Service Council inService™ Podcast Series

Industry trends, research and insights play a critical role in a service leader’s ability to make impactful business decisions. However, as service continues to evolve at a rapid pace, translating those insights into practical innovation is becoming more of a challenge. How can service leaders bridge the divide between research and action to forge a more transformative path forward for their organ...

The 2024 Service Leader’s Agenda revealed that 72% of service leaders are prioritizing new technology investments. Many of the technology priorities are signaling a renewed attention towards workforce productivity, first-time fix rates and throughput. However, as customer expectations reach all-time highs, more organizations lean on extended networks to achieve efficiency gains. It is critical tha...

The imperative around Generative AI is clear: embrace it or be left behind. Service Council research continues to show that AI investment continues to climb in terms of priority. However, while service leaders are readily getting the go ahead for AI pilots, many are hitting a wall when it comes to bringing AI to scale. One of the primary impediments is the lack of a foundational data strategy whic...

Year-over-year, field service management (FSM) software remains a top technology investment for service leaders. In 2024, nearly 40% of service executives say they will be investing in field service management (FSM) technology, according to the Service Leader’s Agenda survey. In fact, FSM remains one of the top investments year-over-year. Interestingly, many of these plans are for expanded, not ne...

For many organizations, rapid and reactive digital transformations during the pandemic caused valuable data, processes and innovations to happen in pockets and silos. How do service leaders now begin realigning digital and functional roadmaps? Many service organizations are struggling with this question, perhaps none more so than healthcare and medical device organizations, which must also navigat...

The hype around AI is in full swing and is expected to grow in 2024. There are powerful capabilities behind the hype — driving more efficient operations, enhancing customer service, and enabling every service leader to make better business decisions. And yet, despite the many AI initiatives underway, service organizations need help to cross the AI chasm from pilot to large-scale deployment. Join t...

In the 2023 Voice of the Field Service Engineer, 45% of frontline technicians said they either didn’t plan on being a tech for the duration of their career, or they weren’t sure. While we can attribute some of that trend to disengagement, there are many others that have ambitions to rise in the ranks and become the service leaders of the future. How can the service leaders of today inspire and emp...

Future-proofing supply chains remain a top objective in 2024. How can service leaders predict and proactively plan against customer demands? How do they navigate new asset complexity while supporting aging machines? What strategies can they implement today to optimize parts sourcing and service calls? These are the tough questions service leaders will need to answer if they want to build an agile...

We’ve all heard the adage, “The only constant is change.” However, this might feel like an understatement to service leaders who have been helming their organizations through near constant upheaval in recent years. How can service leaders navigate complex change management initiatives and ensure long term success for the company, service team and customer? Join the inService™ Podcast Live on Thurs...

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the game for service. But service leaders are struggling to cut through the confusion and connect AI concepts to applications. What do you need to know about AI for service? What are the best applications to drive business impact? How do you evaluate different AI solutions? Tune in to the inService™ Podcast as host John Carroll is joined by Niken Patel, CEO...

In recent years, service organizations have ramped up investment into AI and other analytics tools, gaining greater visibility into field data than ever before. However, when it comes to data, knowing is only half the battle. How can service leaders use the data they’re getting to identify, enact and reinforce change within their organization? Join the inService™ Podcast Live as host Jaclyn Cookse...

Partner ecosystems are playing an increasingly important role in successful service delivery. However, as organizations come up for air after the pandemic-accelerated digital transformation, they are realizing that, in many instances, their digitization efforts have created more silos and friction for their channel partners. Join the inService™ Podcast Live as  Appify ’s CEO,  Hari Subramanian , s...

The 2023 Service Leader’s Agenda found that the two biggest challenges service leaders face in 2023 are the workforce and talent shortage and the lack of resources to support service demand. The industry is at a tipping point when it comes to service delivery. More and more, customers are demanding the ability to self-service when possible, and overstretched organizations are realizing it is the b...

According to the 2023 Voice of the Field Service Engineer survey, “being tracked and traced by GPS or other means,” is now the second least favorite part of a field service engineer’s job, rising from #7 among frontline workers to #2 in only a year. However, location tracking is an inevitable reality that plays a key role in the customer experience. So how do service leaders find a balance? On the...

With the current economic environment companies are viewing field service and their operations completely different than they were 10-15 years ago. Service is no longer a cost center but a profit center. John Carroll, CEO and Founder of the Service Council, joins Chris Wolff, VP of Strategic Partnerships for PTC, on the Speaking of Service podcast, to discuss how he sees the current stage of field...

As organizations begin to strengthen their self-service and remote service offerings, the topic of content has become front of mind. How do they find it, create it and make it accessible to both employees and customers in a way that enhances the service experience? On this episode of the inService™ Podcast Live, host John Carroll is joined by Sam Waicberg, President and Co-Founder of CareAR. Sam s...

How companies are collecting and utilizing field service data can be the differentiator between average performers and best-in-class organizations. However, knowing where to start, what to focus on, and how to avoid complicating the process, can feel overwhelming. On the latest episode of the inService™ Podcast Live, Thomas Maiello, PMP, Varian’s Director of New Product Introduction, stops by the...

Reactive, cost-based service is no longer a feasible business model. However, according to the 2023 Service Leader’s Agenda, a third of service organizations anticipate still being in this stage of maturity in the next year. For organizations to realize the full potential of their digital transformation and tap into new revenue streams, they must advance their service maturity. On the latest episo...

Service networks are a crucial, and yet overlooked, aspect of the service industry. Distribution and service dealers play a key role in customer experience, company growth, and making products available to a global audience. What does it take to build and maintain a great service network? On the latest episode of the inService™ Podcast Live, host John Carroll is joined by  Matt Wong , VP of Global...

Once considered science fiction, technological innovations like augmented reality and artificial intelligence have exploded in popularity in recent years. The field service industry is no exception as organizations realize these technologies’ value in solving some of service leaders’ most pressing challenges. However, as organizations advance their digital maturity, how can they prevent gaps betwe...

As workforce and talent shortages continue to challenge organizations, service leaders are placing more emphasis on training and upskilling employees to help mitigate the impact. Findings from the 2023 Service Leader’s Agenda found that 73% of service leaders report increased investment in training and employee development this year, compared to 2022 spending. Tune into the inService™ Podcast Live...

The age-old battle of driving quality and scalability has forced difficult decisions in terms of when to allow for localization of strategy and approach vs. standardizing. We continue to monitor how leading organizations are establishing a balance between both while centralizing resources, technologies and tools which enable the achievement of best practices. Tune into the inService™ Podcast Live...

According to the Service Council’s 2023 Service Leader’s Agenda survey, service innovation remains a high priority for 2023 and beyond. However, as the economic climate remains unstable and fears of recession loom, service leaders are being asked to cut costs and reduce budgets, while still increasing revenue. Tune into the latest episode of the inService™ Podcast Live, as host John Carroll is joi...

Service leaders are turning their focus to service operations performance management, service innovation and portfolio expansion in 2023. Visual and generative AI (artificial intelligence) is gaining a lot of traction as service leaders look to deliver the critical intelligence and information needed to achieve this. On the latest episode of the inService™ Podcast Live, host John Carroll is joined...

Despite ongoing service supply chain challenges, research shows that supply chain continues to lack priority among technology and infrastructure investments. The importance of parts is critical to service execution, so why does it remain so tertiary? In the latest episode of the inService™ Podcast Live, host John Carroll is joined by Shannon Beecher, Vice President, Services Supply Chain at IBM. T...