The Top 5 Field Technologies Articles Of 2017
2017 has been an exciting year in field service! Some of my personal favorite topics to cover have been how field service is shifting to be such a strategic part of the business, the growing importance of a major focus on the customer experience, and the discussion of how Augmented Reality (AR) is beginning to take hold in field service. I had the opportunity this year to interview some wonderful field service leaders, and it was my honor to share their insights, struggles, and wins with you.
There’s a lot to look forward to in 2018, but before we get there I thought it would be interesting to take a look at what YOUR favorite Field Technologies articles of 2017 were:
#1: PepsiCo's Frito-Lay Division Celebrates Safety Initiative Success – in this article, I interviewed Randy Perry, U.S. National Fleet Safety Manager of PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay Division about the company’s substantial driver safety program. Perry shared tips to help any company developing a safety initiative achieve success.
#2: Markem-Imaje's Quest For Service Standardization – Jack Rijnenberg, director of global customer service at Markem-Imaje, discusses the company’s standardization effort across 700 field technicians, 3,000 employees, and 30 countries. After a failed pilot ending in lessons learned, Markem-Imaje is on a path to success with its current transformation.
#3: Analysts Weigh In On Where Field Service Is Headed In 2018 – Heather Ashton of IDC, Spencer Gisser of VDC, Aly Pinder Jr. of The Service Council, and Jeanine Sterling of Frost & Sullivan share their insights on the biggest challenges field service organizations are currently facing, their most interesting research of 2017, and what they see as the biggest opportunities for field service organizations in 2018.
#4: Mobilizing Inspections Saves $40,000 – Everyone loves a good “save money” story, and this one about The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission delivers. The SFPUC replaced its paper-based inspection reporting process with a mobile app, reducing time spent on processing from 30 minutes down to five and saving the municipal utility – you guessed it - $40,000.
#5: 3 Field Service Mistakes To Avoid In 2017 – This is a column I wrote to kick off 2017, and the three mistakes outlined hold true for 2018 as well. Moving into the New Year, avoid these three missteps: NOT getting closer to your customers; NOT expecting more from your field technicians; and NOT thinking outside the box.
I hope you enjoyed not just these most popular articles this year, but all of our coverage. I’d love to hear from you about what topics you are most interested in me writing about in 2018 – OR if you feel your company has a good story to share! Email me your ideas and I’ll get to work on them.
Wishing you a very Happy New Year!