For a pilot project in the Netherlands and two further projects in Germany, the company enlisted the support of Maihiro, an expert in customer management and customer experience. The implementation of SAP Field Service Management has made it possible to digitally represent the field service processes, connect them to the existing SAP systems and develop a solution for the international roll-out.

Bosch Rexroth has extensive experience in the market segments for mobile applications, plant construction and engineering as well as factory automation. In addition to customized system solutions in drive and control technology, the company offers its customers a broad service portfolio and operates service centers in more than 35 countries. With the digitalization project, Bosch Rexroth and Maihiro, part of Accenture since February 2020, built on their existing partnership for process optimization.

As a certified consultant, Maihiro was able to convince the industrial supplier with a mature concept. In addition, the SAP Field Service Management software chosen by Bosch Rexroth could be integrated into the IT strategy. The solution was selected based on various criteria, such as the efficient planning of assignments, mobile working via an app, monitoring of KPIs (key performance indicators) and the solution's range of functions. Another factor was the future implementation of SAP Sales Cloud and S4/HANA in the IT landscape. The field service management solution made it possible to cover and network various functions.

From successful pilot project to international roll-out

For Maihiro's CRM and CX experts, the order was the first major field service management project with integration. The kick-off took place in March 2019, during which Maihiro held various workshops to determine the customer's specific requirements for the SAP solution. The agreement initially involved implementing a pilot project at the Dutch site in Boxtel and in Lohr am Main. The aim was to develop a template that could be used for the international roll-out within the Group.

During the implementation phase, various workshops were organized for planning, testing and monitoring. One of these workshops, for example, dealt with the booking of working time. Bosch Rexroth wanted the technician to be able to record the service time he had spent on the job afterwards so that it could then be booked in the ERP system. In the test cycle, key users tested the system, corrected any problems and included the results in the following test cycle. In a user acceptance test at the end of the implementation, all key users ran through the entire end-to-end process. In the first phase of the roll-out, more than 250 users will work with the system at the three pilot locations.

Digital chain from order placement to invoicing

SAP Field Service Management was implemented with the standard connector to enable integration with the SAP ERP system that was already in use at Bosch Rexroth in the service area. In addition, a transition to the existing SAP Sales Cloud was created to support communication from the service technician to the service sales employee. In order to meet all requirements in the course of the integration of SAP Field Service Management, adjustments were necessary. One example: during a service call, material that is used in production is installed. Here, Bosch Rexroth attached great importance to a procedure with checklists that deviate from the system standard. This customized solution makes it possible to automatically fill the checklists from the ERP and transfer them to SAP Field Service Management so that the technician can see which materials are required and available for the service call.

Following the successful go-live, Bosch Rexroth now has a tool with the SAP solution that allows field service to be planned uniformly and more effectively without manual intermediate steps. All dispatchers and technicians can view the current status of the assignment in detail and transparently. The planning can be accessed via desktop computers and mobile devices in the browser so that technicians can also access it via the app. This has optimized the billing of the assignment for the customer, as working times can be recorded on site in real time via the app and booked more quickly via the system.

"The safety of our technicians during their field work is our top priority," says Daniel Voegeli, Vice President Service Automation at Bosch Rexroth. For this reason, the technicians have to fill out a form before each assignment that documents the work safety conditions on site. Following the international roll-out in 35 countries, Bosch Rexroth is now able to validate the safety conditions on site in the same way - an important step made possible by the new Field Service solution.

There is also the option for a technician on site to identify additional potential for service offers, which are recorded directly via the networked system in SAP Sales Cloud. "The new field service management system saves us time on administrative tasks for the technicians, who can now see everything at a glance and also create deployment reports. Our dispatchers save time because everything runs digitally and they can track processes and approve them even faster," explains Voegeli. "The solution is functional, efficient and optimally covers our process requirements. This not only enables us to increase customer satisfaction, but also to offer our employees a positive user experience," adds Karel Deurloo, Program Manager FSM at Bosch Rexroth.

Based on the feedback from the workforce, those responsible at Bosch Rexroth are convinced that the international project, which runs until 2022, will also be a success - once again thanks to the qualified expertise of Maihiro, SAP, competent local users and a field service management solution from SAP, which was easily integrated into Bosch Rexroth's system landscape.