Service Management Report
Volume 4, Spring 2008
Main Articles:
Ask the Expert: Interview with Roger Dycus, Senior Director Operations, Rolls-Royce Corporation
Feature Article: The Aging Workforce: Capturing the Knowledge and Experience of the Retiring Service Worker.
by Mike Landry, Founder and CTO, Servigistics
Feature Article: Strategic Service Management: View from EMEA by Shawn Lane, Vice President, Servigistics, EMEA
Feature Article: Part Three of a Five Part Streaming Video Series: Industry Analysts and Visionaries Weigh-In on the Value of Strategic Service Management
Industry Research
AMR Research: Four Trends for Service Lifecycle Management in 2008
In 2008, leading service companies will look for innovative technologies to help themselves move from a reactive, passive model of customer service to a proactive approach. Not surprisingly, the service lifecycle management (SLM) discipline shares some of the same opportunities and hurdles as outlined in our predictions for this year, "What to Expect in the SCM and Logistics Markets in 2008: AMR Research's Top 10 Trends." These include the growing importance on connectivity between network partners and the increasing demand for what-if analysis and simulation tools. Download the report now.AberdeenGroup: The Impact of Globalization on the Service Supply Chain
Aberdeen research shows that the need to deliver a cost-effective service experience to customers across multiple geographic regions is driving service executives to adopt centralized management and business processes to better manage people, parts, and data within their service organizations. A survey of 180 global service executives conducted in December 2007 and January 2008 found that Best-in-Class firms are centralizing knowledge management and logistics functions, developing local service models that can be integrated into a global service function, and leveraging technology with global functionality to address an expanding international customer base. Download the report now.
Gartner: Key Issues for Customer Service and Field Service Strategies, 2008
Three trends will capture the attention of leaders engaged in customer service excellence through 2012: acceleration of consumers turning to Internet peers for information, opinions and suggestions; platform modernization; and leveraging positive customer experiences to drive sales and lower costs. Read the report at Gartner by clicking here.
AMR Research: Service-Level Breakthrough: A Case Study in Service Parts Planning
Analysts William McNeill and John Fontanella discuss how Subaru of New England, an independent automotive distributor with 63 franchised dealerships, was faced with the problem of excess spare parts inventory, both at its central warehouse and dealerships. Despite the excess inventory, the company's overall service level, which was measured in first-time fill rates for orders, was about 70%. The company had high inventory levels, but they clearly weren't the right parts. Subaru of New England suspected that fixing its inventory problem was more about measuring demand better. If this was fixed, it could solve both the inventory problem and low service levels. Read the case study at AMR Research by clicking here.
Case Studies
Leading Agricultural Equipment Manufacturer Plows for Profit
The first price book process netted almost a 2 percent increase in gross profit as a percent of sales. Almost half of this amounted to over $25M in annualized profit increase and was attributed to the Servigistics Parts Pricing. In addition to better pricing, the company is also realizing financial benefits through better supplier cost management and negotiation. Download the complete case study now.
Upcoming Events
Nordic Aftermarket Strategies 2008
April 22-23, 2008
Stockholm, Sweden
EXCHANGE 2008
April 27–29, 2008
The Fairmont, Dallas, Texas
Airline & Aerospace MRO & Operations IT Conference
May 22-23, 2008
Frankfurt, DE
Interlog Summer
June 9-12, 2008
Las Vegas, Nevada
Podcasts:
Pressed for time? Try a podcast! Listen to the latest industry news and trends during your work-out, your commute or air travel.
Service Parts Planning and Pricing Pack One-Two Punch
To maximize the profitability of their post-sale service operations, companies must adopt a two-pronged approach that includes optimizing the placement and distribution of service parts inventory as well as the administration of service parts prices. Those companies that recognize the critical linkage between service parts planning and pricing and integrate their systems and processes accordingly can expect to improve both top-and bottom-line performance.
Industry News
As Strategic Service Management continues to garner executive level attention, the volume of related news, media and industry analyst coverage, market research, and white papers has dramatically increased. As a result, one of the goals of the Service Management Report is to provide you with the latest Strategic Service Management information.
Service Management: The First Step in Remote Fixing is Knowledge Management
Remote device management can not only diagnose the problem but also fix it without interaction with a call centre agent or a field technician. However, the problem can also be remotely diagnosed and potentially repaired by taking the user through a series of questions using case-based reasoning. This is Knowledge Management, the next step toward remote diagnostics: Read the full article now.
Align Journal: Turning Straw into Gold: Post-Sale Service Drives Profit while Reducing Costs
As global competition and customer demands intensify, the service delivered after the sale of a product is now what truly differentiates competitors from one another. While products and features can be duplicated, after-sale service is difficult to replicate and can have a substantial impact on a company's revenue, profitability, and customer loyalty: Read the full article now.
European Supply Chain Management Magazine: Taking a Gamble? Outsourcing the Service Business: A Risky Business or a Missed Opportunity
Outsourcing is an emotive issue. Not least because, as cited this year, 50 percent of outsourcing deals fail due to poor working relationships. Whether it's offshoring production, near-shoring product assembly or contracting out other business functions, such as IT or HR, outsourcing remains a bone of contention for manufacturers. Read the full article now.
Engineering Magazing: Environment: Life Plan
While the environmental debate is consumed with end-of-life (EOL) disposal, other business areas are continuing to make their mark away from the spotlight. From initial manufacture to aftermarket service provision, the high-tech sector is leaving an increasingly visible environmental footprint. Read the full article now.
ThomasNet Industrial Newsroom: Software promotes quick service call resolutions
By facilitating and accelerating access to known product-repair problem/solution sets, Service Knowledge Management helps manufacturers' service organizations improve first time fix rates, avoid unnecessary dispatches, and enable customer self-service. Case-based reasoning enables real-time comparison of each new customer problem with existing cases in continuously enriched database, and then matches them with most likely resolution to resolve service calls in timely manner: Read the full article now.
Integrated Solutions: Uncover Untapped Revenue with Improved Service Parts Pricing
These days, more science and less art is needed when it comes to service parts pricing. Mike Landry, Founder and CTO, Servigistics, explains the advantages of integrating a service parts pricing solution: Read the full article now.
IDC's Manufacturing Insight's Theory and Practice Newsletters: Servigistics Partners with IBM
Servigistics announced participation in IBM's PartnerWorld Industry Networks as an Industry-Optimized partner, which will expand Servigistics' go-to market strategies across IBM's thirteen industry networks. To achieve Industry-Optimized status, Servigistics successfully validated its service management software applications on IBM software and hardware. Read the full article now.