Live From Field Service 2007: Day Two

Have you ever had your picture taken with a 200-pound python? I'd be lying if I didn't admit that this was one of my highlights on the second day here in Vegas. (see illustration)

But aside from the crowd-pleasing stunts at the cocktail reception, there were a couple memorable tidbits from the day's main event as well.

• As I noted in a previous post, consumables represent a chunk of business for many OEMs. I said that by more accurately detecting consumables demand patterns, companies can minimize interruptions in this valuable revenue stream. But, as I was reminded today, it's actually simpler than that: Machine goes down... consumables not needed. Clearly, at the core of this simple equation is a correlation between asset uptime and consumables consumption. Service professionals struggling with building a business case for service chain improvement might not need go any further than this, at least as a starting point.
  
  
• I rarely recommend books I've never read, but in the interest of providing a real-time glimpse of the goings-on here, I will pass along a recommendation made by the presenter who reminded me of point # 1 above. Check out The Ultimate Question: Driving Good Profits and True Growth, by Fred Reichheld. From the summary I heard, Reichheld offers a simple yet elegant way of quantifying which customers are "adding" to your business and which ones are "subtracting" from your business, the end-goal being to systematially attract and serve only those customers that add to - or as the author puts it, "promote" - your business. I'm going to pick up a copy, so I'll let you know if my opinion changes after reading it.