FIELD FORCE AUTOMATION

FIELD FORCE AUTOMATION

2 Ericsson s Field Force Automation solution encompasses the people, processes and technologies needed to successfully streamline and optimise field service operations.

Optimising field service operations Utilities, telecommunications companies and other service providers face continued pressure to reduce operational costs while improving customer service and retention to gain an edge in an increasingly competitive market place. Companies are striving to do more with less, in line with cost-cutting and resource reduction initiatives. Faced with the need for higher worker productivity and customer demand for faster and more efficient service, organisations are looking for ways to streamline and optimise the operations of their field service personnel. Utilities in particular also need to upgrade their field operations to support their advanced metering infrastructure roll-out program. Field Force Automation (FFA) solutions are at the top of their priority list. According to research by the Aberdeen Group 1, 88% of best-in-class service organisations view ensuring the robustness of the connection between the field and the back office as a top strategic priority. This is due to many enterprises continuing to struggle with inadequate data management resulting from manual and paper-based procedures in the field. The benefits of field force automation solutions are great. But the challenge of successfully transforming the way field service is undertaken in an organisation should not be underestimated. This is where Ericsson can help. Our capability Ericsson has extensive industry experience and a proven approach to ensure your field force automation project achieves your business objectives, on time and on budget. With the integration of our subsidiary company TUSC 2, we have the largest team of highly trained field force automation software specialists in Australasia. Our depth of product knowledge and local experience is unrivalled. TUSC, now part of Ericsson, successfully led the project consortia delivering ENERGEX s multi-million dollar field force automation project. This project transformed the way ENERGEX s field service organisation worked, improving workforce performance, operational efficiency, customer satisfaction and response capability. Today, more than 1,500 ENERGEX field crew and contractors receive their jobs for the day and provide updated information via ruggedised laptops in 740 vans. ENERGEX dispatchers can identify the location of the closest crew to an emergency at the click of a button, and immediately assign them to a job ensuring help is on its way as quickly as possible. Customer service officers at the ENERGEX call centre can track job progress online and keep concerned customers up to date with expected completion times. Companies that have deployed mobile field service solutions have realised, on average, 27% improvement in worker productivity, 19% increase in customer satisfaction/retention, 17% increase in overall profitability and 13% increase in service revenues. 1 1. The Mobile Field Service Solution Selection Report, Aberdeen Group, 2006 2. TUSC was acquired by Ericsson in 2005. In 2008, TUSC was fully integrated into Ericsson s Australian and New Zealand operations. 3

An integrated end-to-end approach Market-leading software Ericsson is the leading Australian partner for Service Suite from Ventyx (formerly known as Advantex from MDSI). Service Suite effectively assigns and dispatches work to the field, monitors work progress, responds to changing conditions and measures workforce performance. Service Suite is the leading enterprise workforce automation solution in the utilities and telecommunications industries, chosen by more than 100 service providers around the world to manage their field service operations. Ericsson also has extensive experience implementing and supporting field force automation software from a range of other vendors. FFA software optimises the way companies make and keep customer commitments, complete planned work without overtime, respond quickly to emergency situations, make the most productive use of mobile workers, provide easy access to required information, automate the collection and validation of field data and improve overall workforce performance. In this way, FFA software allows organisations to satisfy customer commitments and provide optimal service delivery, while reducing costs and streamlining operations. Key FFA Functions Enterprise Application Work Orders Work Results Appointment Booking Automated Assignment Street Level Routing Technician Management Crew Management Shift Scheduling Work Progress Technician Status Vehicle Tracking Exception Alerting Messaging Dispatching Time Reporting Status Monitoring Reporting Performance Measurement Wireless Communication Wireless Efficiency Mobile Street Maps Mobile GIS Software Distribution Workflow Enforcement Field Data Capture Field Supervision Assignments Work Results Field Workforce 4

Seamless technology integration FFA software relies on information generated from a variety of systems for its work orders. The software sends back work results from the field to these systems, so effective integration is essential. Most FFA initiatives require integration with one or all of the following: Asset management systems for maintenance work orders and information on the location of assets in the field Customer call centre for emergency and customer service jobs Customer information and/or billing system for customer and account information Geographical Information System (GIS) for optimum job allocation Billing systems Outage Management Systems Ericsson, including its recently integrated subsidiary TUSC, has extensive practical, hands-on experience integrating field force automation software with front and back-office systems for large Australian service providers, like Queensland energy utility, ENERGEX. 5

Successfully managing change Supporting organisational change management Field force automation projects irrevocably transform the way people work introducing new technologies and changing well-established work practices and processes. These adjustments have considerable impact on the people involved. Helping everyone to understand, accept, adopt and ultimately embrace such a significant change in their daily working lives requires an understanding, professional and systematic approach. It cannot be left to chance. That s why Ericsson s field force automation solution includes a proactive organisational change management program to ensure you achieve the cultural change needed to support the project. The program includes transition management, training and communication for all stakeholders including field and office workers, unions and management. Changing work practices, processes and job design Transforming the way field service organisations operate involves a significant change in work practices, processes and job design. These changes include the way the organisation: Initiates customer requests for service Sorts and routes work orders Dispatches and performs orders Monitors order and technician status Completes orders Handles completed orders Bills work Manages historical data Ericsson s FFA solution includes a number of specialised workshops with the relevant operational, customer service and technology groups in your company to identify and redefine these practices. Together, we develop, document and agree on the following: Current and future business processes Screen design and layout Data mapping Business and validation rules Required training programs Technical requirements and specifications With our experienced solutions integration teams, we then work with your IT service providers to develop the required IT environments and roll-out the solution. Choosing the right field device Field devices are the tools that field workers use to receive work instructions, obtain further job and customer information on-site and enter information about the status of each job for relay back to the office. Mobile field devices transform the way field staff work; from paper-based and face-to-face communication to more technology-based interactions. The choice of device, their introduction to the workforce and subsequent adoption plays a significant role in the success of the overall project. There is a plethora of devices on the market including laptops, Personal Device Assistants (PDA s) and mobile phones (non-rugged or rugged). Ericsson s FFA solution supports all of these options. Ericsson can help service organisations choose the device that best matches the skills of their field workers as well as the commercial, environmental, IT, legal and occupational health and safety requirements of the business. Ericsson s FFA solution also includes a familiarisation and training program ensuring your field workers are comfortable with and knowledgeable about using the device. Ericsson has strong partnerships with a number of manufacturers, like Panasonic, to ensure you select the best device for your requirements and has extensive experience in device installation and on-going maintenance and support. Communications Field force automation solutions depend on highly reliable and available communications infrastructure to send and receive information to and from field staff in a timely manner. Ericsson can help you determine the best communications strategy for your field force automation implementation, taking into consideration the coverage of each of the technologies in the market, cost comparison per field interaction and ongoing maintenance and support requirements for each option. Ericsson can also design, build and manage communications networks to support your initiative in situations where telecommunications carrier service is unsuitable. 6

Benefit from our experience End-to-end services Ericsson s FFA team has helped well-known service providers, including ENERGEX, Yarra Valley Water and Sydney Water with their field force automation projects. You can rely on Ericsson s extensive industry experience and proven approach to ensure your project achieves your objectives, on time and on budget. Prime integrator Ericsson has the end-to-end approach required to perform and coordinate a broad range of project activities; from design to deployment, including program management, systems integration, change management, project communications, vendor management, financial management and training. With Ericsson as prime integrator, you can be confident of your project s success. Program management Ericsson provides program and project management services to assist your FFA initiative. Our trained project and program managers follow a rigorous and repeatable methodology based on world leading practices that significantly reduce the risk of project failure, regardless of the size or complexity of the project. Ericsson has an impressive track record for delivering major projects on time and on budget. We can help you manage new projects, get a derailed project back on track, manage and support the project office, deliver support and coaching to your project team and provide a complete program management solution for your FFA initiative. Field device selection Organisational change management Education and training programs Customer support and maintenance Ericsson offers comprehensive 24-hour per day, 7 day per week support for your FFA initiative, either on-site or remotely, depending on your requirements. Our 24x7 support is backed by a comprehensive service level agreement (SLA) that guarantees timely response to issues that arise. The SLA includes support, preventative maintenance, software maintenance and upgrades and can also incorporate configuration and minor project work. Our Field Force Automation Project provides significant logistical advantages in each step of the power network construction, maintenance and restoration process by improving the productivity and efficiency of our field staff through smart job allocation and team dispatching procedures. The real winners are the 2.7 million people in southeast Queensland supplied electricity by ENERGEX who ll have power-related services tended to sooner. Darryl Steven, Field Force Automation Project Director, ENERGEX Consultants Ericsson Business and Network and Technology Consultants provide expert advice and support for organisations embarking on the field force automation journey. Our highly skilled consultants have extensive knowledge of the relevant standards, regulatory requirements, technology trends and business drivers in this domain and can help you design and implement your FFA strategy. Our consulting services include: Strategic planning Business case development Tender and RFI development Communications and technology strategy Requirements specification 7

Ericsson is a world-leading provider of telecommunications equipment and related services to mobile and fixed network operators globally. Over 1,000 networks in more than 175 countries utilise our network equipment and 40 percent of all mobile calls are made through our systems. We are one of the few companies worldwide that can offer end-to-end solutions for all major mobile communication standards. Through our Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications joint venture we offer a range of mobile devices, including those supporting multimedia applications and other services allowing richer communication. We invest heavily in R&D and actively promote open standards and systems. Also reflecting our ongoing commitment to technological leadership, we have one of the industry s most comprehensive intellectual property portfolios containing over 23,000 patents. Our origins date back to 1876. The parent company is Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (company registration number 556016-0680). Our headquarters are located, and the Board of Directors is seated, in Stockholm, Sweden. Ericsson supports utilities with communications technologies and services. Our utilities portfolio comprises IT and communications infrastructure, operational network management, field force automation and advanced metering solutions, backed by our market-leading services capability. Ericsson Australia Level 8, 818 Bourke Street Docklands VIC 3008 Telephone +61 3 9301 1000 www.ericsson.com.au/utilities EN/LZT 108 9913 R1A Ericsson Australia 2008