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Much more then sensors


Everyone knows that the wise man starts any innovative designs with the business objective(s) in mind. Tremendous clarity occurs when we can identify with the business requirements and then work backwards to translate these needs into toolsets. It gets a bit tricky when the change seems so logical, like connected systems, yet the business model is screaming for a new paradigm. 



Think about the paradox, as a service industry we bring in lots of sensors and indicators to help us formulate our decisions to send a person to a site based off of field / asset conditions . That seems all well enough for those businesses which aren't making money from a truck roll.  Even if the type of dispatch is related to maintenance in many cases this maintenance is simply negotiated labor and materials markup, we are still making money when we roll a truck. Service organizations which have embraced the "full responsibility" type of contracts are in a much better position to leverage emerging tools and their direct impact on the bottom line.



So it's settled then, if you are going to deploy IOT and/or connected systems, convert your business to full risk contracts. Sound okay to you? While this approach is certainly logical I'm not sure that it is the best way to approach this because it leaves quite a bit of opportunity on the table. If you believe for a moment that the customers interests are to preserve the life of their assets, by the way individual and holistically, then possibly this narrow approach on just mechanical equipment may not be the right way to move forward. Take for instance an unsophisticated building, for conversation let's say under 50,000 ft.², properly deployed innovation stands to help that client reduce their utility and operating costs. If that is the case, then wouldn't a plausible solution be some mixture of the components of full responsibility, those elements of shared utility savings, and even elements from performance contracting (too far?). When all these are mixed up in the same stew could that provide a new business model?



Simple fact is if you are thinking about connected systems and innovation within your business I strongly encourage you to consider first what your ultimate objective is, second how your business will make money, and third how you will differentiate yourself in the market.



Comments encouraged



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Next post:  in the "people" business can you really measure performance?

Questions?  feel free to leave replies or direct message me

See all of the "last mile worker" posts here:  http://lastmileworker.com

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