"Apacheta helps service organizations move from a cost-center to a strategic asset with ServiceACE™, a mobile workflow application that automates field service processes out-of-the-box, yet can be easily customized to fit a company's unique and changing needs."
According to the Venture Development Corporation1, there are over 25 million active service technicians in North America as of February 2006 and the overall enterprise mobile market for field service automation, including hardware, software and services, will grow from $2.5 billion in 2005 to $4.4 billion in 2009.
Part of what is driving this expected increase is that after-sales service is becoming an increasingly important growth area for many businesses. Whereas companies have traditionally viewed after-sales service as a cost of doing business, many are now working to transform their service operations into a strategic asset that can deliver new revenue streams and a competitive edge.
Mobile field service solutions play a critical role in enabling this transition from a cost center to a strategic asset. Whether a company is automating a paper intensive process for the first time or building on an existing system, the potential savings can be substantial. For example, companies that have deployed field service solutions have realized, on average (Aberdeen2):
- 27% improvement in worker productivity
- 19% increase in customer satisfaction / retention
- 17% increase in overall profitability
- 13% increase in service revenues
To achieve these savings, companies need examine many aspects of how the service business operates to determine how to:
- do the job right the first time,
- meet customer schedule commitments,
- increase service force productivity,
- employ company and industry best practices, and
- drive profitable revenue growth.
- 1Field Service Automation Report, Venture Development Corporation, February 2006.
- 2The Mobile Field Service Solution Selection Report, Aberdeen Group, December 2005.
