Building a Winning Relationship with Customers Through Service

Alain Bienfait, Services Business Director, Kone Asia Pacific

Alain Bienfait, Services Business Director, Kone Asia Pacific

I have often been asked these following key questions: How can Field Services contribute more to businesses? How do we transform Field Services such that it is viewed as an equal business partner rather than an executional arm?

I believe that the answer to these lies in engaging in the transformation of field services towards focusing on delivering greater customer value. The way that KONE has been doing this is through the embracing of technology and its incorporation into our field services. A crucial factor is in identifying the right partner, and for this, we have IBM on board as our partner in delivering support through their Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform, IBM Watson. With the support of IBM Watson, we are able to augment our service solutions and create much more value out of it.

One of the megatrends that we see having a huge impact on our business and the environment that we operate in is Technological Disruption, but we choose to see it as an opportunity instead for us to boldly forge a new path ahead strategically through our field services and operations. Technology has broken down limitations that were previously in place and enabled the creation of new processes, outcomes, and, therefore, values to those who embrace the change, adapt to it, and are able to utilize the change for good.

Specifically for Field Services, I see three main areas in which technology has made a huge positive impact: intelligence, transparency, and finally, safety.

Greater Intelligence

Technology, in the form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), have been two things that we have successfully incorporated into our field services through our own KONE solution, KONE 24/7 Connected Services.

Our products move a billion people every day worldwide, and that means that they generate a huge amount of Big Data on a daily basis. With the technology behind this solution, we now have access to much more real-time performance data of our customers’ assets, giving us not just monitoring capabilities but also offer predictive maintenance and better asset performance management, solutions that transcend what we were previously capable of and allowing us to become real partners to our customers.

Our Products Move A Billion People Every Day Worldwide, And That Means That They Generate A Huge Amount Of Big Data On A Daily Basis

This is how we are now capable of creating greater value for our customers through our field services and operations.

Greater Transparency

Implementation of technology has also created greater transparency, and not just for our Field Services but also for our customers.

Greater transparency has transformed the way our technical teams and technicians work together. Our technicians and technical teams are now better informed prior to responding to service calls; our field supervisors and manager have better access to information that improves asset and resource planning and analysis. Through our online and mobile platforms, our technical teams and technicians are able to work with greater coordination, with the same access to the same information, increasing the efficiency in which they can resolve issues on site. With the implementation of mobile reporting tools, there is also better back reporting, eliminating inefficiencies that had arise out of inaccuracies or timeliness.

For our customers, greater transparency helps us to build their greater trust in our field services as they are kept informed every step of the way in their service journey with us. This creation of value through technology for our customers enhances the value of the services that we provide them, and this has a knock-on effect of improving the monetary value as well.

Greater Safety

Safety has always been a priority for us, especially when KONE is so deeply ingrained into the everyday lives of users of our products. With predictive maintenance and greater asset management empowered by AI and IoT technology, we see significant reductions in safety issues due to our capability of resolving issues before they become a bigger one.

Knowing beforehand the exact issue before each service call allows for our field service teams to focus precisely on the issue at hand and avoid complications from unnecessary steps. Back reporting through mobile application also allows us to know that service jobs have been successfully completed without mishaps, ensuring greater safety oversight.

Keeping our field service teams safe also means keeping our customers safe. Again, we see how technology benefits not only our field services but also our customers.

Benefitting from technology

Other than our customers, our technicians are perhaps the other main beneficiaries of this incorporation of technology: We have helped them to eliminate guesswork with the availability of accurate, real-time information. Armed with this technological aid, they feel more and are much more confident in their ability to resolve issues on a first-time basis. Their job has evolved, and they are now part of a modern and digitally-savvy field service. These have greatly augmented the quality of the services that we are able to offer our customers.

In conclusion, introducing, co-opting, and embracing technology into our field services and operation processes is not just all about improving ourselves and reducing costs, but it is, more importantly, about creating greater value in our services and also for our customers. This transformation from a technical company to a more services-oriented company has created this winning relationship that we now enjoy with our customers.