Metrix Blog

Introducing Metrix OnDemand

noreply@blogger.com (Metrix) — Wed, 13 May 2009 15:48:00 +0000

By Emily Lehnen
Senior Marketing Manager

Metrix unveiled our new hosted solution at the Field Service 2009 show last week. Metrix OnDemand delivers all the features and functionality of Metrix Service, but without the cost, burdens, or risks of implementing software or hardware.

Licensed on a per-user, per-month basis, Metrix OnDemand becomes a variable expense, rather than a fixed cost at the time of purchase, allowing companies to realize all the benefits of automating field service, without impacting the budget.

Read our press release
Learn more about Metrix OnDemand

Four Ways to Increase Service Revenues by Improving Contract Management

noreply@blogger.com (Metrix) — Tue, 12 May 2009 16:20:00 +0000

By Emily Lehnen
Senior Marketing Manager

With product revenue decreasing, service managers are being pressured to meet the dual goals of cutting costs and increasing revenues. One of the best ways for companies to accomplish this is by doing a better job of meeting the service obligations under contract, and by placing more customers under contracts, leading to a higher and more predictable revenue stream.

In a new benchmark report titled Service Contract Management: Winning Strategies for Managing Customer's Expectation, the AberdeenGroup reported that companies that effectively manage their contracts experience significant competitive advantages, including:

26% increase in service revenue
90% contract renewal rate
28% increase in SLA agreement/contract compliance

These companies employ a number of strategies and capabilities to achieve these results. REan on for four key recommendations from Aberdeen on your company can improve contract management.

RECOMMENDATION #1
Automate key service contract processes
Lack of technology to help automate the management of contracts is cited as one of the biggest challenges to putting customers on long-term contracts.

Fully automated contract management
Automate contract pricing, renewals and approvals. Metrix contract management will help your company create, execute, revise, monitor and administer service contracts from initial quoting and pricing to automatic renewal and billing.

RECOMMENDATION #2
Expand contract service portfolio
Having a wider portfolio of offerings, especially meter contracts and self-renewing contracts, improves contract renewal rates.

Easily manage evergreen, self-renewing and tiered-service contracts
Many companies shy away from more complex contract offerings such as meter and self-renewing contracts because they are more complicated. With Metrix, you set up contracts based on rules. These rules may define coverage types and response times, part and labor coverage as well as OEM warranty coverage. Contract rules can also define renewal terms, current and future contract pricing as well as contract entitlements. Simply define the rules, and the system takes care of the rest, creating a way to bolster renewals with minimal effort.

RECOMMENDATION #3
Integrate contract management with service execution
Every year, an estimated 10%-12% of service revenue is lost due to poor management of service contracts.

Stop service “giveaways” through improved visibility
The Metrix contracts module is fully integrated with all other aspects of the field service solution, including scheduling/dispatch, parts management and reverse logistics. Metrix Mobile gives field techs real-time visibility into contracts, and allows for cross-selling/up-selling opportunities.

RECOMMENDATION #4
Measure service performance against contract obligation
Without this information, you will not be able to successfully attain improved level of SLA compliance, and therefore will find it difficult to incorporate expanded contract offerings.

Gain greater visibility into contract performance
You don’t know how you are doing unless you can measure it. With Metrix all the data you need is available, providing information you can act on.

Want to learn more? Download the whole report, or go to our Key Findings site for a summary of the report's statistics, strategies and recommendations.

Lagging First-time Fix Rates Killing Mid-Size Business Profits

noreply@blogger.com (Metrix) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:15:00 +0000

By Emily Lehnen
Senior Marketing Manager

According to research from the Aberdeen Group, mid-sized companies were significantly less likely than larger firms to resolve an issue on the first visit. This results in longer asset downtime for the customer, and can result in missed service level agreements. The costs associated with the missed SLA’s, as well as the secondary dispatch can wipe out an organization’s service profit margin.

What if instead companies could save $3.74 million?

There are technologies, such as mobile field service software and optimized scheduling that can dramatically increase first-time fix rate. But mid-sized businesses, which lack the vast coffers of their larger counterparts, sometimes look at technology options like the ones outlined above and question their affordability and impact on the bottom line.

ROI Calculation
Let’s consider a mid-sized business with 100 technicians who complete the industry average of 4.8 work orders per day.

100 technicians
x 4.8 work orders per day
x 250 working days per year
= 120,000 service calls/year

The Aberdeen study indicates that 40% of these services calls (48,000) would require at least a second dispatch. Research from the Aberdeen Group estimates that the cost per dispatch is $241.

48,000 service calls
x $241 cost per dispatch
= $11.6 million spent annually on secondary dispatch

Aberdeen found that companies who employ field service scheduling and mobile service software experience a 32% increase in first-time fix rate. This would reduce the number of service calls needing a secondary dispatch by 15,360, a cost savings of approximately $3.74 million.

When you look at all the numbers above, the question in your mind should change from, “Can I afford it?” to “Can I NOT afford it?”

Metrix Unveils Latest Release of its Industry-Leading Field Service Management Software

noreply@blogger.com (Metrix) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:05:00 +0000

By Tom Bowe
VP of Product Marketing and Engineering

Metrix recently released version 5.1 of its field service management software. Beyond adding new functionality, this new version cuts implementation by 20%, simplifies integration with existing back-office systems, and features tools that allows users to easily modify the interface.

By leveraging state-of-the-art development tools like Microsoft .NET 3.5 and Visual Studio 2008, and combining it with Metrix’s 30 years of service know-how, Metrix Service 5.1 contains an impressive number of new features.

• Real-time traffic updates with turn-by-turn driving directions.
• Expanded reverse logistics and third-party repair optimization.
• Drag-and-drop configuration tools to rapidly modify the user interface.
• Enhanced role-based security and SSO support through Active Directory.
• Flexible validation rules to eliminate data-entry errors and extra key-strokes.
• Meter-based pricing and billing automation for pay-per-click service contracts.
• Product recall management including engineering change orders and outbound calls.
• Dynamic customer surveys to improve service quality, compliance and responsiveness.

Read the press release.

Selling in a Struggling Economy

noreply@blogger.com (Metrix) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 02:03:00 +0000

By Larry Laux
President and Founder

Recent developments in the U.S. and world economies brought to mind the opening lines of Rudyard Kipling’s poem, “If –“

“If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you . . .”

There are lots of anxious people in the world today, and it seems to me that some anxiety is justified. Certainty 400 point swings (both directions) in the stock market are attention grabbing, as are the difficult-to-comprehend numbers being tossed about as bailout plans.

How do you sell in this economy?

I suggest you start with a simple question – was there a market for your firm’s services last week, last month? If yes, then there is still a need for those services today, and there will be tomorrow, next week, and next year.

Absolutely, your clients and prospective clients will use the market noise as an excuse to negotiate or to delay purchase. However, all using ‘The Economy’ as an excuse means is that you have not made a good enough case that your services provide value well beyond the amount of money you are charging.

Clear communication is a big opportunity for you. Make sure everyone in your organization that does, or even might, have communication with your clients and prospects knows your ‘elevator pitch’, or what you would say to a CEO if he got on the elevator with you on the first floor and punched the button for the 12th floor. That’s all the amount of time you to state the case why they NEED your services, and it is imperative that everyone in your company is saying the same value proposition.

People are claiming that “this time is different”...it’s NOT different. Do you know what the Prime Rate was in December of 1980, when Metrix was 7 months old? 21.5 percent! Companies still made purchases. When companies understand that by spending $X they can make 3 $X in a year, the smart ones are going to do that.

They just need you to remind them of the return on their investment in your companies’ services.

Making the Most of Customer Complaints

noreply@blogger.com (Metrix) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 01:40:00 +0000

By Tom Bowe
VP of Product Marketing and Engineering

I recently came across a good Wall Street Journal article on Customer Service that is worth sharing: Making the Most of Customer Complaints

September 22nd, 2008, by Stefan Michel, David Bowen and Robert Johnston

The article also includes links to additional MIT research (click on hyperlink to go to relevant MIT SMR article summary…then hit the ‘full text of this article’ link on page for a .pdf reprint compliments of IBM). And the online video is short and to the point!

Enjoy!

Five Reasons to Take a Closer Look at Metrix Mobile

noreply@blogger.com (Metrix) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:03:00 +0000

By Tom Bowe
VP of Product Marketing and Engineering

I think our website understates our mobile solutions and I’m feeling a little guilty about it…hence the blog. Building mobile applications is difficult with so many design constraints to consider like battery, memory, screen size, wireless sync and device OS. One of our critical to success factors is sticking with what we know – field service automation. Having every employee in the company intimately knowledgeable about service business processes really helps us create practical and valuable features for your mobile workers. If you haven’t taken a look at Metrix Mobile lately…here are some reasons you should...

Embedded GPS Adaptor – Metrix Mobile receives GPS feeds directly from the device including latitude, longitude, speed and heading using the NMEA standard. When the service specialist or inspector records their arrival, we can see if they are actually at the customer address…or not.

Intelligent Barcode Scanning – Metrix Mobile supports 20+ different barcode symbologies like Code 39, EAN/UCC, 2-OF-5, UPC and RSS…simultaneously. Users scan any barcode and the application recognizes the format, parses the data into multiple fields, validates the record and notifies the user with an audible “beep.”

Email Integration – With one touch, mobile users can email the customer contact for their next job. Metrix Mobile opens Pocket Outlook and pre-populates the message. The Tech or Inspector selects ‘saved text’ to add a sentence like “I’ll on my way and will be arriving shortly” or “I’m stuck in traffic and may be a few minutes late” and then hits “SEND.”

Phone Integration – With one touch, Metrix Mobile users on a Smartphone device can call the customer contact for their next assigned job.

File Attachments – Users can receive schematics and forms automatically downloaded along with their assigned work orders and can wirelessly upload completed surveys, checklists, or log files to the customer support group.

Save Thousands of Dollars with Special Depreciation Rules in 2008 Stimulus Act

noreply@blogger.com (Metrix) — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:48:00 +0000

By Emily Lehnen
Senior Marketing Manager

In addition to paying out to individuals, the 2008 Stimulus Act passed earlier this year provides extra incentives for businesses. Two special depreciation rules apply for assets put into service in 2008, allowing companies to garner thousands of dollars in tax savings. Following is an explanation of the rules, and an example of the potential savings.

While lots of capital assets qualify for the special depreciation, I’m going to discuss how they relate to software purchases, one of the qualifying assets.

The incentives include:

A 50% first-year bonus depreciation
Software normally depreciates at a rate of 33% per year. With the incentive, for the first year an asset is placed into service, companies can depreciate 50% of the cost of an asset in addition to the regular 33% depreciation and any Section 179 deduction.

Increase in “Section 179 Expensing”
A company can elect to treat an asset as an expense and depreciate the asset in one year instead of over several years. This practice is referred to as “Section 179 Expensing”, very cleverly named after the IRS code that explains it. If a company chooses to do this in 2008, it can expense up to $250,000 of the cost of the asset, up from the general limit of $128,000. Again, a company can take advantage of this special allowance in combination with the 50% first-year bonus depreciation./LI>

Real World Example of Savings
Before your eyes completely glaze over from looking at IRS codes, let me show an example of the potential tax savings. Let’s say you spend $300,000 on upgrading or purchasing new software, and that software is put into service in 2008. Below is a calculation of the maximum depreciation allowed in 2008.

Purchase Price: $300,000
Section 179 expensing: $250,000

Remainder to use for calculating
other depreciation: $50,000

50% Bonus depreciation: $25,000
33% Standard depreciation: $7,500

Total depreciation amount
($250,000 + 25,000 + $7,500): $283,250

Total 2008 Tax Savings
(assuming 32% tax rate): $90,6400

Without the two 2008 incentives, this same software purchase would result in a tax savings of only $58,880. These incentives are a great way to bolster your ROI justification for starting a software project.

The Discipline of Project Justification: Part 7 – Creating Story Boards

noreply@blogger.com (Metrix) — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:45:00 +0000

By Tom DeVroy
VP of Sales

When selling software, the most difficult kind of users to win over are end users. Senior managers tend to have some vision or preset notion of how they would like things to run in the future versus how they run today. They think in terms of efficiencies, overlapping processes and increase productivity. The Future-State model.

End users, on the other hand, don’t think in terms of change. They think about how things work today, and the steps they need to take to get their job done. The Current-State model. Therefore, the prospect of change, especially is not explained well by management, creates a lot of anxiety for end users.

To dispel this anxiety, managers need to help end users look past the Current State, and help them visualize the Future-State. To so this, it is essential that management and project leaders clearly map out the path for change and how it will affect the end user. They need to explain to the user community how their job will look in the future, and that the new system is just a tool to help them do their jobs better, faster, more easily.

At Metrix, we use the creation of story boards to help explain the path for change for new processes. This usually takes the form of a flow chart or some other diagram that explains how processes will be performed and by whom. It’s even better when the application software vendor can demonstrate these new processes so people can visualize the new model, and their job function in it.

So if a simple narrative doesn’t do it, take the time to define the future state, lay out how it affects people, and define what their new job responsibilities will look like when the new tool is selected.

3 ways to save money by reducing service inventory in the field

noreply@blogger.com (Metrix) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:25:00 +0000

By Tom Bowe
VP of Engineering

Most service companies track inventory in the field to some degree and most can report cost variances and usage trends each month. Occasionally I run across service business that expense all of their field inventory, but most track at least their highest cost items with some care. Few have real-time visibility and closed-loop logistics, which is essential to eliminating surplus stock, recouping warranty reimbursements, reducing shrinkage and uncovering hidden costs.

Service parts management is complex and difficult to understand, let alone fix, with a lot of people involved across multiple departments. However, its impact on cash-flow and profitability causes service executives to spend a significant amount of time white-boarding, analyzing and brainstorming ways to optimize field inventory. When the normal process fails (i.e. stock out, urgent, NFO, hard down, etc.), split-second decisions often have a negative, cascading effect on service levels, first time fill rates, customer satisfaction, and cost. Here are three suggestions that make for a better running service logistics organization:

Closely track the number of parts requested vs. the number of parts used to fix each customer problem. It used to be difficult to link these transactions together because they occur at different times; different places and can involve different systems. But now, Metrix (for example) can require technicians to disposition each part that was shipped, pulled, installed, repaired, tested or swapped before they can close the call.

Implement periodic cycle-counting in the field. This used to be tedious, but now it’s easy to automate and requires little user effort or training with intelligent barcode scanning. Service part cycle-counting has a number of advantages over traditional physical counts, especially if the field doesn’t see it as a waste of time and frequency is based on value, like ABC.

Enforce approved stock lists and levels. Ideally, on-hand inventory in a service van or a technician’s trunk consists of low-cost/ high-use parts and essential tools…that’s it. Everything else is delivered on-demand, purchased as needed, or consigned to customers and parts are consumed or returned immediately.

Sometimes it’s best to manage these critical service parts functions in your service systems. Traditional supply chain systems don’t account for the nuances of managing service parts, and are often times are too complex for the job. Good forward and reverse logistics management is a key driver of customer satisfaction, and overall service profitability. We think closed-loop service parts and logistics should be a core component of all field service automation projects.

How to integrate Mapping into a Field Service system

noreply@blogger.com (Metrix) — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 18:45:00 +0000

By Tom Bowe
VP of Engineering

I attended an Aberdeen briefing this week highlighting the benefits of location-based service. GPS-tracking and vehicle monitoring are becoming standard business practices in the U.S. field service industry.

The benefits are tangible too…some companies are seeing double-digit cost savings in gas! This is good news for us all, and very timely for Metrix. We recently added a “Show Map” feature to our schedule board so dispatchers can visualize customer locations, technician routes and unassigned jobs (like find nearest tech) using a web-based map tool (like Yahoo or Google Maps).

We evaluated the leading map software vendors and found it to be a fairly arduous task. Although, it took less than 60 minutes to integrate to M5 and verify data was passed back and forth properly, it required 3 weeks to fully assess their respective strengths and weaknesses…especially for technician routing which is non-trivial. So, if you need to incorporate maps into your service system (everyone is doing it), I can save you some time!

Google Maps
Pro - Web service is easy to deploy/integrate and has lots of features including routing
Con – Pricing based on total # of requests and page views

MapPoint
Pro - Easy to integrate into .NET and has lots of features
Con - Full client install makes it harder to deploy, especially if multiple versions are required.

Virtual Earth
Pro - Web service is easy to deploy and easy to integrate with…cool “tiles” and free of charge?
Con – Missing some routing functionality, but supposed to be in new v6 api

MapQuest
Pro - Web service is easy to deploy/integrate and has lots of features including routing
Con - Performance seems slower than the others and doesn’t support mouse wheel zooming

Yahoo Maps
Pro - Web service is easy to deploy/integrate with lots of features and can render using Flash which loads faster than AJAX
Con – Missing some routing functionality, but offers workarounds

If you want to know who we selected and why… give me a call and I’d be happy to share. For more information on market trends and business benefits, the Aberdeen report will be published October 31st.

(Case in point...GPS for NYC taxi cabs...Link)

Tom Bowe

Good Advice from Bill Carollo, an NFL Referee

noreply@blogger.com (Metrix) — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 22:21:00 +0000

By Larry Laux
President and Founder
Yesterday I heard Bill Carollo, veteran NFL referee, talk to my son’s U14 soccer team. As you would expect, a ref that’s had experience in 8 NFL conference championship games, two Super Bowls and a Rose Bowl riveted the attention of the team. His message reminded me that sports, business and life in general can be dealt with successfully. I’d like to remind you, as he did to the team, of things you already know but may be overlooking as you run around at Mach 6.

Teamwork is important. If you are reading this blog you are somehow involved in the service business. It might seem that service is often ‘one-on-one’ as an engineer resolves a problem. But you know that the network of dispatchers, logistics people, supervisors, contract administrators and even vehicle coordinators each could mess up a successful service event, if they don’t do their jobs right. Part of teamwork is doing your job right. Another part is encouraging your teammates in their tasks. Take some time today to encourage one of your teammates, either complimenting them when they do something good, or encouraging them after a mistake. Letting them know what they are doing impacts others is in itself a team positive action.

There is no substitute for hard work. I suppose if your job were pure fun, they wouldn’t have to pay you to do it. But whatever part of your job is the equivalent of ‘hitting the weight room’ should be on your action list. To switch to a rowing metaphor, if someone in the boat is loafing on their oar, we will have a difficult time keeping t he boat going straight. Don’t be that person.

Passion for your team is good. This is much more difficult that it may seem. When you’ve been doing a job for 3, 5, 10 or more years, it is very easy to slip into a comfort zone. But caring, and showing that you care for your customers, your teammates and the issues they have to deal with is a differentiator. So often people would like the magic bullet to lose weight, to get the big bonus or to grab recognition. Being enthusiastic is a pretty magical potion, and it is contagious.

Character matters. Bill defined character as doing the right thing when nobody’s looking. He also spent some time talking about Atlanta Falcon Michael Vick. All of us, all of us have many opportunities every day to choose A or B, to get something done now or leave it for later, to shrug something off as ‘not my job’. And no one makes the right choice every time. It’s human nature! But you should challenge yourself to step it up a notch, even if no one is watching right then. And as Grandma used to say, “Nothing good ever happens away from home after midnight.”

Nothing here is unfamiliar, but you know what? I need reminders every once and a while. Bill Carrolo helped me remember last night, and I hope this blog note helps you in the same way.

Larry Laux

The Discipline of Project Justification - Part 6

noreply@blogger.com (Metrix) — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 14:27:00 +0000

By Tom DeVroy
VP of Sales

Change Management is the process and communication necessary to get your organization prepared for a change and necessary activities to make it happen. Managers usually have a pretty good idea of what they want to accomplish with a new system. They either want to automate processes, become more efficient, make their people more productive, grow the business, improve customer satisfaction, or just attain some other tangible and measureable benchmark that improves business operations and performance. I’m not sure they always communicate this clearly to the troops. The end user community really is interested in one thing, and that is how it will improve their work. How is this new software going to make their life easier?

I always say that to an end user the worst system in the world is the one they currently have....the best system in the world is the one they are looking at...until...it’s time to replace the old one, where it instantly becomes the best system and they usually work hard to make the new one look like the old one. This drives me crazy, but it happens all of the time. Why? Because the lack of vision, and a fear of the unknown.

The great chasm needs a bridge - a good change management plan builds the bridge. They can’t envision how they are going to get from where they are today to where they will be. Panic and fear sets in, and then the only fall back is to a comfort zone of what they are familiar with. See how that old system all of a sudden becomes too attractive. To make matters worse I’ve seen some customers engineer a new contemporary system with best practices and make it look and feel just like the old one they are replacing. What’s the point?

I worked at a consulting company by the name of Bentley Consulting which was later acquired by Technology Solutions. Bill Bentley was an acknowledged leader in Service Management operations. We used a variant of the following graphic to describe the process of change, which still applies today. It looks like this:

Senior management usually has a vision, and it drives overall business goals. This could be new operating methods, improved financials, competitive posturing or whatever, it is going to drive how the business will change to achieve these goals. So the next logical step is to look at the way things are done today and determine if the way you are structured today will facilitate the execution on the vision.

If it can’t, there is a process of re-engineering. This starts by defining the new model. This is usually when people start to inquire into vendors like Metrix. They realize that their existing system(s), for whatever reason, fits the old model, but that model won’t work going forward, so they need a new system that will accommodate the new model. This whole change needs to be communicated to the company, making sure they understand the following:

What are we trying to achieve and why?
What’s wrong with the way we do it today?
How are we going to change and what will it accomplish?
What parts of my job are going to change and how do I fit it to the new model?
How do I fit it to the new model?
What’s the timeframe and expectation of an outcome?
What role will I play in making this happen?
How do we sustain the change?
Can I provide feedback for future improvement?

This step is usually not addressed until after a system and implementation is underway, but if you have some of this information in your hip pocket when you ask for funding you will look like a very prepared project manager.

Just for grins I pinged Wikipedia for their definition of Change Management. I thought this might be useful as it has a few methodology references. I think their definition supports my arguments:

Individual Change Management
An early model of change developed by Kurt Lewin described change as a three-stage process[1]. The first stage he called "unfreezing". It involved overcoming inertia and dismantling the existing "mind set". Defense mechanisms have to be bypassed. In the second stage the change occurs. This is typically a period of confusion and transition. We are aware that the old ways are being challenged but we do not have a clear picture to replace them with yet. The third and final stage he called "refreezing". The new mindset is crystallizing and one's comfort level is returning to previous levels.

Some change theories are based on derivatives of the Kübler-Ross model from Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's book, "On Death and Dying." The stages of Kubler-Ross's model describe the personal and emotional states that a person typically encounters when dealing with loss of a loved one. Derivatives of her model applied in other settings such as the workplace show that similar emotional states are encountered as individuals are confronted with change.

A Formula for Change was developed by Richard Beckhard and David Gleicher and is sometimes referred to as Gleicher's Formula. The Formula illustrates that the combination of organisational dissatisfaction, vision for the future and the possibility of immediate, tactical action must be stronger than the resistance within the organisation in order for meaningful changes to occur.

The ADKAR model for individual change management was developed by Prosci with input from more than 1000 organizations from 59 countries. This model describes five required building blocks for change to be realized successfully on an individual level. The building blocks of the ADKAR Model include:

Awareness – of why the change is needed
Desire – to support and participate in the change
Knowledge – of how to change
Ability – to implement new skills and behaviors
Reinforcement – to sustain the change

Organizational Change Management
Organizational change management includes processes and tools for managing the people side of the change at an organizational level. These tools include a structured approach that can be used to effectively transition groups or organizations through change. When combined with an understanding of individual change management, these tools provide a framework for managing the people side of change.

Other Discipline of Project Justification Posts:

View Part 1 Here
View Part 2 Here
View Part 3 Here
View Part 4 Here
View Part 5 Here

An Eye-Opening Trip to Japan and China

noreply@blogger.com (Metrix) — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 20:30:00 +0000

By Larry Laux
President and Founder

I have just returned from a trip to Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai. Perhaps you have been fortunate enough to have visited those cities. If not, or if it has been more than 2 years, I can tell you that they are all undergoing building booms. In the Chinese cities, it is a BOOM!

It is almost unbelievable how quickly new buildings are going up. One ‘small’ 40 story building was 1/3 done, and I was told each remaining floor would be completed in 1-2 days per floor.

I saw the ‘Bird’s Nest’ in Beijing, where the opening and closing ceremonies will be held for next summer’s Olympic Games. The Beijing subway has 3 lines now, but by next summer is expected to have six more completed or underway. They completed a 6 lane 100 km ring highway around the city in 2003, and have already completed another 4 lane one, 5-10 km further out.

And Shanghai gives credit to the world’s expo of 2010, but only a fraction of the new construction is directly related to that event.

All of this will impact your company. There is opportunity in these markets. Get there in person if you can and be amazed. Even if you can’t get there, get your products and services there, soon.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

noreply@blogger.com (Metrix) — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 20:01:00 +0000

By Tom Bowe
VP of Product Marketing and Engineering

I love watching high-tech action movies and shows. Many times I’ve seen the “hero” poring through hundreds of high resolution images of the bad guy or instantly pull up a comprehensive background check displaying address, contact and employment history with a big picture of the suspect’s face at the top.

After working at Siebel/Oracle for many years, I realized how difficult these scenarios really were….even with the fastest databases and servers available, enterprise-class software applications take a major speed hit when they try to display large pictures and rich graphics.

Well…things have changed. New technology from Microsoft enables us to embed not only pictures, but also video clips, slide-shows, graphics and other file types and display them immediately on the UI without performance degredation. It’s really cool…valuable too! Want to see it? Ask for a demo of our new app…Metrix 5!

Metrix 5's 'Smokin' User Interface

noreply@blogger.com (Metrix) — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 18:38:00 +0000

By Larry Laux
President and Founder

There’s a ton of things to talk about from our recent Metrix 5 product announcement. Some of you have asked me about it, and I think this blog is a useful vehicle for responding to some questions.

This first set of points relates to the User Interface (UI) of the new product.

If you’re so proud of your UI, why are your screens fuzzy on your website?
Yes, those screen shots are fuzzy, and it’s not a problem with your computer. We intentionally set them up that way. We now have an advantage, a big advantage, against all competitors in our space with our new smokin’ UI (footnote – marketing wouldn’t let me call it smokin’ in the press release, but I have more leeway in the blog).

We decided that legitimate prospective customers can, of course, see the UI in a demonstration. Even that will be given only after we have qualified the prospect and understand that they have a project, that we fit the needs of the projects, etc. But there is no sense in letting the competition see it for free. They have to figure it out on their own – we did.

OK, so what’s so ‘smokin’ hot about it?
Very tricky, ask for the goods without a demo. Well, there are several items that fit the ‘smokin’ category. First, it utilizes the NET 3.0 Windows Presentation Foundation toolset to present content on the screen in a visually appealing, easy-to-look-at way. Transparency, zoom animation, color and other Vista Aero benefits are leveraged so the user can focus on the content, not the UI.

Also, the segments of the screens work together logically. If the user focuses on a particular subset of information on the screen, the software ‘understands’ that they might also want related info, and is ready to make that info available and easy to view.

And the concept of work done recently is used in a common sense way. For example, if a user had certain information on the screen fifteen minutes ago, they can ‘jump back’ to that point very easily. This ‘remembering’ feature should be a big productivity boost, as compared to existing software that makes the user remember (and even worse, type key information in again) to go back to where they were just a few minutes before.

There’s more, but that’s enough to get you started..

Do I have to upgrade all my PCs to utilize the new UI?
You do NOT have to have Vista to use Metrix 5. Of course, to gain maximum benefit of the Aero and other features native to Vista, you need Vista. Another method of running Metrix 5 is directly from your Web browser. And the browser-based version isn’t some scaled down version of the full application - in a browser you’ll see exactly the same UI and have access to all of the same features and functionality you have in the installed version.

So what’s the point?
As with most work we do here at Metrix, the point is either letting you save money, or make more money, or both. This UI should let new users train up more quickly, be more efficient doing their jobs, and provide more accuracy in your data. All of those things should make more money for your company (and as a byproduct, make your employees and customers happier, too).

Tom Bowe, Metrix’s Vice President of Product Marketing and Engineering, and I will be writing more about Metrix 5 over the next weeks and months. As always, your constructive comments and questions are most welcome.

A New Service Blog From an Old Friend

noreply@blogger.com (Metrix) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 16:27:00 +0000

By Larry Laux
President and Founder

Recently Mark Vigoroso jumped into the world of blogging. For those of you who don't know Mark, he was the Chief Research Officer & SVP of Service Chain Research at the Aberdeen Group for the past five years. During this time we worked with him on several Aberdeen Group and Metrix joint projects. Mark has recently taken on a new role as the Chief Services Strategist at nPhase, and we wish him the best of luck.

His blog, found here, is also planned to cover topics relating to Service Management topics. Welcome, Mark, the water’s fine.

Certainly his self-confidence is not lacking. Taking the url ‘ServiceChainGuru.com’ shows that. Even so, he is a good guy and he does have good background and experience in this field. I’m sure he will have useful and insightful things to say, and I suggest you read his work.

The Discipline of Project Justification - Part 5

noreply@blogger.com (Metrix) — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 19:32:00 +0000

By Tom DeVroy
VP of Sales
Fifth in a multi-part series

My apologies for being absent so long. It’s been a busy time around here at Metrix. I’ve been amiss in my posts. Nonetheless, back to the task at hand. My previous posts had to do with proving to management that your request for money to acquire a new solution would be backed by conclusive evidence of a well-run project.

Up to this point in the series, you’ve created the business case, done your research and explored alternatives. Perhaps you’ve started to build a financial justification and you have adequately explored your options and evaluated your risks. A key variable in deciding to move the project along is the evaluation of the impact on the business from a personnel or resource perspective.

Besides how much ($$$), managers want to know who and how long. I have a prospect I’m dealing with right now in a very similar situation. They have indicated they have the budget, they have established they have the need, but are fearful about having the available resources to dedicate to the project in order to guarantee success. Consequently it appears that they have deferred their decision to move forward.

Most software vendors have a methodology of some kind they follow to assist customers in the implementation of their software. I would argue that any vendor that cannot provide such documentation is likely one not worth doing business with.

Ask the vendor for a straw man proposal for implementation. Here you want to understand:

What does the task list look like?
Who is responsible for what tasks?
What impact does this have on existing processes?
Who is involved from the customer’s staff to work on what tasks?
Are there both IT staff and business representation on the project team?
What is the estimated duration?
Do tasks run concurrently?
Any chance to compress the timeline?

The idea is to get a handle on implementation planning at a high level. This provides some level of comfort that you have thought through the operational impact and affect on existing personnel when you start the project.

Next time around I’ll discuss a similar topic in getting your project plan. Defining what the change management plan is to the management team. In other words, how do we get everyone to buy in to the changes you are about to make.

View Part 1 Here
View Part 2 Here
View Part 3 Here
View Part 4 Here

How often should you get your oil changed?

noreply@blogger.com (Metrix) — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 14:19:00 +0000

By Larry Laux
President and Founder

Seriously, tell me how often you should get the oil in your car changed?

Have you thought of your answer?

Did you answer 5,000 miles? 3,000 miles?

There is a better answer, and it is directly related to the service industry.

The best answer is: you should change your oil when it needs to be changed.

I have been giving this example in speeches for many years. However, until quite recently, only the very top-end cars had the sensors to measure viscosity, particulates and other attributes of the oil to determine if, in fact, it was time for an oil change. One person’s driving habits and location might require an oil change in 2,000 miles, while other situations might not need an oil change for 10,000 miles or more.

But in the absence of those sensors, the car manufacturers go to the least common denominator and recommend an oil change every 3 or 5,000 miles. What a waste!

I think you will see the advancement of such usage monitors in the equipment you service. Already many of our clients servicing imaging equipment have multiple meters on their gear, which provide a crude first step towards usage based service. But really, it’s not the usage, it’s the deviation from tolerances that indicate a need for preventive maintenance.

I’d love to hear comments from any of you that have made progress on equipment that can measure and report its own need for adjustment or preventive maintenance based on self-measurements other than basic usage.

Search is Overrated (UX Best Practices)

noreply@blogger.com (Metrix) — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 14:57:00 +0000

By Tom Bowe
VP of Product Marketing and Engineering

I’m a big fan of Google and use it every day…but, I think search is overrated. Need convincing? Here is a test…go to your favorite search engine (mine is Google) and try to find an image of a professional-looking field technician holding a PDA. I did this yesterday…and after 10+ keyword searches and clicking through 100+ pages…you start getting annoyed! I got sick of hitting “Next” and scrolling to the bottom of each page just to hit “Next” over and over again.

How about a simple “F6” keystroke to go to the next page? I have 10 fast and nimble fingers touching the keyboard vs. 1 slow and aching arm holding the mouse. When you find something…you have to move the mouse and click the mouse…then move and click again to see the image full-size. And then, you either “Save As” (move and click) or go “Back” (move and click…click and move) and start all over. See what I mean?

Yes…I think searching for data is much less satisfying than having the data find me. World-class field service management applications should replace basic searching with intelligent routing, filtering and grouping technology so the right information is displayed when you need it and where you want it…without requiring a user to do anything (ok, maybe one click of the mouse, but that’s it). Search needs to be available to users…for research, reporting, a needle in a haystack, etc., but it should be the exception…not the rule. What do you think?

The Impact of the European Union on Service Operations

noreply@blogger.com (Metrix) — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 20:29:00 +0000

By Larry Laux
President and Founder

At the beginning of the year I was planning on making more blog entries than I have by February. However, things do sometimes get in the way of my bloging – as was the case with my recent business travels to Europe. One of the ideas that I bring back is: The implementation of the European Union (EU) has many significant impacts, mostly positive, on service operations. Two of these are the common currency (Euro) and the relaxation, to the point of elimination, of border/customs issues when transferring parts between offices in the EU.

Metrix customers have educated me, and us, on multi-country service operations. (Remind me sometime to tell you my true story of how the Italian country manager explained the competition’s success against his operation.) Anyway, the countries in Europe operate in a fairly close analogy to regions in the U.S.

Many U.S. organizations divide the U.S. into 4 to 8 regions, depending on the density of their installed base and other operational and logistical issues. Each region (some call them territories, or areas) usually has a manager who is responsible for the service activities, personnel and spares in their ‘turf’. National (or global) service contracts can be a challenging issue that can be discussed in another blog entry.

A common scenario relates to spare parts – a customer in the Southwest region needs a certain part, there are none in the region, but the Midwest region has one. In the past there often would be ‘horse-trading’ as regional managers protected their stock, but more recently inter-region demand is more automated. Of course, as managers’ performance metrics often contain an inventory turns yardstick, proper accounting of the transfer and sale is required.

In Europe, in the past, things were more complicated. The value of the part would need to be converted from, say, Deutschmarks to Francs. This would be especially tricky if the part was sourced not from corporate, but directly by the country manager. Further, the customs drag made it more difficult to move the part from here to there in hours, as today’s SLAs often require.

Both of those issues go away with the EU.

Several other effects are seen as a result. Some organizations have been able to lower overall inventory levels, as they don’t need to ‘keep one of everything in every country’. Also, the need for a service manager in each country has lessened. Some organizations are consolidating into logical service regions in Europe, less constrained by the borders of the countries.

I would not say that they are becoming the United States of Europe. Still, it’s fun to see the changes in the industry and how quickly organizations adapt.

----------------
15 Feb. update - I forgot to mention another interesting issue, not directly relating to the EU. You may know that GPS and vehicle tracking is getting quite some attention in the U.S. But in Germany, I understand that some laws dating from post-WWII prohibit tracking individuals. Do any of you know if that is the case currently, have those laws been changed or is GPS for service people not an option in Germany?

Tom Bowe Joins Metrix

noreply@blogger.com (Metrix) — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 14:23:00 +0000

By Larry Laux
President and Founder

We have a new Vice President of Product Marketing and Engineering! Read the press release here.

Here are some added facts not in the press release. Tom Bowe is an energetic, bright young man whose contributions to Metrix will benefit our customers and our company. I will confess that we were not explicitly looking for a new executive at the time, but when the opportunity knocked on the door, we were ready to open it.

One of the great things about Tom is there is no learning curve for him to climb, regarding the industry. He’s been here, knows the players (and the wanna-be players). He understands the industry jargon and the reasons projects succeed and fail. We won’t have to spend lots of time and effort educating him on those points.

It will take him a little while to learn the details of what our company and our products and our customers are about. But six weeks in, I’d say the process is going better than I expected.

I’ll ask him to write a blog entry before the end of January.

You can e-mail me at llaux@metrix.com or Tom at tbowe@metrix.com.

Best Wishes for the Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Metrix) — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 14:26:00 +0000

By Larry Laux
President and Founder

Just a very brief note to thank all of you for your readership of the blog, and to share Best Wishes for God’s Blessings to you and your family during the Holiday Season, from all of us at Metrix.

We hope you give, and get, plenty of hugs not only to celebrate the season but to make up for some of the ones you missed during the year, while you were working so hard.

All the Best,

Larry Laux and
Everyone at Metrix LLC

Management Team Buys Metrix

noreply@blogger.com (Metrix) — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 14:51:00 +0000

By Larry Laux
President and Founder

My partners Tom DeVroy (VP Sales), Pat Liegel (CFO) and I have completed a friendly Management Buy-Out of Metrix, Inc.

We formed a new Limited Liability Company (LLC) here in Wisconsin and used it to acquire most of the assets and liabilities of Metrix, Inc. including the software rights, support contracts, websites and the name itself.

So as of the end of October, we are the owners and management team of Metrix LLC.

As you might expect, that activity has taken a good bit of time and effort to complete. It is the main reason why I have been delinquent in making a new blog entry.

For current and potential clients, this is something of a non-event. All of the people from Inc. have been offered and accepted employment with Metrix LLC, doing the same jobs as before. All of the telephone numbers, addresses and contacts remain the same.

This management buyout is only the beginning of an exciting time for Metrix, our clients, employees and partners. For example, we will be updating our website and brand by the end of the year and making other significant announcements in the weeks and months ahead. It’s all part of the new Metrix and the advances we are making in products, personnel and services.

So why did we do it?

The simple answer is the most accurate – we see a very strong, positive future for Metrix, and we felt that it could be best achieved with a simpler ownership structure.

That we would invest our own money into Metrix makes a very strong statement to our confidence in and commitment to this marketplace.

Leave your comments here, or e-mail us at llaux@metrix.com or tdevroy@metrix.com or pliegel@metrix.com.

Thanks for having confidence in us. Stay tuned.

The Discipline of Project Justification - Part 4

noreply@blogger.com (Metrix) — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 15:30:00 +0000

By Tom DeVroy
VP of Sales
Fourth in a multi-part series

You have defined the rationale for your project. At some level you have defined or intuitively understand your requirements. You may have spent analysis time defining what needs to be changed in your business. Now you have to ask yourself: “what happens if things go bump in the night?”

Every project has some level of anticipated returns; likewise, every project has risks. Take a little time to think about the unexpected. What are your project assumptions and risks? These should get played back to your vendors during the selection and evaluation process.

Some possible examples of risk points include: resource availability, business climate change, management expectations, unrealistic timelines, new product announcements, training issues and personnel issues. Obviously these factors are magnified by the scope of the project - the smaller the project, generally the smaller the risk. Likewise, the larger the project, and the greater the complexity, the greater the risk of the project will be.

For these reasons, you should issue an RFP or tender an offer to vendors and make sure you articulate your constraints. It will help you evaluate who can work with you. This might include a proof of concept to reduce the uncertainties, or asking the vendor for more resources during implementation to get around resource shortages. Maybe you want to go slow in anticipation of growing your business while you are implementing.

The same applies with assumptions. An assumption could be simple, such as a place for a consultant to reside while on-site, or complicated, such as a move of location in the middle of the implementation. Perhaps there is no IT infrastructure and the vendor has to provide hosting services.

You can never predict the future and hindsight is 20/20, but try to identify your risk points and assumptions so you can manage around them. When you go for final budget approval, or project funding, it will help to sell your business case if you can call these out in some level of detail and account for their potential costs up front.

The goal here is to not have surprises and gotcha’s post sale. Next time we’ll talk about project timeline, milestones, and resource or skill sets in an implementation project.

View Part 1 Here
View Part 2 Here
View Part 3 Here
View Part 5 Here