Here’s why engineering processes affect services and why streamlining information could solve the whole problem.
The Problem: Lack of Communication
Let’s be honest, engineering and manufacturing departments do not always communicate product changes to service. This is just the start of how your engineering processes affect services.
The Result: High Costs
When technicians reference outdated product information and arrive with incorrect parts, this leads to longer service visits, extraneous costs, longer downtime, and lowered customer satisfaction.
The Solution: Streamlining Information
Streamline the way you service teams access and use product information. The best way to accomplish this involves accurately transforming eBOMs (engineering bill of materials) to sBOMs (service bill of materials) and maintaining the fidelity of that information after engineering changes.
It’s time to stop letting your engineering processes affect services.
Take full advantage of the product data your organization has already created.
Structure service manuals and part information based on how a specific product is configured and serviced. Reuse engineering and manufacturing data in the service environment. Provide configuration-specific information to service technicians. Create a single point of access for your service content. Avoid text – use and repurpose graphics, animations, and CAD information when possible. And link service information to engineering information so changes propagate.
Next: Identify Your Service Needs
Identify what should go in your sBOM to ensure your sBOMs meet the needs of the service department. Examples might include what is serviceable versus what is replaceable, the status of a part, the components, models, grouped items, and more.
The Goal: Transforming Your Services
Remember: the ultimate goal is to make your customers happy. As a result of combining best practices with the right technology to support service and parts information management and publication you will see a higher customer satisfaction, improved technician effectiveness, improved brand reputation, higher profitability (due to lower revenue and service cost), time savings, and higher revenue (from repeat business and customer loyalty).
We have a team of technical communications specialists that would love to talk with you about your current state and current initiatives…
