India was selected to be the first country for the deployment of GMSS, which occurred in February 2018.
“One reason we chose to deploy GMSS to India first is that we directly manage the distributors with standard service operations and it would allow us to examine their cost-effectiveness in detail. Another reason is that, if it is proven cost-effective in India, where wages are low, we could promote the deployment of GMSS to distributors in other countries,” said Mr. Kondo.
In India, approximately 80 field service technicians had been receiving instructions on after-sales service operations in written form or manually.
Technicians’ visit plans had been written on white boards, and material preparation before the visits was time-consuming.
“The introduction of GMSS based on Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Field Services enabled the dispatchers to prepare and allocate instructions to give to the technicians. A mobile device app scheduled customer visits, periodical inspections and repair work for the technicians. Service reports can now be displayed on a screen, explained to the customer, signed by the customer, and submitted to the technician’s superior in a paperless stream, resulting in a significant improvement in work efficiency,” said Mr. Ryo Makino, Group Manager, Planning Group, Overseas Service Operation, Service Department.
Various materials, including service materials, maintenance check sheets and visit histories, can now be accessed from mobile devices, helping reduce preparation time.
Toyota Industries intends to reduce technician man-hours by 20 percent to 25 percent with this system in India.