ARCHIVE FOR THE ‘automation’ CATEGORY

In an age of artificial intelligence and automation, new research finds that the ability of workers to improvise and innovate is already underused.

Marketing automation solutions market to reach $6.36 billion by 2025, finds Frost & Sullivan

MegaFon, one of the leading telecommunication suppliers in Russia, has deployed the Comarch Field Service Management system to minimize the cost of service downtime and significantly improve and automate service delivery processes involving the work of 1500 employees. 

Managing tens of thousands of field service tasks per day in numerous locations requires enormous human resource capacity and generates significant costs. Additionally, with more than half a million network elements and thousands of employees engaged in the service delivery process, management of incoming issues is complex and time-consuming. MegaFon was looking to streamline these operations, minimize income losses resulting from network and service downtime, and improve field service quality. To reach those business objectives, Comarch implemented its Field Service Management system.

With the on-premises application of Comarch Field Service Management and the Comarch FSM Mobile app, the daily, paper-based responsibilities of engineers, managers and administrators have been digitized. In addition, subcontractors’ employees can now access the system and use its capabilities. As a result, field work management has been unified and centralized, which was crucial for the company.

Deployment of the software enabled MegaFon to automate field workforce management, optimize planning and scheduling, and introduce real-time reporting. With these features, the company is now able to manage tasks efficiently in connection with emergency incidents, planned works, customer complaints, energy systems and infrastructure problems from mobile and fixed networks.

“The implementation of the Comarch FSM solution in MegaFon is another opportunity to share our experience in the telecommunication sector and advise our client on how to optimize their processes. This project allowed us to build a strong presence on the Russian market,” says Szymon Uczciwek, Head of Field Service Management Consulting in Comarch.

About Megafon
MegaFon is one the leading telecommunication service providers in Russia, claiming 29.5% of the market share in 2017. The company and its subsidiaries operate in all Russian regions, along with Abkhazia, South Ossetia and the Republic of Tajikistan. Their subscriber base exceeded 77 million at the end of 2017.

Megafon’s company offer covers all telecoms market segments. Services include voice, mobile data, fixed-line telecommunication services, digital TV, IP telephony and innovative solutions such as mobile TV, OTT video content, M2M, mobile and financial advertising and cloud services.

MegaFon’s shares have been traded on the Moscow Stock Exchange since 2012, and on the London Stock Exchange since 2014.

About Comarch
Comarch is a global supplier of software and services for enterprises. It has over 20 years’ experience designing, implementing and integrating IT solutions for some of the world’s largest brands, including BP, Deutsche Telekom, Diageo, KPN, Orange, Telefónica, Unilever and Vodafone. Comarch has a specialist telecoms unit providing IT solutions to telecoms operators around the world. It builds technology solutions to meet the key requirements of telecoms companies, namely to increase revenue, grow business efficiency, simplify systems, cut costs, enhance the customer experience, build new services and shorten their time to market.

Comarch IT solutions for telecoms have been consistently listed in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant report, while its IoT offer has been evaluated positively by Berg Insight, IHS Markit and Gartner, who also named Comarch a “Vendor to watch” in the 2017 Market Trends: A Comprehensive Approach to CSP IoT Platform Selection Will Enhance Market Positioning.

The company has also been recognized for its work in the telecoms industry by other analysts, including Forrester, Informa and Frost & Sullivan.

According to a new research report from IoT analyst firm Berg Insight, the installed base of sensors, actuators, modules, gateways and other connected devices deployed as part of IoT-based building automation in smart and connected commercial buildings was an estimated 151 million units worldwide at the end of 2018.

Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33 percent, the installed base will reach 483 million units in 2022. About 4.5 million of these devices were connected via cellular networks in 2018. The number of cellular connections in the building automation market will grow at a CAGR of 44 percent to reach 19.4 million in 2022. In terms of revenues, Berg Insight estimates that connected devices into the global BIoT market generated revenues of more than US$ 1.2 billion in 2018. This figure will grow at a CAGR of 21 percent to almost US$ 2.7 billion in 2022.
 
This study from Berg Insight analyses the market for building automation in smart buildings along multiple verticals ranging from well-known ones such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), indoor lighting, fire & safety, access & security, to lesser known ones such as electric vehicle charging, irrigation systems and pool monitoring. The most successful building automation solutions to date, in terms of sold units, include access and security, fire and safety, HVAC systems and elevators and escalators management. These solutions are marketed by product OEMs such as Assa Abloy, Avigilon, AMAG Technology, HID Global, Comark, Tyco, Albireo Energy, Cimetrics, Delta Controls, ENGIE Insight, Silvair, KONE, Otis, Schindler and ThyssenKrupp. The automatic control may be done through a centralized system such as a Building Management System (BMS). Examples of BMS solution providers include ABB, Honeywell, Johnson Controls, Schneider Electric, Siemens and United Technologies.
 
Building automation has been around for many decades but there is a new urgency due to factors such as energy conservation as well as mandates for green construction. The latest smart building solutions leverage new technologies such as IoT, big data, cloud computing, data analytics, deep learning and artificial intelligence for the benefits of saving energy, reducing operational expenditures, increasing occupancy comfort, and meeting increasingly stringent global regulations and sustainability standards. “A major change is starting to happen now especially in new construction, where the primary driver is changing from cost reduction to features that enhance the user experience and change how users and buildings interact. Instead of there being a single killer-app, we are starting to see a combination of use-cases”, said Alan Varghese, Senior IoT Analyst, Berg Insight.

These use-cases leverage the Internet of Things, sensors and connectivity to enable customization of spaces in offices and conference rooms based on occupancy levels and occupant preferences, efficient mobility throughout the building, and they help occupants with location and wayfinding – all controllable by mobile platforms. Most important, they are capable of predictive awareness of individual needs.

You can download the report here.

This article first published on the HSO blog offers five crucial steps that field service companies can take to get a better handle on the core processes of field service delivery...

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It’s a no-brainer that a flawless service process contributes to higher customer satisfaction and increased service revenues.
But how do you ensure fast and accurate invoicing, service technicians who are always well equipped to solve the problem at hand, and that the right resources are in the right place at the right time? This blog outlines 5 steps to an optimised service process with Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Field Service. 

 

Optimised field service scheduling:

When a visit by a technical field service engineer doesn’t go as planned for one reason or another, money is lost. The five most common reasons why a service is not completed on the first visit are: 

• The right part is not available
• The customer or the equipment is not ready for the service
• The diagnosis already made appears incorrect on site
• The field service engineer does not have the right skills
• The solution was temporary
• The above problems cost the service company money, the field service engineer time and the customer’s patience and satisfaction. Microsoft Dynamics for Field Service offers you Resource Scheduling Optimisation functionality that allows Field Service engineers to be scheduled according to the location, time, customer SLA, personal preferences of the customer and the right skills for the job.

The schedule can be viewed via a mobile device and includes optimised routes that the engineers should take. When a change is made to the schedule, because, for example, there is an unexpected job that requires someone with specific skills, the Field Service engineer receives a notification with a new route. This means that the right person is always at the right place. When the job is completed, a new job is automatically set up. As a result, the time of the Field Service engineer is optimally utilised and no time is lost. Projects can also be planned via the schedule board. When, for example, 50 boilers need to be replaced, it is useful to have a good overview of all available Field Service engineers, based on which the schedule is created as efficiently as possible, taking into account the individual’s workload. In this way, an optimised schedule is automatically drawn up, which dynamically responds to the customer, the Field Service engineer and the company. 

 

Authorise & mobilise Field Service engineer:

Field Service employees often feel alone on the job or do not have access to the right information to solve a customer problem. They want to take control and have insight into the job. When you let your Field Service engineers go ‘mobile’, the company benefits from: 

• On-time appointments through the optimised schedules and routes.
• Case history & instructions: all information about the customer is at hand and when necessary insight into all the steps to complete the task.
• Work order completion: the Field Service engineer can take photos of the finished job, collect a customer signature and even handle the payment.

The process surrounding the purchase of new parts with Field Service has also been optimised. If for example, a certain part is required for the job, the Field Service engineer can order the correct part directly. The purchase page can be chosen to ‘send to ERP’, as a result of which the order will immediately appear in the ERP system of the company. When a certain purchase amount has been preapproved, approval for the purchase can be given immediately, so that the part is immediately ordered. This makes the process more efficient and eliminates unnecessary waiting times. Mobility is a game changer within Field Service and allows for greater flexibility in the field. The possibility of a complete overview of the customer and real-time guidance is necessary for the independent appointment of the Field Service engineer and the optimisation of the customer relationship.

 

Using Machine Learning and the IoT in Field Service:

If your car breaks down, it would be handy if your car could indicate what exactly is wrong. This would save a lot of valuable time. This is possible with machine learning – keep track of which customers or machines often have problems, what the problems are, what solutions have been put forward and which ones were effective. If, for example, it becomes clear that the same solution is always effective for a specific customer, then in the future, the problem can be solved in advance by the Field Service engineer with the right skills or even by providing the right directions remotely. With Field Service you can make optimum use of the opportunities offered by Internet of Things devices. Through optimal application, problems are predicted before downtime occurs and before the customer is affected by the problem. With Field Service you can: 

• Detect and resolve problems before the customer knows about it and only deploy a Field Service engineer when needed.
• Use predictive maintenance effortlessly: repair, clean or replace parts when necessary instead of using a fixed maintenance schedule.
• Automatically adjust work orders and assign these to the correct Field Service engineer, when self-healing steps do not solve the problem.

 

Optimal use of the cloud with the Azure IoT Suite:

What exactly is the Azure IoT Suite? Let’s take a step back and start with the problem for which it was designed. We are currently experiencing tremendous growth in IoT solutions, but why now? The answer to this question is simple: the advantages of IoT solutions start to outweigh the costs that are incurred to implement it. The complex layout of IoT is pricey since you have to have sensors that safely send all data, the data has to be stored, processed and analysed and finally presented to the end user in a clear way.Today, the hardware is already much more affordable and the connectivity is cheaper. The Azure IoT Suite is a set of different technologies brought together in one tool in the cloud. What’s in this tool? 

• Data storage
• Data analytics
• Stream processing
• Predictive analytics
• Workflow automation
• Dashboarding

 Everything you need for optimal use of the cloud. 

 

Customer relationship optimisation:

In 2016, 62% of consumers worldwide indicated they would no longer do business with a brand due to a single bad experience that has taken place with customer service. This highlights the importance of excellent customer service.  With Customer Communications, Field Service helps you to retain your customers by providing optimal service, insight and by involving them in the processes: 

• Companies must gain insight and control the entire customer journey across all touchpoints.
• Maintaining the customer relationship should no longer be a statistical, ‘one-size fits all model’, but should be personalised for each customer.
• Companies have to meet the customer on their preferred channel (e-mail, chat, social media, web, telephone, shop, etc.).

 

And perhaps most importantly: the customer service doesn’t end with a single transaction, it is important to build a long-term relationship. In addition, real-time up-to-date stock management is a must. Poor stock management is, in addition to being a drain on the profitability of a company, an irritation point for the customer. With Customer Communications you always ensure an optimally personalised, proactive and predictive approach to the customer. That is what the customer wants from you nowadays and what companies have to offer.

This article first published on the HSO blog offers some key insight for field service organisations that are keen to empower their field service operation with automated field service scheduling...

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Few companies can remain competitive in today’s field service environment without effective management of time, costs and resources. Despite this, a staggering 52% of field service companies still coordinate work and perform functions manually[i]. The adoption of dynamic, automated scheduling software can free up time to concentrate on team development and maximising revenue. In this blog we share the benefits of, and the pain points eradicated by using automated field service scheduling tools.

 

Management of unexpected changes

No matter how carefully a schedule is planned, unexpected and last-minute changes can occur. Automated software solutions can minimise these risks, while maximising efficiencies. Re-optimisation happens in real time when changes occur, giving both the employee and customer an immediate update, even down to a specific time slot for an engineer’s arrival. With 89% of customers preferring an ‘Uber like” service for tracking technician arrivals[ii], it’s something that will delight customers and increase brand perception.

 

Utilising Graphical User Interfaces (GUI’s)

GUI’s are a popular way to manage resources for the field service industry, not least because it’s a quick and easy way to deal with large amounts of data. Using Microsoft Dynamics 365, team managers can use a calendar style view, showing each technician’s day, jobs and skill set, along with a map view for both staff and call out locations. It’s predicted that by 2020, more than 75% of field service organisations with over 50 users will deploy mobile apps that go beyond simplified data collection and add capabilities that help technicians succeed[iii]. These field operatives can benefit from a mobile app showing location and fastest route, customer assets and service history of the equipment needing attention.

 

Automating decisions using parameters

As well as helping to efficiently book service calls to your customers, automated scheduling software also knows when not to book an appointment. Customer satisfaction can quickly evaporate if technicians don’t have either the skill set or parts required to complete the job. Harnessing data on part availability and employee skills can ensure the right person with the right skill set and equipment is in place at your customer’s site, first time. This also translates into a reduction in repeat call outs and a much improved customer experience.

 

Effective reduction of waste

Time spent by employees travelling to customer sites comes at a cost to your business. They are on the clock during this time and yet it’s not a billable event for your customers. That’s where automated route and traffic mapping can help, like Microsoft’s Resource Scheduling Optimisation. Instant calculations occur, allowing the best available engineer to be selected and routed directly to the customer site – assisted by a simple drag and drop interface for work orders. This not only saves employees’ time, but also wear and tear on a fleet of vehicles and gives a measurable reduction in fuel costs.   .

 

Improving staff morale

Many Engineers like driving, but they all know it is inherently un-productive. What they really want to do is spend their time working on customer-sites. The reduction in the travel-to-work time ratio achieved by a well optimised schedule increases job-satisfaction levels for field personnelAs the global field service market is expected to reach $4.45 billion by 2020[iv], companies that adopt automation will reap the rewards.

From filling shifts in the event of unplanned absences to managing budgets, anticipating scheduling needs to maximising productivity; embracing the right solutions can reduce costs and mitigate lost revenues; while enhancing worker mobility and improving organisational performance.View our infographic about “A Day in the Life of a Field Service Engineer”  with HSO Advanced Field Service.

For more information about the benefits of automated field service scheduling please contact HSO. 

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[i] https://www.servicepower.com/blog/top-5-field-service-industry-trends-for-2018

[ii] https://www.reachoutsuite.com/field-service-management-stats-and-trends-2018/

[iii] https://blog.capterra.com/10-field-service-statistics-to-keep-you-in-the-know/

[iv] https://www.reachoutsuite.com/field-service-management-stats-and-trends-2018/

Andrew Bolivar, Senior Consultant at Ultra Consultants explores how a firm understanding of Best-Practices can help field service companies increase efficiencies...

Effectively managing service technicians in the field has always presented a challenge for companies offering on-site customer service. The complexity of efficiently delivering those services has been a recurring problem, but technology and an enlightened approach to business process improvement provide the enterprise with a solution.

Modern technologies that streamline the management of field operations transform processes for employees as well as customers and key stakeholders.

However, it’s not merely embracing new technology that will enable the enterprise to optimize its field service operations; it also requires a comprehensive analysis of existing business processes and a strategic plan to create the desired future state of operations.

The Traditional Perspective

Field service was traditionally considered an extra, post-sales service, often operated as a low priority cost center with limited potential for expanding business. In today’s competitive marketplace, many companies differentiate themselves by providing additional services that wrap-around traditional product offerings.

Legacy field service management (FSM) solutions frequently lack a comprehensive suite of services. Many companies have cobbled together different solutions to secure all the functionality needed to operate efficiently.

Field service management has evolved into an essential tool which provides tremendous value in generating additional revenue from new and repeat business from existing customers.

Today’s Approach Leverages Technology and Improved Business Processes:

The introduction of field service mobile apps, GPS navigation and email alerts has ushered in a new era for field service. It has become a high priority standard and is a key differentiator when it comes to effective business operations and ongoing customer relationships.

An end-to-end FSM solution may include scheduling and routing optimization, vehicle location, driver logs and hours-of-service tracking, inventory management, field worker management and other benefits like reporting and analytics.  All combine to provide a comprehensive view of the asset’s service history throughout its lifecycle.

Current FSM solutions make it possible to maintain a 360-degree view of customer sites, equipment and service coverage. Time between call receipts and job assignments can be shortened. You can be assured that the right technician, with the right tools, and the right skills and certifications, will arrive at the right time and complete the required service without delay.

Automated Business Processes Provide Improvements in Four Key Areas:

Here are ways that an automated FSM solution can improve business results

1. Improved performance:

• Tracking the root causes of field service requests can drive better quality analysis and identify product design and/or business process improvements.
• An integrated field service management system can provide visibility of new installations or sales and ensure continuous contact with customers at critical phases of their engagement with the company.
• A full view of an asset's lifecycle helps ensure proactive service and warranty management calls

2. Increased productivity:

• Mobile field service applications optimize travel and scheduling for field technicians.
• Integrated warranty management and cost tracking eliminates wasted time and reduces receivables collection time.
• Visibility into your customer’s equipment and service history allow you to plan your inventory and tool requirements sooner – avoiding costly delays and downtime

3. Reduced costs:

• Real-time resource scheduling ensures quick response to customer calls and reduces the cost of idle time between on-site customer visits.
• Integrated, real-time service information reduces the waste in non-productive activities, improves service planning and reduces the need and cost for excess inventory allocated to repair.

4. Improved customer satisfaction

• Faster response time to customer calls and requests not only improves relationships with customers, but also enables opportunities to develop add-on and repeat business.
• Mobile applications and GPS enablement allow companies to alert customers of expected arrival times and access to data via mobile devices ensures field service personnel can be better prepared for each engagement.

Growth is Strong, with North American Market Leading the Way

The field service management market has been estimated to exceed $3.5 billion by 2019 with North America predicted to be the largest market size. Stratistics MRC expects FSM to reach nearly $4.5 billion by 2022 with a CAGR of 16.5 percent. Enhanced customer satisfaction and reducing operational costs are driving market growth while the emerging Internet of Things (IoT) provides ample additional opportunities.

Optimized Field Service Management Offers Huge Opportunity

Customers are increasingly expecting efficiency in field service – and are willing to pay a premium for it.

Leveraging the potential of field service automation with a proper analysis and deployment of appropriate business process improvements can increase the efficiency and productivity of field personnel, reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction.

Companies sticking with legacy systems that don’t optimize field service operations may find their customers increasingly seeking companies that leverage technology to better deliver customer service.

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Human error is unavoidable when it comes to pricing, invoicing, and closing out costly jobs. Consider streamlining work order management through automation software. Various tools can provide work estimates to customers, forecast based on previous numbers, and send automated payment or invoicing reminders to all parties involved.

 

Simplify dispatch

Field service personnel managers know how challenging dispatch can be. Keeping track of techs, and job completions are key to a dispatch manager’s daily grind. Dispatch automation and route optimization software can simplify dispatch by delivering real-time route information, tech activity while on-site, and notices when jobs are completed.

3. Predictive Analytics

What is it?

Inventory, service scheduling, and even customer satisfaction can all be predicted. That is of course, if you have access to the right data.

Predictive analytics leverages statistical algorithms, or machine learning techniques to identify the likelihood of future outcomes. In short, it’s all about predicting customer behavior, equipment failures, and field tech performance.

It requires the tracking of historical data, in order to model and project what will happen in the future.

Why does being predictive matter in field service?

Customer’s desires are changing faster than ever. New consumer services like Uber, Airbnb, and Amazon have completely redefined customer expectations. Instant answers, mobile-first frameworks, and complete transparency are now the norm.

Unfortunately, field service has been slow to catch up. Predictive analytics offer field service management professionals an opportunity to get ahead of customer, and service needs through smarter use of data. This promises a path to satisfying more customers, and faster.

Ideas for implementing predictive analytics in field service:

Embrace big data

Every mobile device, customer touchpoint, and piece of equipment can now deliver data. Embrace all of these newfound touch points, and find a means of tracking them in a single software.

Understanding patterns of behaviour across multiple touch points is how you’ll unlock deep customer insights

 

Track select metrics

Having newfound data at your fingertips can be overwhelming. Hone in on the metrics that matter most, and seek to uncover patterns within the data.

Project future performance with machine learning models

Machine learning leverages pattern recognition and artificial intelligence algorithms to predict future trends based on historical data. Preconfigured machine learning models can help you get from data to insights faster.

As an alternative, consider mapping your own data over a set period of time, creating a basic statistical analysis. Then, forecast across customer satisfaction, tech performance, and more

 

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Want to know more? A white paper from ClickSoftware on this topic is available to Field Service News subscribers only - but if you are a Field Service Professional you may qualify for a complimentary industry practitioner subscription!

Field Service Professional? Click here to apply for a complimentary industry subscription to Field Service News and get the white paper "Preparing for the Connected Customer" sent directly to your inbox now

 

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Call centres staffed by operatives who are not able to make decisions rate considerably worse than call centres that can automate processes, research from [1] Inisoft reveals...

The poll of 2,000 UK adults overturns the received wisdom that automation is a bad thing for customer experience.

Top irritations for customers were:

1. Having to repeat your complaint to multiple people (58.40%)
2. Being placed on hold repeatedly during the call as staff checked policy (40.40%)
3. Feeling like the person you’re speaking to is reading from a script (32.00%)
4. Not feeling that the person you are speaking to has the authority to fix the problem (31.70%)
5. Feeling like the person you are speaking to is insincere (15.40%)

“All of the major customer bugbears are the sorts of experiences typical in a call to a poorly equipped call centre.” said Oonagh McBride, the Head of Inisoft.

 

“Ironically, call centres that lack proper automation tend to give customers the impression that they are talking to automatons.  A poorly equipped call centre will have staff floundering to find the answer to increasingly complex enquiries from customers, leading to delays, inconsistency and frustration.  When confronted with ill-prepared call centre staff, customers often express fury.”

The research also highlighted the importance of agent confidence when it comes to hearing customer problems and going off script if required.  In fact, 75% of those polled stated that receiving an apology was important.  For those aged 35-54, over 30% consider the apology to be ‘very important’.

Oonagh added: “The more technology that call centre operatives have at their disposal, the more they are able to do what they do best, which is to communicate naturally with customers in the sure knowledge that they have all the resources they need.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, only 6% of customers claim that their experience with contact centres is always good – or that there were no frustrations.

 

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1] Research carried out by Censuswide for Inisoft between 9th-11th November 2016.  Omnibus poll took a representative sample of 2,002 UK adults.

 

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