In 2000, ICEE began to scrutinize the inefficiencies they found in the ICEE machine repair process. With so many field technicians servicing so many machines, streamlining the process would be no small feat. The company's existing paper-based system required that field technicians fill out paper work orders at the end of each job. One copy was given to the customer, one was filed at the regional office, and another was sent to headquarters in Ontario. This left a long, inefficient and error-prone paper trail.
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Field Service Automation Case StudyThe ICEE Company Company:The ICEE CompanyWireless data access improves results in the Industry:Food and Beveragerepair of frozen beverage machines. Challenges:. Transform inefficient paper-based machine Keeping America cool. be two weeks after the repair before repair processes.Since 1965, The ICEE Company has kept the company could begin generating America cool with its unique frozen an invoice. . Shorten billing cycles.beverage. What started out as one man Also inherent in the paper-based system . C apture accurate serving frozen bottles of soda has become were problems with accuracy. Paper inventory and customer a household name, serving more than 300 data electronically and work orders could get lost. Customers million ICEEs per year. Based in Ontario, transmit in real-time.often received completed work orders California, ICEE employs 800 people with that weren't legible. And the company . Respond to customer 400 field technicians who service 30,000 encountered costly errors in the data requests more quickly.ICEE machines across the U.S. entry process. . Eliminate an ineffective paper-based parts Recognizing inefficiencies "That was the biggest problem," inventory system.in the repair process. said Lackey. "When you enter parts In 2000, ICEE began to scrutinize the information from a piece of paper into . Re-allocate dispatchers' time.inefficiencies they found in the ICEE a computer, there are going to be some machine repair process. With so many errors." Part numbers could be misread, Results:field technicians servicing so many and with parts varying greatly in price, an . All repair data is machines, streamlining the process would error could mean the difference between captured electronically be no small feat. The company's existing a $5 part and a $500 part. on handheld devices.paper-based system required that field The company also knew that efficiencies . Billing cycles are technicians fill out paper work orders at could be gained in the dispatch process. reduced because the end of each job. One copy was given Field technicians had to call in after manual data entry to the customer, one was filed at the every job, not only to receive the is eliminated.regional office, and another was sent to information for their next job, but also to . Complete job headquarters in Ontario. This left a long, communicate the work order information information is available inefficient and error-prone paper trail. to the dispatcher so the previousjob could to field technicians According to Brandon Lackey, ICEE's be closed. With 400 field technicians in real-time.Manager of Technical Services, the being serviced by just 12-15 dispatchers, . F ield technicians can company's billing process was greatly technicians often found themselves on complete more work affected by the inefficient paper-based hold, wasting valuable time that could be orders in a day, system. After the work order was received spent servicing customers. improving productivity by headquarters, it had to be reviewed by and customer satisfaction.As a service-oriented business, ICEE an analyst. The data was then manually knew it was time for a change. . Parts inventory is entered into the system, and only then managed could the billing process begin. It could more effectively and accurately.
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Implementing a wireless According to Lackey, the decision to break/fix solution. choose AT&TŪ was simple. First, ICEE was After researching several alternatives, ICEE already a satisfied wireless voice customer discovered that a real-time wireless data of AT&T. Second, there was a lack of other solution would provide them with many carriers able to provide a solution that more benefits than a batch system, which ICEE needed. "There really wasn't would require that technicians connect anybody that was prepared to handle to a landline and synchronize data at the this type of solution," said Lackey. beginning and end of each day. Discussing AT&T, Lackey said, "At the time, they were the only wireless carrier even ICEE found that with a batch system pursuing this market."it would be im... [download for more]
