Our new Summer Release
All information about the Summer Release 2020 is also available as a PDF document.
Service1 Release 2020
Download Summer Release PDF
What to expect in this Release
Planning joint projects is easier when processes and requirements are always clear to everyone involved, so transparency is one of the key factors of successful cooperation. Service1’s new Partner Portal platform guarantees a clear, convenient, structured overview of the status of the cooperation and the activities of all service partners.
One of the main challenges of future-oriented service solutions is to ensure that engineers are either relieved of administrative tasks altogether, or at least provided with intelligent support wherever possible. With this in mind, we have reworked and improved two core features: automatic stock replenishment and returns of unused or defective spare parts.
Simplified returns management and optimised replenishment of material stocks ensure that the right parts are in the right place at the right time.
The Summer Release 2020 also focuses on resource planning and tour optimization: both these functions now run more quickly, more flexibly, and across different service regions. As a result of automatic suggestions and evaluations of previous assignments, your resource planning is now more closely aligned with actual requirements than ever before—even when schedules have to be revised several times a day.
Summer Release 2020
HIGHLIGHTS AT A GLANCE
More from GMS and Service1: Join us and discover the big and small highlights of the Summer Release 2020.
Successful business for you —satisfaction for your customers.
Smart organisation of joint order processing with partners
The clever features of Service1 facilitate your collaboration with service partners. Field service efficiency guaranteed.
This Release marks the start of a new era for cooperation with service partners. The Service1 Partner Portal is especially useful for anyone who relies occasionally or regularly on external support with order processing.
In the event of a bottleneck, it is easy to reassign orders via the Online Portal. When you have placed the order with an external provider, the Service1 environment gives your partner access to all the data he needs for order processing—from order scheduling via execution to successful completion. In addition, direct technical exchanges are possible via the linked Portal Communities.
On the other hand, you can check order status at any time. You can even exchange invoices with your service partner easily via the Portal. Smooth order processing is guaranteed, so you can focus on what is most important: your customer!
Intuitive returns process simplifies handling of returns
Service1 makes returns management easy and convenient. And everybody benefits.
In order to rectify faults quickly and continuously improve the first-time fix rate, large quantities of different materials that might be required are often allocated to a field service assignment. Any high-value or rare parts that have not been used are then generally sent back via the returns process.
Service1 is the smart way to reduce the time and effort required for the returns process. The feature offers your service engineers a selection list that enables them to combine necessary returns in appropriate packages that are not related to a particular order. At the same time, they receive a reminder to send back spare parts that have been delivered but not used. If required, engineers can register any material they would like to retain for future use, or receive proactive support with registration of the return consignment number.
A clever additional benefit: this process takes into account any valuable or recyclable parts that have been removed, including newly introduced parts that Quality Management would like to test.
Service1’s returns handling system frees your service engineers from many time-consuming tasks connected with finding or recording information. In addition, Quality Management will be able to identify defects and fault sources more quickly and implement the necessary improvements. Your engineers benefit from the convenient returns handling process, while you enjoy the positive side effect of the reduction of tied capital and lower service costs.
Optimized stock location profiles ensure that the right spare part is always available
Clever material management oversees all aspects of replenishment. The modern way to optimize your stock locations.
One essential requirement for a high first-time fix rate in field service is the availability of the necessary spare parts. Optimised stock location profiles, which depend on the individual service engineer’s qualifications and range of products used, are the basis for automatic stock replenishment. However, environment parameters change frequently in the course of time, for example when an engineer’s qualification profile is updated, or new products and replacement part requirements alter the basic set-up in the assignment area. The solution to this problem is the continuous optimisation of stock location profiles and their automatic replenishment.
The stock location profile optimization feature in Service1 will enable the smart management of such modifications in future. Service1 makes autonomous suggestions based on previous spare part consumption. You can define and adapt details of the suggestions as required. For this purpose, your requirements can be depicted in a freely configurable set of rules. You can also define the parts which should always or never be available at a storage location, or not until they have been used for the first time. Limits for price, weight and volume can also be defined—both for an individual part and for the entire inventory of the stock location. The result: a set of guidelines that guarantees your best possible stock location profile!
The level of stock location replenishment corresponds more closely with the engineer’s real needs—and therefore with those of your customers. Since the flexible definition and modification of criteria are possible, the system grows as tasks change. A stock location profile optimized in this way offers double benefits: optimization of capital tie-up and a constantly high first-time fix rate, whatever the circumstances.
Continuous optimization of route planning is the better way
Resource schedules and route planning are liable to change constantly at short notice, so their planning and optimization must be highly dynamic and incorporate intelligent strategies.
The new heuristics of Service1 now enable you to selectively optimize the tours that are within the relevant range of a change of plan—extremely quickly and, above all, dynamically. Initial tests have shown that this procedure can reduce journey distances and times by as much as 10 per cent.
We are pleased that these heuristics will offer you more opportunities to optimize your resource scheduling and route planning.
A new level of tour optimization
Until now, it was always possible to re-optimize a tour retroactively to accommodate new appointments made during the course of the day, but in practice this costs additional valuable time and effort.
Now a new approach significantly increases tour optimization performance in this area. In future, it will be easy to incorporate spur-of-the-moment appointments into existing schedules retroactively. After the software has calculated which tour is most suitable, the appointment is added and the tour is then reoptimized. If other engineers’ appointments are subsequently rescheduled, the relevant tours are also optimized automatically. Previously arranged time slots and fixed appointments remain valid. Initial tests have shown that this procedure can reduce the distance travelled by up to 10 per cent, while processing times can be up to 15 per cent faster.
The optimization feature takes not only the local distance into account, but also the engineer’s skills and the material availability in his vehicle. There’s no better way to optimize tours!
Dynamic Cluster Optimization (DCO): Fluid service regions
It is good if a service organisation has carefully planned routes and clearly defined service regions. It is even better if it has the means to adapt them automatically in the event of changes.
This Release heralds a departure from rigid service regions with fixed boundaries. Engineers are now grouped in rational clusters, for a considerable optimization of route planning.
As a result, some parameters used previously—such as the postcode of the assignment location—are no longer required as a basis for tour optimization. In future, you will be able to reorganize tours depending on which engineer with the required skills and the appropriate spare part is in the vicinity of the assignment. This works almost instantly and guarantees the best possible tour adjustment for the assignment in question.
Planning board: clever importation of capacity planning
Service1 also offers more convenience when it comes to capacity planning. Values no longer have to be entered manually, because we have integrated a button which enables data to be imported from an XLS file. The dispatcher can copy the prepared data from the XLS planning file and simply insert them in the entry field. All values are transferred automatically to the capacity planning system—and automatically separated by tabulators.
Validation by a server follows. In the event of an error, a text message is sent and the faulty lines are displayed, so you can always be sure that your planning is correct.
Planning board: a one-click overview
Until now, practical indicator lines were used to show appointments that belonged together. The clarity of the planning board has increased significantly with this Release. If you click on any appointment on the planning board, all associated appointments will be highlighted in colour to give you a planning overview for individual weeks and months.
Sign reports via smartphone or other mobile devices
The creation of assignment reports is a fixed item on a service engineer’s list of daily tasks. These reports frequently include documents which require the engineer’s signature. Until now, this was only possible with a mouse or a mousepad on devices without a touchscreen, which often meant additional organisational effort which disrupted the daily routine.
For the first time, the Service1 Companion App now provides a means of adding signatures to a report via an external system. All the engineer needs is a smartphone or similar mobile device. After opening the signature field, the engineer can choose between entering the signature using a mouse or pad in the conventional way, or via the new app. The user is guided through the entire intuitively designed process, which improves the user significantly.
Our new Summer Release
All information about the Summer Release 2020 is also available as a PDF document.
Service1 Release 2020
Download Summer Release PDF
In 2020 you can look forward to some exciting, innovative upgrades to Service1.
What to expect in the next Release
New concept for customer-oriented order creation
We are continuously developing our cloud-based field service solutions in response to growing customer demand. Our Service Console is an example: order creation must always keep pace with progress in the area of technology and visual presentation—the console will play an important role for us and our customers in the next Release.
The new application includes all the modules needed to create an order. The difference will become apparent immediately—the improved functions and the modern, user friendly design, for example.
The next mobile app generation
The next Release includes some great news about our mobile application. We have reworked and developed the user interface in such a way that your engineers will be able to navigate even more smoothly between applications, and record work progress more quickly. Moreover, the basic software structure has been optimized further and AI so seamlessly integrated that the added value offers benefits to all concerned. The solution also allows for complete customization through your IT department—while maintaining complete offline capability—even for large data volumes.
Partner Portal updates
Our next Release, the Winter Release 2021, will also feature several updates for the Partner Portal. In addition to the existing benefits, the next Release will integrate extended process support in the form of efficient partnership agreements for partners, service providers and traders. This will make the definition of the range of services and the remuneration for services provided by the partner even more intuitive, and will be perfectly integrated into the system landscape.
We will be glad to provide more information about the new elements and features planned for the Winter Release 2021 on request.
More information?
We are happy to inform you in detail about our solutions.
In a good conversation we will explain further details and show you new possibilities for your individual service strategy.
We look forward to helping you.
SAFE HARBOUR STATEMENT
This document may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. If any such risks or uncertainties materialize or if any of the assumptions prove incorrect, the results of GMS Development could differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements we make. All statements other than statements of historical fact could be deemed forward-looking statements, including: any projections of product or service availability, customer growth, earnings, revenues, or other financial items; any statements regarding strategies or plans of management for future operations; any statements concerning new, planned, or upgraded services or developments; statements about current or future economic conditions; and any statements of belief.
The risks and uncertainties referred to above include – but are not limited to – risks associated with possible fluctuations in our financial and operating results; our rate of growth; interruptions or delays in our service or application; breaches of our security measures; the financial impact of any previous and future acquisitions; the nature of our business model; our ability to continue to release, and gain customer acceptance of, new and improved versions of our service; successful customer deployment and utilization of our existing and future services; competition; the emerging markets in which we operate; our ability to hire, retain and motivate employees and manage our growth; changes in our customer base; technological developments; regulatory developments; litigation related to intellectual property and other matters; and general developments in the economy, financial markets, and credit markets.
GMS Development assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Any unreleased services or features referenced in this document; on our web site, press releases, presentations or public statements are not currently available and may not be delivered on time or at all. Customers who purchase GMS Development applications should make their purchase decisions based upon features that are currently available.
Contact
Good service starts with a dialogue.
Service1 is the All-in-One Solution Suite for Service Excellence. It will be our pleasure to provide you more details in a personal conversation and show you new possibilities to advance your service strategy. Send us an e-mail or call us. We look forward to hearing from you.
GMS Development – Gesellschaft für Software-Entwicklung mbH
An der Talle 89
33102 Paderborn
Phone +49-5252-9891-0
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