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April 2012
Field Service: Themes in Automation and
Empowerment
Aberdeen's service management research over the previous three years has
tracked and revealed major trends in the field service market, pertinent to
the back-office functions of scheduling, planning and workforce management,
and to the field- . based completion of service work by service technicians As
organizations look to unlock the puzzle to the perfect field service scenario,
featuring the 'right technician at the right time with the right tools and the
right customer,' they have invested heavily in improving the speed and
efficiency of information flow between the dispatch organization and the
field. More so, and especially particular to - -the Best in Class field service
performers, there has been an increased investment in understanding field
service demand and developing an appropriate response in terms of the
quantity and quality of resources. As a result, these leading service
organizations have seen significant improvements across the board, from
productivity and response times, to customer satisfaction and profitability.
This document will touch upon some of the major trends tracked in field
service over the previous service management three years of Aberdeen's
research and l how leading service organizations are responding to will revea
and incorporating these trends into their business operations.
Field Study
For service organizations, the field continues to be a major proving ground
in the quest for improved customer satisfaction, higher customer retention
and increased profitability. In Aberdeen's State of Service Management:
Forecast for 2012 r 50esearch (January 2012), % of organizations reported
that field service was a major area of investment in 2012. While these
organizations indicated their intentions to increase their field workforce by
approximately 3.1% in 2012, most of the investment is aimed at
improvements in processes and technology in order to empower the field
workforce. The mission of empowerment has been one embraced by the
Best- -in Class over the previous three years (and more) of field service
research, especially as these organizations look to lock in an enhanced
connection between the back-office and the field in order to improve
productivity, customer satisfaction and service revenue.