Learning Objectives
- Review emerging trends that are shaping the growth of strategic service management (SSM).
- Learn lessons from ERP and CRM implementations and how to avoid the same mistakes in SSM.
- Divide the service chain into smaller, more manageable chunks so you can begin to effect change immediately.
Program Content
After years of automating their manufacturing, supply and demand chains, leading organizations are increasing their attention on the only thing left that counts – their customers. Once considered an afterthought, after-sales service and the service chain are quickly becoming the last bastions of automation and may likely be the most important movement ever to hit operations and IT.
After-sales parts and services are the new frontier of competitive differentiation – especially because they typically account for more than half of a company’s profits and can mean the difference between a loyal customer and a lost customer.
Because the service chain includes a wide range of business processes, ranging from warranty, parts and pricing, call centers and field service to cross-selling, up-selling and extended service contracts, capitalizing on services is easier said than done.
So how do you manage the transformation from a product-centered to service-centered organization to keep customers happy and costs down?
Join BetterManagement and SAS for the first in a multipart Web series that will continue in 2007 to discover:
- The most pressing challenges across the service chain and how to overcome them.
- What KPIs you should track and measure.
- How to overcome obstacles to transforming into a “service as a business” model.
- How to translate warranty management automation into the rest of the service chain.
- Which area of the service chain to focus on first for confident returns and immediate success.
- Best practices for becoming a profitable service leader.
Participant Level of Understanding
This program is intended for participants with a basic or intermediate level of understanding on the topic.
Who Should Attend?
Executives and managers who want to understand how they can manage after-sales service and the entire service chain for lower costs and greater customer retention.
About Eric Arnum, Mark Vigoroso and Thomas Roehm
Eric Arnum, Editor of Warranty Week
Eric Arnum is the Editor of Warranty Week, an online publication for the warranty professional. Launched in 2002, Warranty Week focuses on the manufacturing industry's aftermarket, with analyses of warranty costs, regulatory reporting, market value, and warranty product and management trends.
Warranty Week also hosts the Warranty Chain Management Conference, an annual event that gives warranty professionals the opportunity to meet and discuss warranty-related issues and develop warranty management as a recognized discipline.
Before launching Warranty Week, Arnum edited several newsletters in the telecom industry, and performed research and consulting projects for a wide range of clients in North America, South America and Europe.
Mark Vigoroso, Chief Research Officer and Service Director, Service Chain Management Research, Aberdeen Group
As the Chief Research Officer and Service Director for service chain management research at Aberdeen Group, Mark Vigoroso spearheads research on technology-driven business value in the service chain. Through primary market research, he analyzes how service executives are using field service management, mobile service, service parts planning and distribution, service force optimization, machine-to-machine and other technology solutions to automate and streamline after-sales service and support processes.
Vigoroso's current efforts include documenting best practices in after-sales service, quantifying best-in-class service chain performance management strategies and benchmarking real-time optimization of work forces in the service chain.
He has spent years covering electronic procurement, supply chain and logistics management trends as a journalist, editor, speaker and columnist for various industry publications. Specializing in e-business applications and strategies, he was an editor at Purchasing Magazine and Manufacturing Marketplace. He has also been a columnist and feature writer for The E-Commerce Times, ZDNet Tech Update and WorkZ.com.
Thomas Roehm, Senior Director, Quality and Service Solutions, SAS
Thomas Roehm is the Senior Director of the quality and service practice for SAS. In this role, he leads the business development, sales support and implementation services for SAS' quality and service solutions. Throughout his career, he has been instrumental in leading numerous internal and customer-driven projects that spanned the enterprise.
Roehm has more than 16 years of experience in the manufacturing industry and 19 years in information technology. His primary focus has been in supply chain management. While working with clients, he gained valuable insights into the business and information technology requirements for successful supply chain management.
For 14 years, Roehm helped develop and support manufacturing information systems for EDS. During that time, he spent several years working with the GM Truck Group as an Account Manager and Applications Delivery Manager responsible for the development, implementation and support of its quality systems.
Roehm is an Adjunct Professor in the graduate program at Lawrence Technological University.
