There is immense pressure on field service organisations to meet service level agreements (SLAs), amid a lack of skilled workers and a growing need to reach tech superiority.
These are among the findings from a global research study by IFS highlighting the challenges facing field services companies.
The IFS State of Service 2023 report clearly shows that technology is a key differentiator within the field service market and has surprisingly overtaken customer experience as a number one priority.
Breaking down the detail, the report shows that nearly half (46%) of respondents feel their companies struggle to meet service level agreements (SLAs), and 37% cite that legacy and outdated technology still presents challenges.
“It’s deceiving to think that the move from customer service to technology superiority is a litmus test for the whole industry. Instead, what can be assumed here is that there is a maturity amongst businesses that to improve customer experience, they need better technology systems,” says Heman Kassan, chief operations officer of IFS’s local partner Technodyn International. “The trend points to the understanding that business needs to invest in the right digital technology or risk becoming obsolete.”
Other concerns highlighted by respondents include the lack of a skilled workforce (40%) and user adoption of new technology (37%). But this is not stopping progress, as the 2022 research shows that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) has grown from 22% to 46% and reverse logistics from 25% to 54%. Interestingly, the use of chatbots has increased from a mere 11% to 44%.
According to IFS, the State of Service research also reveals that customer service remains a priority, with the highest ranking technologies for future adoption including remote assistance (44% of respondents planning to implement), wearables (44%), knowledge management (42%), simulations (41%), scheduling optimisation and automation (40%), and customer self-service (36%).
“In a world of limited resources, the industry is showing a clear need for technologies that facilitate better customer engagements and improve service delivery,” says Kassan.