Jon Simmons

Vice President, Services, PowerSecure Service, Inc.

Supernova Award Category: 

Next Generation Customer Experience

The Company: 

PowerSecure Service specializes in the service and installation of distributed power systems including generators, switchgear, solar inverters and fuel cells. As the largest service provider in our industry, we combine technical expertise with unparalleled resources to provide customers with the assurance that their power assets are maintained in top operational condition. Our value prop is we service emergency power generators – commercial and industrial, not homeowners.

PowerSecure is a leading provider of innovative energy solutions to electric utilities and their industrial, institutional, and commercial customers. PowerSecure provides energy solutions in the areas of distributed energy infrastructure, energy efficiency, and utility infrastructure.

The Problem: 

As we became a bigger company, we had pain points and needed a system to help eradicate these.

What we needed to do:

  • Reduce windshield time - customers won’t pay for it, and we were losing time and revenue because of it. We have accomplished this reduction.
  • Manage inventory better - there was a lack of inventory visibility. Techs ordered unnecessary parts causing inventory bloat. We can now view it down to the truck level.
  • Capture in-field data - techs had trucks outfitted with rolling offices - laptop, high speed internet, etc.. We sent the work orders to the techs; they filled them out on paper in the truck; scanned their notes into PDF, and sent it in. Someone then had to record that information into the system, making it a duplicate effort. Now, techs use a tablet in real time and access work orders and enter information in real time.
The Solution: 

PowerSecure Service has field techs operating in 22 states providing field service for commercial and industrial distributed power systems. As we started to experience rapid growth – more than 15 percent per year for the past five years – we needed to replace the home-built field service management solution with one that would enable us to increase our field engineers’ (FE’s) productivity, gain better insight into inventory, speed workflow with in-field data capture including our dynamic requirements, and integrate with the Microsoft Dynamics AX ERP platform. We chose Vertical Solutions’ VServiceManagement™ and FieldCom™ to deploy across all of our regions.

The Results: 

“We are a high-growth company, and we needed a system that would help us scale. From a functional standpoint, VServiceManagement is a very good solution and it delivered what we were looking for. From a relationship perspective, VSI put in the time up front to understand our needs. They are great people, they care, and they really lean in,” Bob Byrne, former CEO, PPT.

Metrics: 

PowerSecure Service has tracked significant ROI from its investment in VServiceManagement:

  • Open work orders have dropped by more than 50 percent.
  • Technician productivity has risen more than 10 percent in the region that was first to deploy VServiceManagement.
  • Techs have visibility from their mobile devices into inventory on their own trucks, with other local FE’s, and at major stocking warehouses, which has reduced inventory bloat.
  • Administrative costs for data entry have dropped due to in-field data capture.
  • Work orders are closed faster, enabling invoices to go out quicker. We have really sped up our cash cycle, and it is easier to control our AR because we are able to get our invoices out the door quicker.
The Technology: 

VServiceManagement™ with FieldCom™ mobility solution from Vertical Solutions. VSM improves service response/resolution times, reduces the cost of delivering service & better manages entitlements, improving the customer experience. The cloud-first solution can be integrated with Microsoft Dynamics AX and other ERPs, and is a Built for NetSuite (BFN) verified solution. VSM is on the Constellation ShortList™ for Field Service Management.

Disruptive Factor: 

There was a tremendous amount riding on this because not only had we tried to move from a homegrown system to a COTS solution, this was our second go-around. We needed to find not only a game-changing solution, but a company that would tie us to success—that considered their company success, our company’s success. Many companies don’t have the insight and scale to avail themselves of an opportunity like VServiceManagement.

This investment has become a competitive advantage for us and we’d like to be known as a company on the leading edge of our industry– using technology that sets a precedent.

Shining Moment: 

We are a high growth company - the industry grows 3-4% but we continue to grow in excess of 15%. To manage growth you need good systems. Our mastery and use of BPM workflows in VSM gives us the technology to better manage this growth. The ability to automatically move a job status from creation>scheduling>execution>review>close>invoicing starts with the contract. It is a bit of a failsafe. This helps us avoid mistakes and allows us to scale.

About PowerSecure Service, Inc.

PowerSecure Service specializes in the service and installation of distributed power systems including generators, switchgear, solar inverters and fuel cells. As the largest service provider in our industry, we combine technical expertise with unparalleled resources to provide customers with the assurance that their power assets are maintained in top operational condition.