How frequently has a field technician been sent to a project only to discover that the equipment was out of warranty or that it wasn’t plugged in? For service firms, these technician deployments, commonly referred to as truck rolls, are a major and expensive sore point. 25% of truck rolls are viewed as non-value-added tasks or completely unnecessary by businesses that significantly rely on a technician personnel, and as such, as a huge waste of resources. Businesses must act quickly to comprehend truck roll cost and its effects, look at cutting-edge solutions to ease the pain, and explore fresh markets given the rising cost of truck rolls.
Any circumstance in which a technician is sent to address a problem, whether in a truck or another vehicle, is referred to as a “truck roll” or “truck dispatch”. The field service management sector requires truck rolls since technicians must travel to the job site. However, truck rolls are also among the most expensive components of the business and are likely spending more money than you think.
A truck roll’s actual cost entails the following:
The true cost is obtained by adding up all of these expenses and multiplying them by the quantity of truck rolls. The real cost is significant because it shows how much resources you stand to save by using the appropriate tools.
You’re probably underestimating the price of a truck roll when you think about it. The price of tools, insurance, and technician salary are a few examples of direct labor expenditures. Fuel, upkeep, insurance, and depreciation are all direct car costs. But in addition to direct prices, indirect costs also add up. Here are a few examples:
Companies must take into account the Opportunity cost, or the loss of opportunity, while assigning specialists for revenue-generating tasks. A true loss leader is to divert your workers from jobs that generate income so they can fix an item under warranty.
Any unplanned downtime is seen as a financial loss in the fast-paced business environment of today, where continuous availability is the norm. Given the rigorous SLA timelines required to fulfil customer expectations and the close to 40% of reported downtime that is attributed to equipment breakdowns and other hardware issues, it should not be surprising that businesses frequently dispatch first and inquire later.
Sometimes a customer’s problem can be quickly fixed in less than five minutes or be of a temporary nature. It is a waste of time and money for the business to send out a service expert to handle these “no fault discovered” problems. Eliminating these pointless dispatches can significantly improve their financial situation.
Each tech dispatch carries some risk. An unskilled or unfriendly technician, a tardy arrival, a lost tool, or a part can all harm the company’s reputation and harm its relationship with a client. 25% of all service calls, according to a survey by Aberdeen Group, need at least one follow-up visit to address the client’s problem. Customer satisfaction is not greatly aided by this data. Customers churn when they are not satisfied.
The expert can typically remedy the issue in under five minutes, negating the need for the truck roll. Instead, the issue could have been resolved remotely.
In other instances, the technician lacks the necessary knowledge or supplies to fix the issue. 25% of truck rolls, according to a report by Aberdeen Group, necessitate at least one additional trip.
According to Aberdeen, it takes an average of 1.6 more trips to resolve a matter that is not resolved on the initial intervention.
Customers have higher expectations and anticipate that a machine or piece of equipment will fail to function as soon as feasible. This promptness frequently makes the difference between a dissatisfied and satisfied consumer.
An expensive truck roll is always necessary, but it becomes considerably more so when more than one roll is required to remedy the issue, when the distance to be travelled is significant, or when it needs to be completed after regular business hours.
Due to the proliferation of the Internet of Things, the truck roll dilemma has become more pressing (IoT). The sophistication of smart homes is constantly increasing, and service providers are offering users a larger selection of services. Organizations are putting more effort into minimizing truck rolls as more clients request assistance with the installation and configuration of the new technology. The prices per gadget also decline as production costs reduce and competition increases. Lower profit margins per device result from this, and the expense of sending a technician on a repair call rises to the level of a major expense for the business.
Service businesses need to develop better methods for managing service truck rolls more effectively and for handling more problems remotely if they want to lower truck roll expenses and inefficiencies.
Reducing truck rolls is a key objective for companies seeking to streamline their processes, cut costs, and enhance customer satisfaction. Fortunately, advancements in technology have brought forth innovative solutions that can significantly minimize the need for physical service visits. Let’s discuss about the technologies that companies can leverage for truck roll optimization and to optimize their operations, improve efficiency, and deliver a superior service experience while reducing the reliance on costly truck rolls.
Visual Assistance to Reduce Truck Roll : Visual assistance has proven to be a powerful technology for reducing truck rolls by enabling remote guidance and support for customers and technicians. With visual assistance, customers can receive step-by-step instructions and troubleshooting guidance to resolve issues themselves, eliminating the need for a technician visit. Technicians can also use visual assistance to remotely diagnose and resolve problems, reducing the need for physical presence. By leveraging visual guidance and support, companies can minimize truck rolls, improve first-time fix rates, and enhance customer satisfaction.
Data Analytics for Truck Roll Optimization : Data analytics plays a crucial role in reducing truck rolls by providing real-time insights and predictive capabilities. By analyzing data from connected devices and equipment, companies can proactively identify potential issues and remotely address them before they lead to breakdowns or service disruptions. With data analytics, businesses can optimize maintenance schedules, improve remote troubleshooting, and minimize the need for reactive truck rolls. By harnessing the power of data, companies can enhance operational efficiency, reduce downtime, and deliver a superior service experience to customers.
Self-Service Solutions for Truck Roll Minimization : Self-service options empower customers to resolve issues on their own, reducing the need for technician visits. By providing comprehensive self-service resources, including step-by-step guides, tutorials, and troubleshooting tools, companies enable customers to independently troubleshoot and solve common problems. The integration of computer vision technology further enhances self-service by allowing customers to visually identify and address issues. Self-service solutions minimize truck rolls, improve customer satisfaction, and increase operational efficiency by enabling customers to solve problems without the need for technician intervention.
AI-Powered Smart Scheduling for Truck Roll Optimization : AI technology enables intelligent scheduling and dispatching, optimizing the allocation of resources and minimizing truck rolls. By analyzing various factors such as technician skills, location, availability, and job priority, AI algorithms can automatically assign the most suitable technician for each job. Critical and high-priority tasks can be immediately assigned for a truck roll, while low-risk or remote-fixable issues can be directed to technicians without the need for physical visits. AI-powered smart scheduling reduces truck rolls, improves resource utilization, and streamlines field service operations for maximum efficiency.
These technologies can be implemented for truck roll optimization and companies can optimize maintenance processes, enhance operational efficiency, and significantly reduce the number of truck rolls required for repairs and service, resulting in cost savings and improved customer satisfaction.
Plutomen’s AR powered remote support solution helps reducing truck rolls by eliminating the need to travel on-site and resolve the problems remotely. Watch the video to know more.
Watch VideoReducing truck rolls with AR-powered remote visual support offers cost savings across the board while providing a better customer experience. Allowing technicians and agents to see the problem with their own eyes eliminates communication problems without having to depend on customers or technicians to accurately describe the problem. Companies leveraging AR-powered remote support platforms have experienced significant benefits, including 50% fewer truck rolls, an 81% improved first-time fix rate, a 69% decrease in resolution time, a 41% decrease in training time, and a 30-point increase in customer satisfaction.
Any business’ operations inevitably result in costs. The important thing is to make sure that your operating costs produce a profitable return on investment. The price of a truck roll is frequently an unavoidable expense in industrial and field services. However, as we’ve seen above, these journeys are frequently incredibly pricey. When a truck roll is necessary, take into account the following solutions to cut expenses or shorten the time it takes to fix.
You may optimize and dramatically minimize truck roll by implementing a visual assistance system like Plutomen Connect, which offers interactive and visual remote diagnostics. Your personnel can remotely assess the issue and walk the customer through a straightforward troubleshooting process with the use of visual aids. For both your team and your clients, you will save time and money.
When field service is required, it’s crucial to make sure that every expert is adhering to the correct protocols and checkpoints to guarantee that every client receives top-notch service. To fulfil the various checkpoints, you can add digital inspection checklists using Plutomen Workflow. By taking photos and logging the media related to each checkpoint, the technician can also provide evidence of compliance at each checkpoint. The technician can also consult a remote specialist if they are unsure.
Even highly skilled technicians occasionally run into problems on the job. Technicians in the field can work with remote specialists to expedite troubleshooting by using Plutomen Assist tool that is supplemented with collaboration capabilities and Augmented Reality (annotations, document sharing, remote snapshots). By doing so, you decrease additional truck roll and raise client pleasure.
Reduced technician truck roll can be fully addressed by Plutomen’s remote assistance solutions, which are now in use by numerous businesses across numerous industries. The members of our team are prepared to help you deploy visual aid for field service. To learn more or to request a demo, please get in touch with us.
Plutomen’s remote assistant, powered by augmented reality (AR), is a game-changer when it comes to reducing truck rolls in frontline operations. With Plutomen’s AR remote assistance, technicians can offer live visual guidance and support remotely, eliminating the need for physical visits and reducing travel time and costs. By leveraging AR technology, technicians can connect, collaborate, and resolve issues in real-time, increasing efficiency and minimizing downtime.
Plutomen’s remote assistant works seamlessly on various devices, including smartphones, tablets, and AR glasses, providing flexibility and ease of use for technicians in the field. With secure chat and group messaging features, communication is streamlined, leading to faster issue resolution.
Furthermore, Plutomen’s workflow capabilities enable the creation of digital checklists, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and work instructions, empowering frontline workers with the necessary knowledge and reducing errors. Overall, Plutomen’s remote assistant revolutionizes truck rolls by leveraging AR-powered visual support to optimize operations, enhance productivity, and deliver superior frontline experiences.
In conclusion, reducing truck rolls and improving field service efficiency is crucial for businesses in order to save costs, increase productivity, and enhance customer satisfaction. Truck rolls, although necessary in field service operations, can be a significant drain on resources. However, by implementing innovative technologies and strategies, companies can mitigate the need for physical service visits and streamline their operations.
Technologies like remote monitoring, predictive maintenance, AR-based remote assistance, and IoT sensor networks offer powerful solutions to reduce truck rolls. AR-powered tools like Plutomen’s remote assistant enable live visual guidance, minimizing the need for physical visits and improving first-time fix rates. Tailored checklists, real-time video collaboration, and digital workflows further optimize field service operations, enhancing efficiency and customer satisfaction. Embracing these technologies and strategies minimizes costs, improves productivity, and delivers superior service experiences. Leveraging innovation and technology is key to transforming field service operations in the digital era.
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With more than 12+ years of experience in the world of enterprises, technology, and metaverse, Keyur Bhalavat is leading Plutomen to gain meaningful partnerships & to have a strong clientele network. He is one of the board members of GESIA (Gujarat IT Association Ahmedabad).
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