Trends in Service Logistics
Mobile Integration being a mayor focus in current Field Service solutions have brought the Apps wave to the front pages. Can Apps modeling deliver the facts/ or fulfill the needs?
Everybody loves Apps. No doubt Apples mobile revolution has shifted gears towards mobile ease generating enormous success for closed iOS applications. With mashups a new world of small screen applications is evolving. Integrating the field force by mobile is a major efficiency driver in service management. But its not the only one. Interface usability is just one side of the coin. Bringing the right content on the mobile screen is priority. Matter of facts is dynamic processing – in real time. Question is, whether Apps can resolve this best. Real time messaging and maintenance are further objectives to remind. Last but not least alternative technical solutions play a role. With the service logistics market still being at its beginning mobile apps in field service will have all chances for success. However seamless mobile integration can be reached by fully server oriented solutions as well. Or even better, when the front end is completely independent from the application side. Focusing the logic on the server side makes life much easier under many aspects. Only one side to maintain being the most rewarding factor. Running on all sort of devices being the next.
LogObject is focusing an open platform mobile strategy. A server based architecture allows using several mobile devices, from smartphone to laptop and tablet. On iOS, Android and Windows. HTTPS server communication is supplemented by by a caching mechanism which allows operation in GSM uncovered areas. The mobile client acts as a slim client and as such has no synchronization issues. Not to forget: No lock-in – it runs on any and thus on the field services favorite device.
Turning Service-Logistics into a Profit Center
In a world of increasing market competition excelling in Customer Service becomes a deciding factor for success. Service is the only differentiator in an increasing world of similar products. Its customer experience that counts when it comes to loyality and the chance for the next order.
When price rebates dominate a similar goods market service experience is the last resort to excel. By realizing a MAXIMUM Service strategy companies can change markets by quality. And at the same time get the most out of given resources by the quality driven maximization of resource management. With resulting higher motivation allowing Field Service to better perform and excel at customer contact.
Improving Customer Satisfaction while
reducing costs dramatically at the same time.
Perfecting the service quality is win-win situation like no other. Enforcing better price margins by superior service quality and cutting cost by streamlining the service process while reducing capacity peaks and artificial hold gaps for emergency and SLA commits.
It results in the Service Business becoming a profit center if not the major profit source at all. There should be no argument not to excel with a maximum service strategy. It requires the right software solution based on the right principles. Putting logistics at the basis for the decision process and run it hard core: by applying a technique that allows every single decision being taken at the very last possible moment and thus make it possible to finally decide based on the very last service request.
Industrialising the service chain on a dynamic real time process leads to enormous efficiency gains. And the possibility of a new profit center. Why wait?
