ANZ field service organisations could save $875,000 annually

Honeywell and The Service Council have revealed that 38% of field service organisations can expect to potentially reduce costs by an average of $875,000 following improvements to workflow processes that would save each worker 30 minutes or more per day.

The finding came out of a survey of 260 global decision-makers, including representatives from Asia Pacific, which polled them on their organisation’s field service processes to gauge potential areas of improvement and enhancements.

The survey showed that in the past 12 months 75% of respondents have conducted a process review, most of which are driven by continuous improvement programs. But 25% have not, and of that group, 63% have not conducted a process review in more than five years.

The most highly ranked opportunities to improve worker efficiency were: daily schedule management and communication, clock-in and clock-out processes, parts lookup, and resolution information and knowledge lookup. Additionally, the top-rated area for workflow improvement in Asia Pacific was call and appointment management.

The primary disconnect from the survey data is that while 65% of organisations indicate that they are fairly diligent about conducting process reviews of their field service operations, only 27% indicate that they are doing so while keeping an eye on revenue objectives.

“The key learning field service leaders can take from this new research is that there are big pay-offs to be earned from placing more emphasis on aligning revenue goals with their process and workflow reviews conducted at the field operations level,” said Honeywell Scanning and Mobility Country Manager, ANZ Tony Repaci. “The positive news is that it is often straightforward changes made across the entire workforce that can deliver these large cost savings results,” he continued.

“Also at the heart of successfully achieving the business goal of increasing revenue is investing in cost-efficient workflow process change, supporting technologies that are capable of meeting business needs now and in the future, as well as the direction and evaluation of workers,” he added.

Field service organisations often follow a common path of goal evolution, including replacement of paper-based processes to productivity boosts and, lastly, a focus on revenue growth. It is evident as businesses move from the initial stages of paper replacement towards the ultimate objective of increasing profits that deploying technology infrastructure only to field operations is not the whole solution. As companies continue to analyse their workflows, both for efficiency and revenue improvements, the more they will be able to capture and realise the value of moving down the mobility maturity path.