FAST LEAN SMART / CUSTOMER VOICES
BEST-OF-BREED SCHEDULING, ROUTE PLANNING, AND DISPATCH SOLUTIONS
CASE STUDY / HOMESERVE
THE UK’S SECOND LARGEST BOILER INSTALLER NOW GETTING TO CUSTOMERS FASTER WITH FLS
Industry:
HEATING, VENTILATION, AND REFRIGERATION
Requirements:
Outcomes:
Meet the organisation:
homeserve.com
- Introduction of a software-based appointment and route scheduling solution as well as a mobile solution
- Short implementation phase and rapid go-live
- Scalability of the scheduling solution
- Complex dynamic real-time scheduling
Outcomes:
- HomeServe is getting to its customers 25% faster than before
- Increased scheduling efficiency
- Transparent service processes
- Increased customer experience
Meet the organisation:
homeserve.com
FAST LEAN SMART (FLS) is living up to its name in more ways than one. In Summer 2018 it enacted a faster-than-usual deployment of its scheduling and route optimisation software for the boiler installations division of HomeServe (formerly Help-Link) so it could be ready for autumn and winter, the company’s busiest time of year. Now it’s improving operational efficiency to such an extent that HomeServe is getting to its customers 25% faster than before.
HomeServe is the UK’s second largest boiler installer and the operations have two distinct components. First, a sales surveyor will conduct a video, telephone or in-home survey to assess what kind of boiler a customer needs, recommend one, and produce a quote. Secondly, field engineers will attend a customer’s property to install a boiler once a quote is accepted.
This presents a complex mix of sales surveyors who attend many jobs in one day and engineers with one job that could require one day or several days for installations. So, when searching for new scheduling and route optimisation software, HomeServe needed a tool that could do both.
Richard Wilson, IT Director for HomeServe boiler installations, explains, “Previously we had always relied on the personal knowledge of our planning team to know which sales surveyors and engineers would be best suited for a job in terms of geography, availability and skill set. We wanted software that could make smarter, faster decisions than our planners were equipped to.”
HomeServe is the UK’s second largest boiler installer and the operations have two distinct components. First, a sales surveyor will conduct a video, telephone or in-home survey to assess what kind of boiler a customer needs, recommend one, and produce a quote. Secondly, field engineers will attend a customer’s property to install a boiler once a quote is accepted.
This presents a complex mix of sales surveyors who attend many jobs in one day and engineers with one job that could require one day or several days for installations. So, when searching for new scheduling and route optimisation software, HomeServe needed a tool that could do both.
MORE THAN WHITE-SPACE-FILLING
Sparking the search for a new scheduling solution was HomeServe’s desire to work smarter, not harder. In particular it sought to bring greater efficiency to the way it scheduled its workforce and remove some of the pressure from its back-office staff.Richard Wilson, IT Director for HomeServe boiler installations, explains, “Previously we had always relied on the personal knowledge of our planning team to know which sales surveyors and engineers would be best suited for a job in terms of geography, availability and skill set. We wanted software that could make smarter, faster decisions than our planners were equipped to.”
It was upon speaking with other field service and scheduling solution providers that HomeServe first heard of FLS. Richard says, “A lot of the scheduling tools we looked at were just about filling white space. In other words, finding gaps in people’s diaries to fit in appointments. We wanted a more dynamic tool, one that could continuously optimise, looking at every appointment and every field worker collectively and scheduling everything in the most optimal way. The providers we talked to said, ‘We can’t really do that, but we know a solution that can: the one offered by FAST LEAN SMART’.”
The company proceeded with the proof-of-concept pilot project that FLS offers all new customers. This demonstrates the value of FLS VISITOUR in terms of functionality and versatility, in particular its ability to integrate with existing back-end systems. Richard explains, “Integration was a key requirement for us. We needed to know that FLS VISITOUR could integrate with our service management software. This is why FLS’ pilot projects are so helpful. They’re not just demos where you have to guess and imagine how it’s going to work in the context of your business. With an FLS pilot, they wire it all in and prove it to you. We saw immediately that FLS lends itself to integration. We were also able to see first-hand how feature-rich and multi-faceted FLS VISITOUR really is.”
Most software will do about 80% of what you need or really want it to do,” says Richard. “The ability to link jobs is a great example of the fact that FLS VISITOUR will do a lot more".
Richard goes on to refer to a feature that has proved particularly useful for HomeServe: the ability to link jobs. When HomeServe installs a boiler, it needs to schedule a field engineer to do the installation and an electrician to do the wiring. FLS will link the two jobs, even if they take place on different days. This means that if the installation appointment needs to be changed, FLS will move the electrician appointment simultaneously.
“We’re so pleased by how well everyone worked to get FLS VISITOUR in place for autumn” says Richard. “It was a big team effort and FLS really helped us get it in the air. Our back-office staff deserve a lot of credit too; they worked very hard and very quickly.”
Richard points out one reason why FLS is generally a quicker-to-implement programme than many other scheduling software packages: “FLS is very good on configuration without the need for customisation. We didn’t have the appetite, time or the resources to develop our own boutique functionality. We needed a solution that was already fully functional, which we could tweak to fit our requirements without writing code. That solution was FLS VISITOUR.”
HomeServe plans to adopt more FLS functionality to better serve its customers, including form-capture on FLS MOBILE and automated email/text functions. "We’re a customer-centric company,” says Richard. “That’s ultimately why we’ve done this. We wanted an easy, smart and efficient way of reshuffling appointments so that the customer gets a survey or installation appointment at a time that’s convenient for them. Now that we’ve enabled this, the automated emails and texts will be to keep customers in the loop at all times. We’re all about improving the customer experience and we’re grateful to FLS for helping us do that!".
A TOOL THAT THINKS ON ITS FEET
Richard and his project team investigated FLS and discovered that its real-time scheduler and route optimiser, FLS VISITOUR, was the solution they were looking for. An intelligent tool that evaluates a company’s entire resource pool and effectively ‘thinks on its feet’, FLS VISITOUR makes smarter, quicker and more efficient decisions than humans and other scheduling technologies. It works in conjunction with FLS' platform independent mobility solution, FLS MOBILE, to ensure that field-based staff get to where they need to be and have the information they need when they get there. Together they cut the administrative burden considerably and automate a process.The company proceeded with the proof-of-concept pilot project that FLS offers all new customers. This demonstrates the value of FLS VISITOUR in terms of functionality and versatility, in particular its ability to integrate with existing back-end systems. Richard explains, “Integration was a key requirement for us. We needed to know that FLS VISITOUR could integrate with our service management software. This is why FLS’ pilot projects are so helpful. They’re not just demos where you have to guess and imagine how it’s going to work in the context of your business. With an FLS pilot, they wire it all in and prove it to you. We saw immediately that FLS lends itself to integration. We were also able to see first-hand how feature-rich and multi-faceted FLS VISITOUR really is.”
Most software will do about 80% of what you need or really want it to do,” says Richard. “The ability to link jobs is a great example of the fact that FLS VISITOUR will do a lot more".
Richard goes on to refer to a feature that has proved particularly useful for HomeServe: the ability to link jobs. When HomeServe installs a boiler, it needs to schedule a field engineer to do the installation and an electrician to do the wiring. FLS will link the two jobs, even if they take place on different days. This means that if the installation appointment needs to be changed, FLS will move the electrician appointment simultaneously.
FASTER-THAN-USUAL IMPLEMENTATION
Winter is the busiest and most challenging time of year for HomeServe boiler installations. The company needed to go from concept to pilot to live very quickly, so that everything could be in place before the temperature dropped and the calls for new boilers started flooding in. Implementation happened in a much shorter timescale than normal. Thanks to strong teamwork between FLS and HomeServe’s in-house developers and back-office teams, FLS VISITOUR was live, integrated and scheduling hundreds of multi-disciplined field resources within just weeks.“We’re so pleased by how well everyone worked to get FLS VISITOUR in place for autumn” says Richard. “It was a big team effort and FLS really helped us get it in the air. Our back-office staff deserve a lot of credit too; they worked very hard and very quickly.”
Richard points out one reason why FLS is generally a quicker-to-implement programme than many other scheduling software packages: “FLS is very good on configuration without the need for customisation. We didn’t have the appetite, time or the resources to develop our own boutique functionality. We needed a solution that was already fully functional, which we could tweak to fit our requirements without writing code. That solution was FLS VISITOUR.”
A GROWTH FACILITATOR
HomeServe went live with FLS VISITOUR in September 2018. Since then the company has been scheduling its people more optimally and cost-effectively, and planning better, smarter routes to each appointment. This has enabled HomeServe to get to customers quicker. “FLS saves us time in the office, gives us total visibility of who is doing what, and has enabled us to get to our appointments 25% quicker than we were,” says Richard. “It’s really highlighted how efficient your scheduling can be when intelligent software does it for you. We see FLS as a growth facilitator. The efficiency gains are such that we’re now in a position to scale up.”HomeServe plans to adopt more FLS functionality to better serve its customers, including form-capture on FLS MOBILE and automated email/text functions. "We’re a customer-centric company,” says Richard. “That’s ultimately why we’ve done this. We wanted an easy, smart and efficient way of reshuffling appointments so that the customer gets a survey or installation appointment at a time that’s convenient for them. Now that we’ve enabled this, the automated emails and texts will be to keep customers in the loop at all times. We’re all about improving the customer experience and we’re grateful to FLS for helping us do that!".
CASE STUDY / E-FURNITURE GMBH
E-FURNITURE GMBH IS RESHAPING
THE FURNITURE MARKET WITH HOLZCONNECTION
Industry:
MANUFACTURING, RETAIL, AND WHOLESALE
Requirements:
Outcomes:
Meet the organisation:
holzconnection.de
- End-to-end digital and transparent processes along the entire customer journey and supply chain
- Appointment and route scheduling in one process step
- Recalculation of appointments and routes in real-time
- Route scheduling with real-time traffic data
Outcomes:
- Fewer costs due to intelligent dynamic route scheduling and optimisation in real time
- Increased efficiency due to automated scheduling
- Call and process transparency for everyone involved: Customers, employees, partners
- Accuracy and adherence to deadlines
- Greater customer and employee satisfaction
- Fewer kilometers traveled, CO2 emissions and waiting periods
Meet the organisation:
holzconnection.de
Besides making tailored furniture, HOLZCONNECTION is all about one family’s vision and values. The idea Alf Nagel launched in 1970s Berlin, when still a student, is now being projected into the future by Denys Nagel. With the traditional know-how of a cabinet maker and the technological demands of a start-up, HOLZCONNECTION is already one of Germany’s leading suppliers of bespoke furniture. Thanks to DISPATCH NOW, lovers of unique furniture now enjoy crafted items delivered when and where they need them.
The fact that long supply chains are inefficient, fragile and prone to problems has been clearly demonstrated in the age of Corona. It has even led to a number of companies going out of business. Conversely, many companies, most with a completely different corporate structures, used the time to realise their true potential and strengths during the crisis. In fact, this is what happened with HOLZCONNECTION, which has relied on a local-first strategy for over 35 years. In other words, this means customers receive everything from a single source: HOLZCONNECTION partners design, manufacture, deliver and assemble the items – all on a local level and with local partners.
The only challenge CEO Denys Nagel now faced was digitalising his ‘Cabinetmaking 2.0’ network end-to-end and fully automating the processes along the entire customer journey: From scheduling consultancy appointments and taking measurements to ensuring the individually scheduled delivery of bespoke furniture to customers.
THE CHALLENGE
Under the slogan ‘what you want, when you want it’, which emphasises the individuality of each piece, Denys Nagel has revolutionised the high-end furniture market with the company E-Furniture and the associated HOLZCONNECTION brand, consistently gearing the ‘Cabinetmaking 2.0’ vision to the individual needs and preferences of customers. A strategy that paid off even before the Coronavirus outbreak and which showed its full potential in 2020 with ‘stay at home’.The fact that long supply chains are inefficient, fragile and prone to problems has been clearly demonstrated in the age of Corona. It has even led to a number of companies going out of business. Conversely, many companies, most with a completely different corporate structures, used the time to realise their true potential and strengths during the crisis. In fact, this is what happened with HOLZCONNECTION, which has relied on a local-first strategy for over 35 years. In other words, this means customers receive everything from a single source: HOLZCONNECTION partners design, manufacture, deliver and assemble the items – all on a local level and with local partners.
The only challenge CEO Denys Nagel now faced was digitalising his ‘Cabinetmaking 2.0’ network end-to-end and fully automating the processes along the entire customer journey: From scheduling consultancy appointments and taking measurements to ensuring the individually scheduled delivery of bespoke furniture to customers.
THE SOLUTION: FULLY AUTOMATIC APPOINTMENT AND ROUTE SCHEDULING
With DISPATCH NOW powered by FAST LEAN SMART, HOLZCONNECTION now benefits from a complete software solution that more than meets both customer and supplier expectations. Scheduling individual dates for taking measurements and delivering finished products is no longer a pipe dream or future reality, but a new state-of-the-art service model provided by HOLZCONNECTION.Ultra-flexible time windows and short waiting periods, (in other words the demand for accuracy and adherence to deadlines) are still the top priority for HOLZCONNECTION customers. With FLS real-time technology, delivery and service processes, such as taking measurements and assembling items, can be modeled digitally and fully automatically. For instance, when scheduling an appointment online, the customer picks a suitable date, which becomes binding immediately.
These preferred appointments—flexibly adjustable time windows with a clear cost reference—are already optimised and scheduled. When scheduling routes, DISPATCH NOW takes into account street-individual speed profiles, real-time traffic data, tracking & tracing information, but also vehicle attributes and restrictions – and is thus always 'one vehicle length' ahead of the competition in terms of technology. Customers are kept up-to-date and can track the status of their deliveries at any time. By using real-time traffic data, route scheduling is adjusted in real-time in case of unforeseen traffic disruptions. Customers are informed fully automatically in the event of delays.
Since all parties are involved through these integrated systems, (mobile delivery driver app and self-service appointment scheduling portal), they exchange information directly and in real-time. DISPATCH NOW continuously optimises scheduled routes effectively and efficiently, with a very high scheduling accuracy.