Many people underestimate the great leverage that service offers for the development of sustainable and resource-conserving economic processes. Yet this is perhaps one of the most effective starting points for improving conditions. There are four areas in particular that they should focus on.
Mechanical engineering is by no means the "dirtiest" industry in terms of its harmful impact on the environment. Countless measures are already being taken to reduce damage to the environment. And the impact on global CO² emissions is also comparatively low, which of course does not mean that it should not be reduced further.
The double lever for the environmental balance sheet
Machine manufacturers often focus more on production efficiency and the sustainable procurement of raw materials in order to improve their own environmental footprint. However, the importance of service is often underestimated. This is because we have a double lever, especially in the B2B business: on the one hand, we can take care to produce more resource-efficiently and efficiently ourselves. On the other hand, we can also help our customers to operate in a more environmentally friendly way, especially with suitable service concepts. After all, the machines and systems we produce play a key role in many other industries when it comes to reducing their ecological footprint.
A win-win situation for service and the environment
One major advantage is that many measures to improve environmental impact can also be turned into an economic advantage in the service sector. The more efficient you are in service, the more resource-efficient your entire company will be. Sustainability therefore does not necessarily have to be a cost factor in your organization. Rather, it can also be an entry point into new service business models. Also bear in mind that sustainability can offer a decisive incentive to buy and will be an even greater factor influencing customer decisions in the future.
How can you and your customers become more sustainable through excellent service management?
There are points of attack for decisive ecological improvements in 4 different areas in particular. We have often discussed how to work more efficiently in these areas in the ServiceLobby Insights. At this point, we want to emphasize the positive effect with regard to a more ecological way of doing business and show what a strong position service can have, especially here, in order to establish more sustainable practices.
Field ServiceEffective field service management not only reduces costs in your service department. The long-term goal is to reduce the number of times your technicians have to visit customers. However, the first step is to implement a suitable field service management system. If you do not yet have one, you should improve this area as soon as possible. This will allow you to reduce the travel distances and times of your technicians comparatively easily. In addition, many on-site visits can also be made superfluous by using technological aids. Here, solutions from the areas of teleservice, VR technology and Self-service into consideration. The aim must be to solve more and more problems via the Remote Support to be able to solve them.
An effective Quality assurance in after-sales on the other hand, ensures that the proportion of problems that are permanently resolved on the first customer visit is increased. You can also be sure that maintenance has been carried out correctly. Both of these save unnecessary visits, as problems with machines and systems are rectified immediately and there are no unnecessary additional visits just because a technician has been negligent.
Spare parts managementAnother important point of contact is the management of your spare parts. Here, environmental impact can be achieved by reducing storage and transportation costs. Emergency deliveries of spare parts should also be avoided, as these are usually associated with unnecessary effort and travel. If you have a better overview of your machines, you can also better predict which parts will be needed in the future and need to send them out on an ad-hoc basis less often. The latter can be achieved primarily through Condition monitoring and innovative maintenance strategies.
In many companies, it also makes sense to review the entire supply chain of your spare parts with a view to avoiding unnecessary deliveries. As part of a service level strategy, the customer can also be persuaded to establish a more sustainable ordering behavior.
Process optimization in the operation of your products: You can use a variety of service measures to reduce machine failures and thus reduce repair work. You can also significantly extend the entire service life of your products. Investments in solutions from the area of Predictive maintenance offer a decisive advantage here. Predictive maintenance has a positive influence on all 4 areas described here, and therefore possibly also the greatest impact on the ecological footprint. In addition, there are now many providers who have developed additional service products, mostly of a consulting nature, to actively support customers in making machine operation more efficient, reducing energy consumption or improving the reject rate of the process.
Business modelsIn order to monetize your efforts in the area of sustainability in a meaningful way, you should also think about innovative business models. Business models such as Equipment-as-a-Service ensure that responsibility for the efficient operation of machines and systems remains in your hands. As you know your machines best, you also have a decisive knowledge advantage to ensure this in the best possible way. This in itself is a sensible step towards sustainability. In addition, output-oriented business models offer you the opportunity to incentivize the sustainable operation of your products. You can also gear your offerings towards promoting a circular economy in order to consume fewer resources, as ownership is transferred back to you at the end of the product's service life, allowing you to manage the transfer of the products into a second life cycle
The above points show that there are many opportunities for an innovative, up-to-date service organization to drive forward the important issue of sustainability. The majority of CO² emissions are not caused by the production of machines, but by their daily operation at the customer's premises. This fact alone demonstrates the important role played by service. Sustainability concepts can therefore not be limited to production alone. Service must not be forgotten! Ultimately, however, you can even more easily turn these efforts in service management into a monetary advantage by developing smart business models that are efficient and protect our planet.
