After intensive collaboration with Atos Consulting™ and Atos Origin, Vitens, the Netherlands’ largest supplier of drinking water is the first company in the Netherlands to go live with SAP CRM 4.0 Mobile Field Services. This enables Vitens to deal faster and more efficiently with customer requests and achieve major efficiency gains as a result of standardization of company processes.
The Business Challenge
Vitens had implemented SAP R/3 in 2003 and after a successful start decided to expand it to the next level. Based on a business case, Vitens decided to implement CRM 4.0 Mobile Field Service for 130 service engineers. The business case showed that this would also enable them to standardize their field processes and to provide their field engineers with real-time access to project data. An increase in organizational transparency could also be delivered through the full integration between SAP CRM Mobile Service and SAP R/3 Logistics and Financials.
Significant improvements could also be achieved in the field of services, planning and utilization of the field organization and customer satisfaction. This is highlighted by using the functionality of SAP CRM 4.0 Mobile Service and wireless communication via GPRS (General Packet Radio Service). Here, the engineer receives and processes service orders on a laptop in their service vehicle, which is equipped with a route planner and digital map of the pipes network. This saves time, making it possible to visit more customers per day. Furthermore, with the new system, the call centre is able to check on the automated work schedule which engineer is available in the area and is able to inform the customer about the time of arrival of the engineer. The system also offers the possibility to track the status of each customer request.
The Solution
Before taking the decision for implementing a mobile solution, a business case was carried out. The business case showed a return on investment of less than 2 years. During the setup of the business case the most difficult issue was the choice for the right mobile solution. In close cooperation with SAP several options were reviewed and the CRM 4.0 Mobile Field Service was selected as the most suitable offering an expected increase in productivity of around 30%.
Atos Origin is an official partner of SAP with over 20 years experience. It is a SAP Global Services Partner, a SAP Global Hosting Partner as well as a member of the SAP Netweaver Partner Initiative. It has over 4,400 SAP consultants around the globe and operates SAP Certified Datacenters in all geographical regions ensuring the continuous availability of business critical applications and systems.
To achieve the optimal utilization, Atos Origin implemented the SAP NetWeaver® platform, including the SAP NetWeaver Mobile, SAP NetWeaver Application Server, and SAP NetWeaver Portal components (including knowledge management functionality). This also allowed Vitens to take advantage of the SAP NetWeaver® Mobile component to add all-important mobile asset management functionality to the solution. The implementation was integrated tightly with the logistics and financials functionality of SAP® R/3® software (functionality now found in the mySAP™ ERP solution) and covers some 130 service engineers, with additional rollouts planned.
The Benefits
The successful implementation of an integrated solution covering service, logistics and finance has delivered benefits for Vitens in two main areas, cost and quality.
Regarding costs, they have been able to save on indirect administration and IT costs and have been able to recoup their investment in less than 2 years. The number of administrative tasks is now kept to a minimum and the data that engineers enter in the system provides information that is analyzed to improve financial, logistical and purchasing processes, resulting in major cost-savings across the company. So far, cost savings of around 32 million euros have already been achieved.
They have seen Field Service Engineer productivity improved by 35% and as well as customer satisfaction, there has also been a significant increase in employee satisfaction. Uniform best-in-class field service processes have been implemented and this has delivered optimal management information such as a clear insight into the availability and output of service engineers. A single point of contact customer contact has also been successfully implemented.
Client Quote
“With the mobility that SAP NetWeaver made possible, our field service operations are now a showcase for process optimization in the industry.”
Wouter Haasloop Werner, CIO, Vitens