“Nice, but not now," is one way to summarize the way many CEO perceived field service automation, at least according to one recent poll. A recent survey of more than 3500 field service professionals and their senior managers discovered a major divergence between the importance placed on field service by CEOs and the commitment companies are actually showing to realize the potential returns of field service through automation.
The survey, conducted by Astea International Inc., (Horsham, PA), a provider of CRM solutions, found that of the nearly 1900 respondents who claim direct decision-making power, 56 percent of CEOs view field service as playing a vital role in their sales and marketing mission, either as a profit center or a product differentiator, but only 42 percent of those chief executives expected to expand their field service budgets in the coming year. Further, of the companies that are expecting to invest in upgrading and automating field service, 40 percent expect to spend less than $250,000 on such initiatives, an amount, says Astea, unlikely to allow for any real gains in field service automation.
The findings are particularly noteworthy when compared to results of a recent report, conducted by AMR Research (Boston, MA), which revealed that service businesses, i.e., those divisions of manufacturing companies that provide parts, maintenance, and other services to customers after original product sales—account for 40 to 50 percent of a manufacturing company's profit and 25 percent of its annual revenue. "Clearly, 'C-level' professionals realize the importance of field service, but somewhere between this perceived value and the organization's investment commitment, there is a breakdown within the organizations," said Zack Bergreen, CEO of Astea. "Thirty-two percent of CEOs rank field service as a potential point of additional sales. Yet investment woefully trails the CEOs' stated commitment to supporting field service and benefiting from it, both as a revenue source and a competitive advantage."
The gulf is also apparent in employee attitudes toward field service, added Astea. For instance, while 24 percent of CEOs say that field service represents a vital product differentiator for their organization, only 8 percent of field service professionals believe that management takes such a progressive approach when supporting and allocating resources for field service.
