Today’s field service organizations are on a mission to migrate from the traditional break/fix service model to a predictive service model — it’s simply what customers expect and where the industry is headed. As Jack Rijnenberg, director of global customer service at Markem-Imaje put it when I interviewed him recently, “There’s a clear movement in the service industry toward predictive service, and that’s the direction we need to move in.” But the reality is, a successful transition from break/fix to predictive service requires well thought out strategy and execution.
As companies adopt various digital technologies along with new strategies in an effort to make operations more efficient and to provide better service to their customers, determining the appropriate balance between speed and thorough execution is sure to be a challenge. Field service organizations especially are under a lot of pressure to optimize productivity, to deliver a superior customer experience, and to become a profit center. Under the weight of that pressure, it’s easy to race through your current initiative in an effort to “check the box” and move on to the next phase.
The topic of shifting to an agile software development methodology has come up in a few of my conversations with field service leaders recently. I’m no software developer, so I first had to learn exactly what an agile approach was and how it differed from some more traditional development methodologies, such as waterfall. Using a traditional approach, such as waterfall, the project is put into sequential, predefined phases and worked to completion before being fully deployed to the user base. The agile methodology is built on the concept of giving a self-directed team broad goals and then allowing them to work to meet those goals. Agile uses incremental planning whereby detail is added and revisions are made throughout, versus identifying all of the detail of the project from the outset.
National Grid shares the highs and lows of a major business transformation projected to reduce total operational spend across its U.S. utilities by approximately $100 million.
Editor-In-Chief Sarah Nicastro talks one-on-one with Ryan Snellings of Fresenius Kabi about how the company is reducing costs and increasing revenue.
This transportation company saved $300,000 the first year its telematics solution was in place, which led to further innovation.
GE Healthcare has increased service revenue by $10 million through its digital transformation efforts.
The use of augmented reality (AR) in field service has shifted from hypothetical to reality with companies experiencing benefits such as remote resolution and stronger training and support of field workers. Fresenius Kabi is a global health care company that specializes in lifesaving medicines and technologies for infusion, transfusion, and clinical nutrition.
Blake Morgan, customer experience futurist, wrote an article recently for Forbes titled The 10 Most Customer-Obsessed Companies In 2018 where she highlights “the 10 most customer-obsessed companies of 2018 that are setting the gold standard for what it means to put customers first.” She selected her list based on these companies being “most cited in reviews and the business press and were included because of their industry-leading focus on customer experience.”
In today’s competitive field service landscape, complacency is the kiss of death. Continual forward motion is crucial, in terms of innovation, skill building, and process optimization. From both a company and personal perspective, it’s important to determine appropriate ways to continually invest in field service success. “Maintaining the status quo” is no longer an option.
