After two years of disruption, field service teams are preparing for another year of technology-enabled services. And while many look forward to a return to relative normalcy, most would agree that the procurement function may never be the same again. To be published at the end of April 2022, this report will explore how field service organizations’ technology strategies have changed over the past year. It will include key insights from decision makers and benchmarking information about companies’ service strategies. Here are a few of the report’s highlights.
The field service industry is rapidly changing. No longer can businesses rely on a customer service representative to take a ticket and then dispatch a technician. With automation, businesses can now offer their customers self-service options that allow them to resolve common issues on their own. These types of capabilities are becoming increasingly important as field service organizations begin to serve a much more tech-centric generation. In the coming years, more and more field service customers will expect automation, digital interaction, and fast service to be the norm. The challenge is determining how they can adapt their processes to accommodate automation without severing the bonds between their people and their customers. In this article, we will explore how field service organizations are entering the age of automation and how they are meeting the needs of a more tech-centric customer base.
Field service and fleet management professionals are always looking for ways to improve efficiency and reduce costs. In recent years, electric vehicles have become a more popular option for businesses, as they are seen as a more environmentally friendly option. However, with the rise of multi-fuel engine platforms, many field service and fleet managers are considering multi-fuel options as a likely bridge toward sustainability. In this article, we’ll explore what multi-fuel engine platforms and the future of electric vehicles mean for fleet management.
Field service operations typically delegate customer service leadership to a specific executive, such as the chief service officer (CSO). While this model has worked in the past, it is becoming clear that CSOs must partner with other executives to achieve customer success. This is especially true at companies that are undergoing digital transformation, as new technology initiatives must be applied within the service department and to customer service processes as well. Here's why field service operations should partner with the chief information officer (CIO) to deliver better outcomes for customers.
Best Buy receives high marks for its customer service and customer support departments, especially for its Geek Squad. In addition to a generous returns policy, the brand has a dedicated tech support function that provides top-notch service and a subscription-based service model that drives revenue. According to the Best Buy website, its 1-year Geek Squad 24/7 support offering has 4.5 out of 5 stars. Best Buy may be a retailer, but the company's focus on customer success can serve as a powerful template for the service industry. Here's what service executives can learn from Best Buy.
Customer service is an essential element of the culture at every company, but many companies still struggle to align their departments and focus on delighting the customer. Unfortunately for them, the days when a single department the customer experience have come to an end. A customer issue negatively impacts both customers as well as the organization's bottom line. More importantly, customers are now more demanding than ever, and it takes more than a customer service department to empower them and handle their requests. Here's how more organizations can become customer-centric by aligning their departments and ensuring everyone takes responsibility for customer delight.
It may seem difficult to draw a line between the Disney experience and the world of field service. But if there’s one thing Disney and its theme parks are known for, it’s top-notch customer service. In a way, field service organizations are in the same business. The tools and contexts may be different, but at the end of the day, world-class field service is all about creating positive experiences for customers and making their lives better.
Field service organizations depend on their fleets to transport products, people, and services to customer locations. However, commercial fleet operations are often complicated. Not only do field service organizations need to maintain and account for their vehicles, but they also need to ensure that their fleet operations align with their strategic business goals. Recently, a Toyota subsidiary made a significant investment into IoT technology, and it could lead to significant changes to how commercial fleets operate.
Field service organizations have evolved over the past several years, and that’s in no small part due to their technology implementations. New software integrations have improved efficiency by adding automation and by digitizing many internal processes. Here’s how field service organizations are using technology to become industry leaders.
Every business is ultimately intertwined with the rest of the world. There is no action a company can take that does not have a direct or indirect impact on communities and the environment. Furthermore, recent events have only reiterated the importance of corporate responsibility. The public now expects companies to formulate a direct stance on social issues and to be transparent about their financial dealings, environmental impact, and employee culture.
Self-service is a trending topic in various areas of business. Over the past several years, consumer-facing organizations have spearheaded the concept of self-service and embraced a range of digital capabilities to make customer interactions easier and more streamlined.
In the field service industry, customer self-service is decidedly digital-first as well. After taking a note from consumer-facing markets, many field service organizations now use customer-facing digital portals to help their customers manage interactions with the company.
Field service organizations have taken significant steps to transform themselves into agile and digital-first operations over the past several years, and those transformations are ongoing. As part of their efforts, many organizations have chosen to outsource some aspects of their business. Sometimes, field service teams will outsource core operations to trusted contractors and technology firms.
However, field service teams can free up considerable resources by outsourcing non-core functions as well.
An organization's ability to process and analyze data quickly is now paramount to its success. Today's field service organizations use networks of IoT-connected technologies to generate and aggregate data. That data is what they use to monitor deployed machines and tools in the field, generate reports on the status of their service agreements, and automate solutions for field service challenges in real-time.
As field service organizations continue their efforts toward digital transformation, new capabilities and service offerings are emerging as a result. Central to these organizations' transformations is a relatively simple concept: asset visibility. By gaining real-time visibility into how their deployed assets are performing, manufacturers, distributors, and field service teams can determine how well their products are serving their customers.
The past year has provided field service organizations with some hard-earned lessons, but also new opportunities. The COVID-19 pandemic caused disruptions to almost every industry. Supply chains struggled to keep up with demand, and many field service teams were forced to significantly alter their operations to protect the health of employees.
As heads of their organizations' field service operations, chief service officers already have a lot on their plate. The past year hasn't made their jobs any easier, either.
Employee burnout is a significant problem across business sectors. According to Deloitte, 77% of professionals say they have experienced burnout at their current job. The same study also found that 91% of professionals believe having an unmanageable amount of stress or frustration impacts the quality of their work...
The European Union's (EU) Medical Device Regulation (2017/745) and In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation (2017/746) set standards and oversight requirements for manufacturers of medical devices and in vitro diagnostic solutions that intend to distribute their products in the EU. They are a much-needed replacement for decades-old regulations. However, they affect healthcare technology organizations within and outside of the EU. They have also brought some significant challenges and opportunities to these companies' operations.
The size of the global medical technology industry reached over 450 billion U.S. dollars in 2019. Established centers of this industry include the United States and Western Europe, but industry trends show that countries in Asia—especially China—are about to play a more prominent role in the years to come.
By connecting devices into a single service environment using IoT, field service organizations can more effectively leverage their asset data, engage in predictive and proactive maintenance, and gain better visibility into the end-user experience. If your organization is considering a widespread rollout of IoT technology, here are some insights into what it could mean for both your company and your customers.
Field service organizations that maintain medical devices in clinical settings faced a tumultuous year in 2020. Restrictions due to social distancing guidelines added new challenges to the process of maintaining the uptime of medical devices, deploying technicians, and pursuing future technology initiatives.
Field service organizations use a range of technologies to serve their clients. These technologies include software solutions like field service management (FSM) tools, hand-held devices, and IoT-connected products that gather data when operating in the field. But the adoption of new technologies also comes with inherent risks.
AR was initially applied in field service as a tool to remove barriers during diagnostic procedures. Now, it is enabling field service teams to provide remote assistance to their customers. Here, we'll explore what the increased adoption and performance of AR means for field service.
When experienced technicians leave, they take their knowledge with them. The challenge for field service organizations is capturing that knowledge before it departs, so it can be transferred to new technicians.
In the past, this was often accomplished through apprenticeship and training programs. But increasingly, knowledge capture tools are enabling organizations to maintain institutional knowledge automatically.
Moving forward, field service organizations could continue to use contactless field service options to serve customers. Not only do these capabilities keep their technicians safe, but they can also provide clients and end-users with more flexible service options.