White Paper

How Can the Service Process in the

Area of Laboratory Technology Be
Made More Efficient?

Coresystems AG
www.coresystems.net
 White Paper: How Can the Service Process in the Area of Laboratory Technology Be Made More Efficient?

How Can the Service Process in

the Area of Laboratory Technology
Be Made More Efficient?

Introduction
The global market Laboratory devices in analytical technology, biotechnology and laboratory technology
achieved growth of are subjected to a major workload. Due to time pressure and the low stability level of
samples, the work is often “quick and dirty” and the preparation of samples is some-
6.7% times dispensed with completely. This procedure places a burden on the analytical
systems, which means that preventative maintenance and regular serving are of great
importance. Users of laboratory devices expect a minimum service life of ten years
in 2015
for their systems. Suppliers can generate follow-on revenues by offering services and
selling spare parts during this service life. Due to the decreasing margins on systems
in this competitive market, such additional revenues are growing in importance. The
Service generated global market achieved growth of 6.7% in 2015. In comparison to total revenues in the
field of analytical technology, biotechnology and laboratory technology, services gen-
15% erated 15% of overall revenues with 7.87 million USD.

of overall revenues An Efficient Service Process Chain in the Field Service

1. Product Acquisition
Customers want to use the existing devices for as long as possible. Therefore, you as a
service provider must offer profitable service agreements to create a competitive ad-
vantage. These agreements are becoming more and more dependent on the availabili-
ty of the devices. With that in mind, providers of analytical technology, biotechnolo-
gy and laboratory technology have to constantly find new ways and means of
correcting disruptions in operations. For you to meet the service requirements of
your customers, you already have to have the necessary information in your database
when concluding the contract.
Scheduling Service Requirements During the Product Purchase:
− Enter all of the relevant information about the customer, the laboratory device,
the device installation and any additional products.
− Give the customer, the field service staff and the back office access to this infor-
mation through a cloud-based system that can be accessed any time and any-
where.
− Record all of the service contracts and requirements placed on the equipment
as well as the expiry dates and maintenance plans. You can configure warning
messages in the maintenance plans so that your staff are notified before a con-
tract expires or prompted to schedule routine maintenance measures.

www.coresystems.net 2
White Paper: How Can the Service Process in the Area of Laboratory Technology Be Made More Efficient?

2. Service Requests
In the field of analytical technology, biotechnology and laboratory technology in par-
ticular, it is vitally important for a service problem to be resolved or a device that has
failed to be repaired during the first visit.
An efficient field service management system starts immediately from when the ser-
vice call is received, which must be recorded and given a priority. You must ensure
that any relevant information is included in your field service solution. The customer
and device history must include all of the relevant data for prioritizing the service call
correctly.
Using a Field Service Solution to Record and Qualify Incoming Service Calls:
− Recording service requests using the sensors installed in the laboratory devices
and integrated into your servicing system (machine-to-machine)
− Ensuring that detailed information about service requests entered by phone or
e-mail, including detailed information about the contact person, is entered
− Preliminary assessment of the incident and classifying requests by priorities so
that they can be forwarded to the right staff
− Categorizing or identifying customer issues and specific complaints about the
laboratory equipment to enable more detailed analysis
− When a customer makes contact by phone, a full history of both the customer
and the system to be maintained must be available to the call center and cus-
tomer service.
3. Predictive Maintenance
By recording the data generated during a repair or maintenance in their field service
solution, come one step closer to the main objectives of service management: predic-
tive maintenance and preventative maintenance.
With the right data, companies can establish a plan for predictive maintenance and
pass the insights gained into optimizing the products on to the research and develop-
ment team. The providers can allocate their technicians more efficiently by prioritiz-
ing the jobs with the help of a predictive maintenance plan. After the analysis, the
data may indicate product defects. This data can then be provided to the research and
development teams to optimize future equipment versions.

www.coresystems.net 3
White Paper: How Can the Service Process in the Area of Laboratory Technology Be Made More Efficient?

4. Creating Work Orders and Dispatching

Under the ideal conditions, you would never assign a technician who does not have
the competencies and specialist expertise for maintaining specific laboratory devices.
The field service software contains all of the information about the competencies,
certificates and availability of technicians. Since legal protocols have to be complied
with during the maintenance of such devices – especially in the field of GMP – project
managers must be capable of planning maintenance tasks accordingly. They must
have the ability to divide a service order into tasks and sub-tasks and create checklists
for field service technicians. Supplying this information on mobile devices ensures
that the service process flows smoothly.
Field Service Software Makes Your Project Planning Possible:
− Planning projects by adding schedules, dividing service jobs into tasks and as-
signing technicians that have the right qualifications for maintaining the ana-
lytical, biotechnology and laboratory devices
− Informing the dispatcher about the location of technicians, their qualifications
for spare parts involved
− Using a drag-and-drop procedure to allocate the right technicians and immedi-
ately notifying the field service technicians once a job has been assigned to
them
5. Repairs
Users of analytical technology, biotechnology and laboratory technology expect suc-
cessful repairs in the first visit. To satisfy your customers, your field service staff
must have access to real-time information. Social collaboration is a must if you want
to achieve higher resolution rates in the first call-out. You therefore have to ensure
smooth communication between all of the people involved: the technicians, other
teams and the back office.
Particularly in the laboratory technology sector, field service technicians must ensure
that they hold their daily activity to specific standards that apply to the safety of such
devices and have been approved by the authorities. Thanks to the automation in the
field service, technicians can work from standardized checklists and enter specific
data values for them, make photos and describe the problem.
The Right Automation in the Field Service for Increasing Resolution Rates
During the First Call-Out:
− Ensures that the field service software can be used both online and offline so
that the technicians can synchronize their work and update data records.
− Structures tasks or task assignments using checklists or dynamic forms. These
tools can guide the technicians through predefined scenarios in which all of the
necessary actions – data entries such as measurements, recommendations, pho-
tos and other attachments – are recorded in a structured way.
− Uses tables and forms to record detailed data in order to avoid errors and sup-
ply clean data for analyzing the failure.
− Real-time communication between field service staff using single-person check-
out or group checkout.
− Enables direct communication between field service staff and the back office in
the event of questions.

www.coresystems.net 4
White Paper: How Can the Service Process in the Area of Laboratory Technology Be Made More Efficient?

6. Parts Inventory and Equipment Management

Effective management of a parts inventory chain is the basis for a successful range of
field services. Ultimately, it is not useful for you if the inventory is overflowing with
new devices but a spare part is missing that would enable a successful repair during
the first call-out.
Remote sensors are constantly being offered at lower and lower prices. You can now
automate your inventory management and benefit from the associated cost savings.
Transparent part inventory processes and availability data can lead to better resolu-
tion rates during the first call-out and ensure that technicians do not waste any time.
Efficiently Managing Spare Parts for Laboratory Devices:
− Ensures that the part inventory list makes the interrelationship of different
spare parts clear.
− RFID technology (remote sensors installed in laboratory devices) provide
transparency while monitoring the spare part inventory.
− You can use these remote sensors to configure warning messages for when a
device fails or an inspection of this device has to be carried out.
− Analyzes which spare parts are ordered more frequently and when they are or-
dered and use this information to automate the management of the spare parts
required in the field service.
− Records data about how the devices performed to find out where and under
what circumstances failures occurred. Performance data can also show the ef-
fects that the failure has on other parts.
7. Upon Completion
If you can provide a customer with a transparent report that documents the entire
service process, discussions about what services you have actually supplied never
arise. You can use field service automation software to create detailed service reports
in an instant. The field service technicians can enter data from their mobile devices.
The project manager can go through the report details on site, have the machine ap-
proved, confirm that the problem is resolved, secure the customer signature and for-
ward the necessary data to the accounting department.
Successfully Closing Service Calls Using Field Service Automation Soft-
ware:
− Creating a daily report that covers the details of the repairs/maintenance mea-
sures performed and informs the customer about the progress of the job
− Creating comprehensive reports and having them approved with the digital
signature of the customer
− Improving transparency and responsibility for the customer and the entire ser-
vice team
− Reducing the time period between the customer call-out and invoicing

www.coresystems.net 5
 White Paper: How Can the Service Process in the Area of Laboratory Technology Be Made More Efficient?

8. Analysis
Your data is your most valuable asset. Recording data in the field service is the first
step toward more efficient service processes and ensuring a positive customer experi-
ence. You can use this data to monitor key performance indicators such as revenues in
the service department, resolution rates in the first call-out and customer satisfac-
tion. Furthermore, they also provide information about where improvements are re-
quired, whether that is in the service teams or in relation to your product.
Analyzing Data Using Field Service Automation Software:
− What has to be measured? - Adapt the checklists to ensure that the correct data
is recorded.
− Ensure that field service technicians can access these predefined structures
(that is, the checklists and tables provided by the mobile field service applica-
tions) when recording the data.
− Make sure that all data is labeled or recorded and categorized with an ID.
− Forward the data to the research and development team so that products can
be improved and new and better products can be developed.
− Create dashboards that visualize business development.
9. Marketing and Additional Sales
Due to the higher level of servitization in the medical industry, we will achieve higher
revenues with services than with products in the future. Utilize the sales power of
your field service staff. Once your field service technicians have resolved a problem on
location and satisfied the customer, they have a unique opportunity to offer the cus-
tomer further products, upgrades and additional services. Since field service staff are
held in high esteem by the customer due to their expertise, they can recognize
cross-selling and additional sales opportunities on site. You can also use the data re-
corded in field service automation software to see which new services customer may
require.
Sales of Additional Products or Services by Technicians:
− Give your field service technicians the opportunity to advise customers about
replacing or updating products or procuring completely new products.
− Enable them to create sales orders and provide discounts in order to close busi-
ness deals.
− Motivate technicians who sell additional products with special programs or
rewards.
− Ensure that technicians with the highest sales numbers in the company are
noticed and that their hard work is rewarded.

About Coresystems
Coresystems is a leading provider of mobile and cloud-based field service and
workforce management software for mid-sized and large enterprises’ field service
organizations. Since Coresystems’ founding in 2006, more than 190,000 users
across the world have utilized Coresystems’ innovative, real-time field service
management software to improve their business and field service processes. Core-
Coresystems systems has also pioneered “crowd service” – which allows customers to leverage
CH: +41 56 500 22 44 an Uber-like platform to find available field service technicians in real-time. Core-
DE: +49 761 887 95 777 systems is headquartered in Switzerland with international offices in San Francis-
USA: +1 (415) 887-1944 co, Miami, Berlin, Freiburg, Shanghai, São Paulo and London.
www.coresystems.net

www.coresystems.net 6