CareAR’s Sam Waicberg along with – ServiceNow’s Field Service Director Nikki Narang, John Perry – Xerox Global Delivery and Transformation and Tony Kehl – Xerox Director Field Operations engaged in a webinar discussion on how CareAR with ServiceNow continue to transform field service management.
Transformational change was most notable as the participants highlight how augmented reality technology integrated within a field service platform is driving increased efficiencies, operational cost reductions and improved customer outcomes.
The concept of a “virtual apprenticeship” was amplified by Nikki Narang when he mentioned that challenges do not end once you hire a new technician to replace the volumes of experienced techs walking out the door. Pandemic travel restrictions made it even more difficult to pull off hands-on training. That’s where CareAR augmented reality can more quickly get the inexperienced up to speed with remote assistance from an expert and self-learning via augmented reality step-by-step guidance.
“The rubber is less frequently hitting the road for Xerox technicians” as noted by John Perry. He articulated that CareAR augmented reality technology has enabled Xerox to shift from “get there quick to see it now,” with remote solve rates reducing truck rolls. A real-time perspective using CareAR assist is a “game changer”. Tony Kehl additionally emphasized that point by relating how CareAR integrated within the ServiceNow platform used by Xerox field service helps keep the focus on resolution and not simply responsiveness.
Sam Waicberg highlighted how CareAR helps organization meet elevated customer expectations and goes beyond by empowering the employee experience with new resources that enhance intelligence and effectiveness. A new service experience paradigm can be attained by considering the “two sides of the coin” of customer and employees experiences that are changed with augmented reality collaboration.
John Perry extended insight on how employee experience transforms results. He shared how the integration with CareAR and ServiceNow are helping make field technicians smarter in front of the customer. This happens with the Xerox team on a daily basis as snapshots and video of a CareAR diagnostic session over the phone are automatically included within the ServiceNow work order if a field technician dispatch is need. Field service technicians can then prepare for their visit with visual intelligence that removes the previously confusing notes originating from the contact center.
Tony Kehl shared how a day in the life of a field technician can influence behaviors that directly impact the bottom line. With CareAR, the savings in parts’ costs can be extraordinary! This is due to the pressure technicians feel to get the job done. In many cases they oversubscribe the parts’ requests “just in case”. Shot gunning parts is a field service challenge that CareAR augmented reality directly addresses with visual direction and evidence that encourages part dispatch accuracy and avoids unnecessary cost and waste.
Sam Waicberg charted how Xerox is additionally going beyond with global sustainability benefits by using CareAR augmented reality. Solving more issues remotely has reduced “windshield time” to deliver 63 metric tons of carbon emissions reductions in just over 5-6 months!
Best practices form John Perry Best practices for field service transformations include:
- Ensuring a platform approach from customer contact to resolution
- Identifying opportunities to automate and streamline
- Considering customers and employees when applying technology that has transformational potential; Change management around technology is important to think about, especially on how it impacts employees and customers.
