Advancing Technology – Back to the Future for the Service Supply Chain

Category: Service Management

Fifteen years ago, as I sat in my dorm room, I wouldn’t have imagined one day being able to write up a “blog” post as I flew across country. And that is not to say that I didn’t vividly see a future where I could have a hoverboard or a digital newspaper (thanks Back to the Future 2!), but I just didn’t really think I would reach a point so quickly that technology would dramatically improve my productivity at work as I sat at my dial-up PC waiting to draft a document in Notepad. But here I am typing away, and this new-found productivity isn’t only found in the world of a researcher. Recently in my “Optimizing the Service Supply Chain: Maximizing the Link Between the Customer and Satisfaction” report (July 2012), the adoption of technology in relation to inventory optimization, reverse logistics and predictive analytics of parts wasn’t quite ubiquitous, but the Best-in-Class (as defined by excellence in customer satisfaction, customer retention, SLA compliance, and year-over-year inventory turns) have targeted these aspects of the service supply chain as an area for increased automation (see Figure 1). The reverse service supply chain (i.e., reverse logistics, repair operations, refurbishment, transportation management, recycle / disposal, inventory management) is no longer just a ‘necessary evil’ due to increased sales of products, but it has become another tool in the service toolbox for differentiation. As customers continue to have more providers of service, it is imperative that the service organization enable increased efficiency, visibility and speed of parts / products through internal process improvements and technology. Technology can’t stop once I get my hoverboard, it will continue to advance but it is important that we also find ways to leverage these enhancements to service our customer’s business needs.

Source: Aberdeen Group, May 2012

The path to improved efficiency and increased technology adoption will most likely continue to progress, and I look forward to researching more of these key trends throughout this year. But if you can’t wait for our next parts management research, please join us at this year’s Chief Service Officer (CSO) Summit where on Day 1 I will lead a dedicated track on parts management.

We have just confirmed an industry leader and Director Supply Chain Integration – Global Supply Chain from Pitney Bowes who will be a part of a panel that will highlight the key trends in repair, return and refurbishment while also discussing some of the challenges dealing with a global service operations and regulatory concerns.

Please visit our Summit site to learn more about the agenda and we look forward to seeing you in Boston, MA Oct 16-17!

Feel free to also send me an email or give me a call (617.854.5388) if you know of (or happen to be)  an expert in parts management that would be able to speak during our parts track.

And if there are topics you would like to see on the CSO agenda, please post your comments on this blog and we will do our best to incorporate them into the CSO discussion this year.

Aly Pinder, Jr.
Senior Research Associate
Service Management