Konica Minolta Business Solutions provides a variety of solutions for the connected workplace, with a team of 750 field service engineers supporting 430,000 customers across Europe and more than 1.1 billion prints per month.
The company has kept pace with change as workplaces have moved from entirely paper-based to hybrid paper/digital ecosystems and is keeping pace with change in how service is delivered as well.
With evolving customer expectations and a more sophisticated technology landscape, Konica Minolta is embracing the shift-left opportunity in service by transitioning from a field-centric to remote-by-default service delivery model. When you consider the fact that each customer visit by a field service engineer costs Konica Minolta between 50 to 100 Euros, it only makes sense to try to increase remote resolution.
There’s a difference, of course, between remote-by-default and remote-only. With its remote-by-default initiative, Konica Minolta is aiming to increase its remote resolution rate for service tickets from 20-25% to more than 50% – as well as to optimize the process for when a technician does need to be dispatched.
“Remote-by-default is about finding the perfect balance – doing as much as possible remotely while ensuring the on-site work is exceptional,” explains Ged Cranny, Senior Consultant, Head of Direct Service at Konica Minolta Business Solutions (UK) who was named a Future of Field Service Stand Out 50 leader in 2024.
When on-site work is required, Konica Minolta is using IFS Planning & Scheduling Optimization (PSO) to ensure it is executed in the best way possible. “In the event that a customer’s fault can’t be resolved remotely, we can automatically allocate and deploy the most suitable engineers, with the necessary parts, in the most efficient way possible,” says Ged. Read more here about the productivity gains and cost savings Konica Minolta has achieved with IFS PSO.
Keys to Modernizing Service Delivery
For organizations like Konica Minolta, there’s significant value in examining how traditional service delivery can be reimagined to include more self- and remote service. Doing so makes good use of readily available technology to create opportunities for quicker, more efficient resolution that benefits both customers and service provider. But modernizing service delivery is a major shift, not only in service operations but beyond. Here are five areas of focus to take from Konica Minolta’s remote-by-default service delivery journey.
Understanding Customer Needs and Articulating Service Value
When exploring shift-left scenarios, some companies fear how customers who are used to the traditional on-site service experience will respond. As Ged points out, you may have some customers who will readily embrace more remote service options while others may need more encouragement; but everyone is quickly being influenced by consumer experiences and growing increasingly accustomed to on-demand solutions.
“We had some customers who were really ready to embrace this journey, and others who referred to the old playbook,” says Ged. “But the playbooks are changing, and we’ve shown them the benefits of what we’re doing – the more we’re able to show them that, look, actually this is different but it’s a better way that offers greater uptime – they come along.”
Ged also makes a very good point that the needle is moving quickly with younger customers who are very technology adept, used to living in an instant gratification world, and want a quicker fix. Companies like Konica Minolta need to continue to meet the needs of customers with more traditional preferences while also taking steps to evolve to what the new – and next – generations of customers will demand. “We have to create the different options that our customers need to interface with us,” says Ged.
Acknowledge the Major Culture Shift
Modernizing service delivery from field-centric to remote-by-default is a major change! One that employees who are accustomed to the existing service delivery model will rightfully question and may resist. It’s important to remember that resistance to change is human nature and not a reflection of the initiative. It’s also important to ensure you take into account the time and energy needed to plan for and address such a major culture shift as part of your initiative.
Change management is imperative and is most impactful when you remember that what will resonate best with each stakeholder in terms of the “why” will vary. “So much of the success of a project like this is winning the hearts and minds of the teams,” explains Ged. “The c-level drives change, but it needs to reach mid-management and the frontline as well, and everyone’s ‘why’ is different. With the frontline, for example, we explained how IFS PSO will help to get them home on time each night because they care about that far more than the efficiency gains.”
Consider the Ripple Effect
Delivering service differently and incorporating more AI and automation will bring about questions that need exploring and ultimately answered, such as how certain roles will change, what new roles may be created, what upskilling or reskilling is needed, and even what doors such change opens to hire differently and with greater diversity. While this is exciting because it represents a lot of opportunity, it’s also a lot of change to consider – and as stated above, change can be challenging.
“The effectiveness of the AI-powered IFS PSO tool means that we’ve shifted from schedulers to exception managers,” Ged shares as one example of change. “We’ve also had discussions around how this initiative will allow us to bring in more diversity to our teams because the shift in how service is delivered opens up the skills needed and role requirements. Often with conversations around modernization and certainly around AI it goes to the thinking about will you replace people, but I think instead you’ll create new rules and different ways of working.”
Remember that Technology is an Enabler
While modernizing service delivery the way Konica Minolta has isn’t possible without sophisticated, capable technology, it’s crucial to remember that technology alone cannot accomplish such a feat. “Technology is an enabler of business strategy,” cautions Ged, “not a magic wand.”
Knowing exactly where technology can add value, but having awareness of what the business needs to do to transform is the key. For Konica Minolta, this meant not only some serious change management as mentioned but also an alignment of strategy, processes, and resources to create a readiness for the remote-by-default journey.
“This began quite some time ago when we started to build the data mining, the data lakes to be able to start doing predictive maintenance. We needed this to be able to predict where we needed to put parts around the UK, so we don’t have thousands and thousands or millions and millions worth of pounds worth of parts just sitting in the back house. It’s aligning all these different things.”
Disrupt or Be Disrupted
What sets apart companies like Konica Minolta and those who are hesitant to embrace a shift-left approach is in many ways reflective of their appetite for innovation and whether they are willing to be more disruptive. But with the changes in customer expectations along with the realities of the aging field service workforce, I’d argue the choice is to disrupt or to be disrupted.
Ged says that in 2017 the average age of his engineers was 48, and with it being challenging to recruit new talent at the pace needed for the role as it has traditionally been, a remote-by-default service delivery offers options. “Have a mindset of the art of the possible,” Ged encourages. “Don’t wait to see what happens in 10 years’ time – start thinking now about what will be expected, what the realities of the workforce will be, what the technological capabilities will be and work now to create the opportunity for all of those pieces.”
