers have ever had

Why would your customers find it acceptable to wait for days for a part to be

delivered from you when they are used to next day delivery from many other

suppliers Why would they find it acceptable only to have an option of morning

or afternoon appointments when other suppliers offer them an hourly slot

Why would they be prepared to take the time to explain the detailed history of

an issue to your field service engineer when other service providers send their

engineers fully armed with a 360-degree view of their business and a detailed

knowledge of the asset history and business relationship

These questions and others like them are fundamental when it comes to

assessing how your customers will view your service delivery and ultimately

your business Indeed while the technology at our fingertips continues to

develop at a rapid pace the fundamental best practices of business remain

timeless

As Peter Drucker once famously stated ldquothe essence of the business is outside

itselfrdquo

It is important not to forget that at its very heart the fundamental primary

ldquoThe essence of the business is outside itselfrdquo

- Peter Drucker


purpose of a business is inherently simple ndash to win and retain customers Other

subsequent grand aims will of course exist beyond this such as leading an

industry through innovation securing market leading shareholder profits or

even improving society at large But without achieving this first fundamental

customer-centric aim any subsequent goals can never be met

This maxim is becoming even more apparent as we begin to enter an era

of service-centric revenue strategies ndash which are based primarily within the

concept of outcome-based advanced service offerings As we begin to see the

learnings of the software sector and the evolution of the SaaS model spread

across multiple industry disciplines as we begin to embrace the Everything

as a Service (XaaS) approach to business then the focus on service delivery

becomes ever greater

This is the new paradigm whether we call Industrie 40 Servitization or the 4th

Industrial Revolution we are in the midst of a seismic change in how businesses

interact with each other

It is also worth noting that it is not a movement that has sprung out from

nowhere It is easy to argue that we are at least thirty years into this new

lsquorevolutionrsquo Indeed it is today that we are on the tipping point of maturity for

many of the key technologies such as Cloud and Mobile that are at the heart of

this new wave of industrial engagement

We are also seeing these same technologies becoming affordable and

accessible to service organisations of all shapes and sizes in all industries

across the globe as FSM systems continue to develop As we have seen

throughout this paper there are core arguments based around both returns on

investment and health and safety that can be made to justify an investment in

FSM technology

However perhaps the most powerful argument of all is lsquocan your organisation

afford not to invest in such systems while those around you dorsquo

This is the crucial question that all field service companies must now be

contemplating

This is the new paradigm whether we call Industrie 40 Servitization or the 4th Industrial Revolution we are in the midst of a seismic change in how businesses


In todayrsquos working environment regardless of which industry vertical

you operate in or where you are located I think it is now crucial to

have some form of automation-based functionality in your field service

operations

I believe this to be the case for two reasons

On the one hand you want to be as operationally lean as possible so

that you can improve your efficiencies and internal field service

delivery processes On the other hand your customers are now

expecting and demanding more and more and more

In fact I would go as far as saying that in todayrsquos corporate landscape

by not investing in a modern field service management system that can

enable you to meet these increasing customer expectations your

organisation may well soon find itself at a competitive disadvantage -

and potentially losing customers to one of your competitors who can

Remember that in many business environments today especially

within Business to Consumer segments switching suppliers can often

be as easy as a few clicks of a mouse Meanwhile those of you in

Business to Business sectors should also remember that the lines

between the consumer and business worlds are continuously blurring ndash

as are the expectations of service across the two disciplines

The good news is that the technology that is at our disposal today is

not just exciting it is truly transformational when it comes to field

service delivery Newly emerging innovative technologies such as

Augmented

Reality the Internet of Things and 3D printing will all play a pivotal role

in field service operations in the not-too-distant future for sure

However it is important that field service organisations have an

underlying layer of technology already in place before they can fully

embrace such new and exciting solutions

Solutions such as scheduling systems a dedicated mobile app and

customer portals have all become table stakes in the modern field

service solution which is invariably powered by Cloud computing

Each of these is essential for efficient and effective service delivery and

should form the backbone of your field service technology ecosystem

ndash without which you are likely to find yourselves at a significant


However perhaps the most critical thing for modern field service

delivery is to be able to allow data to flow seamlessly across the

business which is why for me Cloud is the game changer In the past

we used to bring the data to an application but in todayrsquos world we

bring applications to the data

Those companies that can react to this shift in approach and who

reflect it in their field service management systems are likely to

flourish but those who fail to do so or even those who are slow to do

so may well find themselves at a competitive disadvantage sooner

rather than later

Automation Is Essential To Meet The Challenges Of 21St Century Field Service Management

Tim Hermans Senior International Pre-Sales Consultant HSO outlines why he believes that it has now become essential for field service organisations to bring in at least some fundamental aspects of automation into their service delivery processes


About HSO

HSO is a leading global technology- and professional services company delivering successful business transformations using Microsoft cloud business applications data and analytics that improve results of our customers

As Microsoft Solution Integrator HSO innovates designs implements integrates optimises and manages business processes and applications based on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Azure

With over 800 professionals throughout Europe North America and Asia HSO combines innovative technology with extensive industry expertise in retail distribution manufacturing and (field-) services and unique global delivery capabilities to help customers achieve and maintain competitive advantage (anywhere) in todayrsquos digital and global world

HSO has been part of Microsoftrsquos Inner Circle since 2007 the top 1 of best performing Microsoft partners worldwide

visit wwwhsocom for more information

About Field Service NewsField Service News is the industry leading publication for field service

professionals globally

With an unparalleled collection of widely respected industry leaders

from both industry and academia contributing insightful and informative

articles published daily plus access to key educational materials for field

service professionals including white papers podcasts video and webinars

fieldservicenewscom is a key resource visited by over thirty thousand field

service professionals each month

If you are an field service management professional you can apply for a

complimentary subscription www fieldservicenewscomsubscribe

1927Media ltd

Field Service News is a 1927 Media Ltd Publication


Introduction

Often it is the field service manager whose day-to-day interactions with field service engineers and customers alike give them crucial insight into the areas in

which their service organisation requires improvement who is the first to identify the need for investment in upgrading replacing or improving their field

It seems like only a short time ago that one of the key discussions within the

global field service sector was whether companies should shift the focus of

their field service operations from being a cost centre to a profit centre

At the time this was a major break from tradition in terms of how field service

was placed within the business and how it was perceived at large Service was

often very much a necessary evil that was in place to support product sales

Service delivery was an opaque mystery for all of those in the business whose

role lay outside of the service domain

Fast forward to today and the world in which we live is radically different The

shift to field service being a profit centre has become the norm and as we

enter an age of servitization advanced services and outcome based service

offerings we are beginning to see service revenue often becoming a significant

if not primary line on an organisationrsquos profit and loss sheet

In such an environment it is of course essential that every single aspect of

field service operations is fully optimised To achieve this a modern field

service management (FSM) system is essential

A Return on Investment is one of the key selling points that FSM solution

providers will put forward when engaging with their prospective customers for

a good reason ndash it is something that catches the attention of the C-Suite and

can be delivered in several different areas within the field service operations

These include

Reducing lsquoWindscreen-Timersquo

Perhaps the most obvious and most effective area in which a company can see

ROI on an FSM solution is by increasing the effective time of their engineers

through better scheduling

Whether it be the move from spreadsheets and whiteboards to a relatively

simple assisted scheduling solution or upgrading a solution from a standard

scheduling tool to something more advanced which utilises artificial intelligence

based algorithms and real-time traffic data - improving the routing and

dispatch of your engineers can lead to significant reductions in lsquowindscreen

timersquo for your engineers

The ability to leverage more efficient scheduling can enable an organisation

to see their engineers spending more time on site with customers and being

productive ndash this is often referred to as engineer utilisation

In some cases the results can be as dramatic as adding in an extra couple

of jobs per engineer per day but even a small amount of minutes saved per

engineer each day will translate into significant cost reductions when

multiplied across a fleet

service infrastructure

It is the field service manager who has to find the balance between ever-increasing customer expectations and growing demands from the executive board It is

a dichotomy of constantly trying to do more with less It is the field service manager who is seeing his team heading towards retirement age while he struggles to

replace them with an influx of millennial recruits It is the field service manager who can see the importance of investing in improved service management software

to improve his and his teamrsquos ability to tackle these day-to-day challenges more effectively and to drive their service delivery towards the levels of excellence both

his board and his customers demand

All too often it can take years for that field service manager to convince his organisation to invest in a project to enhance their service delivery capabilities ndash if

they ever do so at all But with the current pace of competitive change at an all-time high any delay in pushing forward such a project could put a business at a


With this in mind this white paper looks at three key areas in which field service managers can build a case for this investment to take to the board to expedite a

decision

Stay with the numbers - building a case with return on investment (ROI)




































surprisingly simply















































anything at all










platform that meets






































robust




































0125



speech

















































vehicles




of the day





scheduled leave



maintenance task






























is a concern





Assessments

















Health and Safety






























































timeless


itselfrdquo



- Peter Drucker



























FSM technology




contemplating






operations




















Augmented






















rather than later




About HSO
















1927Media ltd





































surprisingly simply















































anything at all










platform that meets






































robust




































0125



speech

















































vehicles




of the day





scheduled leave



maintenance task






























is a concern





Assessments

















Health and Safety






























































timeless


itselfrdquo



- Peter Drucker



























FSM technology




contemplating






operations




















Augmented






















rather than later




About HSO
















1927Media ltd


















anything at all










platform that meets






































robust




































0125



speech

















































vehicles




of the day





scheduled leave



maintenance task






























is a concern





Assessments

















Health and Safety






























































timeless


itselfrdquo



- Peter Drucker



























FSM technology




contemplating






operations




















Augmented






















rather than later




About HSO
















1927Media ltd















robust




































0125



speech

















































vehicles




of the day





scheduled leave



maintenance task






























is a concern





Assessments

















Health and Safety






























































timeless


itselfrdquo



- Peter Drucker



























FSM technology




contemplating






operations




















Augmented






















rather than later




About HSO
















1927Media ltd


































vehicles




of the day





scheduled leave



maintenance task






























is a concern





Assessments

















Health and Safety






























































timeless


itselfrdquo



- Peter Drucker



























FSM technology




contemplating






operations




















Augmented






















rather than later




About HSO
















1927Media ltd




















is a concern





Assessments

















Health and Safety






























































timeless


itselfrdquo



- Peter Drucker



























FSM technology




contemplating






operations




















Augmented






















rather than later




About HSO
















1927Media ltd




















































timeless


itselfrdquo



- Peter Drucker



























FSM technology




contemplating






operations




















Augmented






















rather than later




About HSO
















1927Media ltd




























FSM technology




contemplating






operations




















Augmented






















rather than later




About HSO
















1927Media ltd





operations




















Augmented






















rather than later




About HSO
















1927Media ltd



About HSO
















1927Media ltd


1927Media ltd


Date post:	24-Jun-2020
Category:	Documents
Upload:	others
View:	1 times
Download:	0 times

White Paper: Three Core Arguments To Use When Seeking ...€¦ · A field service management...

Documents