More money than ever is being spent on service management systems.  But often more of that spend is on modifications to the system than the system itself.  The quality of applications available continues to grow and consolidation in the vendor community through merger and acquisition activity reduces the choice.  And so with the technology a given it is implementing the system with a suitable vendor that is now proving to be the stumbling block to a successful project. 

The decision making process is still critical, but is less about the technology and pure power of the solution and more about the total solution, vendor included that matters.  In calculating a return on investment (ROI) managers must consider a much broader range of aspects including a time-based component highlighting how much money would be wasted if the decision-making process takes too long. 

But a much more appropriate and lower cost exercise than time costly extensive modifications is to develop and change the processes to suit the application as the application will have been built around best practice. Taking a typical package developed for a broad based service operation and modifying it, is possibly the most arrogant - or at least unwise - approach to contemplate.  Most purchasers of an executive car today would not dream of putting on spoilers, wide wheels, etc.   One argument for modification is that the same packaged solution offers little option for differentiation, but the real differentiation is the speed of implementation, and the investment in people.

Decide early on in the process who is to be involved in the decision-making process.  One approach is for a small team to pick the solution (they who know best) and the rest of the business will do as they are told – this is a potentially flawed management technique.  A more effective option is to ensure that the personnel who will be affected by the changes are involved either directly or through appropriate representatives.  In addition ensure that internal expertise is available, and that the most effective are involved in the decision.   If you respect the team and the process of selecting the solution you will respect their decision and most importantly so will the business.

The best advice is to invest time in really understanding your own business; where it is today, where it will be tomorrow and what are the important aspects that make it individual?  For example, is parts deployment a big issue, or accurate scheduling, or connecting on-line to mobile workers etc?  It is critical to confront all issues before potentially wasting time in looking for a solution to a problem as yet undefined.  Do not use system selection as a way of solving any problem - that is the same sin of commission as trying to outsource a problem. 

Before getting too far into the selection process, think long and hard about change.  The whole business, the system and partner chosen will be working in concert for a period of years. How much has your business changed in the last five years? How much will it change in the next five years? How well integrated is the service operation with the rest of the business in the provision of seamless services to the customer? How the average service operation can be enabled to achieve seamless service and how does that affect the average service operation?

The best way of assessing the current position of the business is to assess what is best practice and compare the current position with best practice.  This comparison will also allow an estimation of the value of putting in a solution that will deliver the best practice.  It also helps to define which areas will give the most benefit and which areas are really not relevant.  Already the outline of an ROI becomes apparent, and will very quickly indicate the value and what aspects will need changing, highlighting areas that will require the most effort during implementation.  This is also a good time to broach ideas with the Board.  A negative response now will save time and effort; most Boards will value the process and allow further appropriate investment. 

There has been significantly more investment in service by medium-sized enterprises, and most have a service operation which is integral to the business.  The impact of the rest of the business on service is easily demonstrated by such aspects as high warranty costs, early life failures, end-of-life issues, parts availability etc.  The impact of these issues on a service operation can rapidly wipe out any improvement in operations through cost cutting or productivity improvements, and instead put pressure on customer satisfaction levels and employee motivation.

The other real value of assessing your business is that specific aspects can be identified that will provide the most value to the business.  Choosing the correct solution is not about sending 15 suppliers a long list of criteria or filling in a standard check list hoping that every item will be ticked off, or getting the supplier to do the work. Under such circumstances vendors to any small or medium size business will probably decline to participate, possibly eliminating the best from being an option.  Recognise that vendors talk to each other and that certain buyers can earn a poor reputation and may not receive the best attention.  If you don’t know what you want, you could end up buying the best salesman and not necessarily buying the right solution.

Determining the requirements specification becomes a much easier exercise if each requirement is given a weighting.  This might be as simple as “must have”, “good value”,  “useful”, and it is also necessary to recognise that some requirements might go beyond the specifications of the service package to include aspects such as “integration into the rest of the business”, “ability to provide support with the right level of expertise” and so on.  The supplier may concur with such requirements and be eager to supply in order to provide longevity for their solution, to indicate the ability of their product and their desire to continue investment. 

Weighting the criteria from the outset prevents a debate later on. The ideal scenario is to reduce to two suppliers who can satisfy the requirements and then decide according to their references, implementation processes and ultimately the chemistry between the parties.  Ensuring the solution can be delivered by the candidates means the crucial quotient is down to the relationship and trust between the parties (chemistry).  If the vendors know they have a good chance of success, they will make much more of an effort and ensure that they provide the best reference.  Care is always required when handling a reference – the vendor will have chosen successful candidates and it is important to find out why they have been successful, what has worked well for them and how they have optimised the relationship with the vendor to achieve success.  It is important to understand how the reference company has worked with the vendor, what kind of relationship operates, is there potential for long term involvement?  In my experience, at this stage you know the vendor can provide the solution; the only question is how they deliver and continue to work with their customers.

Recognise that the selection process is a means of answering a series of questions, perhaps over a period of time.  Different parts of the process can be used to answer different questions, sometimes in parallel.
To recap, it must be possible to articulate clearly and concisely:
* The business needs
* The value to the business of the implemented solution ROI
* The ability of the business to implement the solution and the commitment within the business to do so
* The level of trust in the vendor
* Whether this vendor can be regarded as a long term partner

Most of us believe we are great buyers and negotiators and can cut a deal.  In my experience the people who get the best deals are the people who are very clear about exactly what they want and can therefore clearly articulate their needs to the buyer.  The best vendor is one who understands the purchaser’s needs and wants the custom.  Ensure that a good relationship with a vendor is backed up with clear evidence that the solution and the past successes of the vendor bode well for a successful implementation for your own company.