In a recent webinar, Marne Martin, the Chief Strategy Officer at IFS, explored Service Life Cycle Management and why it should be a priority for manufacturing organizations looking to revolutionize their service strategies.
From holistic approaches to outcomes-based service, unified data, connected experiences, product-service integration, and sustainability, Marne explores strategies you can embrace the future of service life cycle management and drive your business to new heights…
Embracing a Holistic Approach
Service life cycle management isn’t just about fixing things when they break. It encompasses a holistic approach that considers the complete end-to-end process of people, parts, assets and customers to achieve maximum value over the life of a product. For example, incorporating the spare pare requirement in the selection of the optimum technician ensures a higher first-time fix rate (FTFR). By optimizing the entire life cycle, businesses can enhance efficiency, profitability, and customer satisfaction.
Driving Outcomes and Servitization
In the pursuit of complete customer satisfaction, the move to outcomes-based service is gaining momentum. By focusing on the capability or outcome derived from use of the product, for the first time, both the customer and service provider share a common goal. Service life cycle management software contributes to this by incorporating design for service in product engineering, moving to a more predictive and prescriptive model and increasing uptime, ultimately leading to more profitable and consistent recurring revenues whilst delivering a guaranteed outcome. A true win-win.
Unifying Data and Technology
A successful service life cycle management strategy relies on unified data and technology. By breaking down silos and ensuring that data is accurate and uniform across various systems, you can drive efficiency and maximize technology investments. Using IFS, Manufacturers can leverage data from various sources, including IoT sensors, to identify patterns, predict failures, and optimize service processes, ultimately leading to better business outcomes.
The Power of Connected Experiences
With the rise of digital interactions, businesses need to understand what customers value and adapt their service models accordingly. For example, field service teams should be empowered to embrace technology and deliver connected experiences that cater to customers’ ever-evolving needs. By having real-time access to data, technicians can be dispatched with the right skills and parts, leading to quicker resolution times, reduced service costs, and greater customer experience. Likewise, customers should feel in control with self-service capabilities across the lifecycle. At the same time, AI and machine learning drive automation across the lifecycle, for example, predicting the likelihood of a certain part being required or dynamically adjusting the job duration based on learning individual technician proficiency levels.
Integration of Product and Service
Service life cycle management fosters better integration between product development and service teams. Known as “design for service”, this collaboration allows manufacturers to design products with serviceability in mind, leading to easier maintenance, a specific service BOM and faster repairs. This is not a one-off event, but part of a closed-loop cycle, with engineering changes being driven based on usage and performance data derived in the field. Again, a truly end-to-end lifecycle.
Sustainability and Circular Economy
Sustainability is gaining increased focus for all companies, and IFS has multiple touchpoints across the service lifecycle that reduce a company’s footprint, from Planning Scheduling and Optimization software that reduces travel (and thus Co2 emissions) to reducing waste and landfill through Reverse Logistics (i.e. refurbs or recycling) – by adopting circular economy practices and designing products for service, manufacturers can make strides toward a greener and more responsible future, a factor which is becoming increasingly influential in the choice of supplier or service provider.
Looking Ahead
Service life cycle management is not just about managing assets but about delivering exceptional customer experiences and building a sustainable future. Implementing such software in the manufacturing industry would lead to a wide range of benefits, from increased customer satisfaction and revenue to superior outcomes and improved sustainability. It also helps future-proof your business for changing audience demands and servitization models which for many, are already afoot.
SOURCE: Martin, M. (2023, September 27). Mastering Service Life Cycle Management: Key Strategies for Manufacturing success. IFS Blog. https://blog.ifs.com/2023/09/mastering-service-life-cycle-management-key-strategies-for-manufacturing-success/
