Human inspection in a digital world
•Download as PPTX, PDF•
2 likes•380 views
The testing, inspection, and certification market is simultaneously growing and consolidating. Large, global firms are growing their teams, and simultaneously bolting on new acquisitions to add new capabilities and territories. But in the human labor-centric business of inspections, TIC firms must follow a path of self-disruption, lest they be disrupted externally, and face destruction by a market with changing competitive rules.
Recommended
More Related Content
Similar to Human inspection in a digital world
Similar to Human inspection in a digital world (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Human inspection in a digital world
- 1. Human Inspection in a Digital World TIC Firms Must Self-Disrupt to Prevent Catastrophic Disruption
- 2. Disruptive Innovation is Here. Companies around the world are using technology to break and re-form their businesses, towards more productive and profitable processes.
- 3. Limitless Customer Demand Demand is a growing constant in the TIC market. Companies around the world require testing, inspections, and certifications on an ongoing basis.
- 4. Bolting On Growth One of the ways global TIC firms respond to customer demand is the “bolt-on” strategy of mergers and acquisitions.
- 5. State of TIC Firms: Worldwide Customer demand and M&A activity have irreversibly altered the TIC landscape. Size is king, and the business has become a staffing arms race.
- 6. Avoiding Disruption Risks Destruction Change is scary. But change is happening. It’s time to self-disrupt, and invert the competitive rules...or bury your head in the sand, and follow the lead of companies that avoided disruption.
- 7. Cautionary Case: Kodak As a stalwart film business, Kodak declared bankruptcy in 2012 despite identifying digital photography as a potential source of disruption as early as the late 1970s.
- 8. Business Case: Wang Labs Wang Labs, once a strong S&P 500 company, is but a distant memory for most, having actively avoided the general-purpose computer market in favor of pure word processors.
- 9. It’s Simple. Disrupt or Die.
- 10. TIC firms that disrupt themselves see: • Improved scalability • Increased flexibility • Global standardization • Greater efficiency, productivity, and safety • Decreased operating costs • Increased profits • Higher customer retention Making the Case for Digital Disruption
- 11. What Will You Do? How will you empower your inspectors to do more, do it more quickly, and do it more efficiently?
- 12. Seamless Remote Inspections E Y E S I G H T Pristine EyeSight enables field inspectors to get the help they need from expert colleagues on demand. Through live video on any device (even Google Glass), back-office specialists can remotely train staff, offer second opinions, or certify results.
- 13. How Inspectors Use EyeSight 1 2 Enrich Training Streamline Field Operations Easy access to remote experts reduces the need for double-staffed field calls, delivering improvementin inspector productivity, and dramatic cost reductions. Virtual supervision and proctoring expedites training cycles; new staff members achievecompetencefaster, and cross-training is sped up. 3 Exponentially Increase Scalability With “eyes on” a problem via video, inspectors can be in moreplaces at all times, without wasting time in transit; the same staff can serve a far larger customer base.
- 14. 14 See EyeSight in action. Call 888-567-4548 to set up a demo!
Editor's Notes
- Disruption is happening. That’s nothing new. The term has been used for decades. The difference today is the scale and speed at which it occurs, as well as how. Companies around the world are using technology to solve problems and develop new products and services or evolve existing ones. Business models and processes change in response. The end result is disruption. That story isn’t going to change. Gartner recently released its “Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2016.” They define a strategic technology trend “as one with the potential for significant impact on the organization. Factors that denote significant impact include a high potential for disruption (emphasis added) to the business, end users or IT, the need for a major investment, or the risk of being late to adopt. These technologies impact the organization’s long-term plans, programs, and initiatives” (http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3143521). Gartner predicts that the 10 found in their report will shape business opportunities through 2020. The trends relate to the merging of the physical and virtual worlds, producing the “digital business”; algorithmic technology; and the new IT reality, architecture, and platforms needed to support digital and algorithmic business. Disruption is happening. And it isn’t going to stop. Image: Roland Tanglao (https://flic.kr/p/wJBoSs)
- TIC firms never run out of demand. Companies and organizations around the world require testing, inspection, and certification on a regular basis. But Research and Markets report demand is growing due to: Emerging markets have an increased demand for TIC services, due, at least in part, to a proliferation of new regulations and standards. Regulations and standards are becoming more stringent around the globe, requiring more testing, inspections, and certifications. Most companies are outsourcing TIC services, citing benefits such as improved productivity, compliance with global standards, and better quality products. Transparency Market Research adds: The growth of testing, inspection, and certification services have increased globally, owing to the increasing consumer awareness about the products in almost every sector. […] Moreover, improved risk awareness and emphasis on risk prevention by customers is also influencing the growth of the market. Customers seek third party assurance in terms of product safety and risk prevention. (http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/testing-inspection-certification-market.html) Research and Markets predicts the industry will reach a market valuation of $50 billion by 2020 (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/testing-inspection-and-certification-tic-market-2015-by-application---forecasts-to-2020-market-expected-to-reach-50-billion-300118876.html), but that prediction will only come true through adopting a “disrupt or die” approach. Digital disruption, and its counterpart digital transformation, is the key to scalable, flexible operations. “More than ever, mobile technologies are empowering workers across industries to connect, collaborate, and create new ways to operate and do business,” says Jessica Goepfert, program director of IDC’s Global Technology and Industry Research Organization. “It goes beyond providing a smartphone to liberate the deskbound worker. Rather, it is utilizing mobile technology to increase sales, improve productivity, and raise customer and employee satisfaction” (http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=259191). Image: NEC Corporation of America (https://flic.kr/p/o1upyJ)
- One of the ways testing, inspection, and certification (TIC) firms are responding to customer demand and subsequently experiencing disruption is in the form of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Says Industrial Capital Strategies: Globalization continues to fuel the [TIC] industry’s M&A activity. The global TIC industry is dominated by European-based multinational companies. The top 10 companies have combined annual revenues in excess of $30 billion, and the next 10 biggest have combined annual revenues of approximately $10 billion, indicating that the top 20 companies hold about a 40% share of the global TIC market. These companies operate globally; SGS has 82,000 employees in 140 countries (1,500 offices), Bureau Veritas has 62,000 employees in 140 countries (1,330 offices), Intertek has 36,000 employees in over 100 countries (1,000 offices), Dekra has 28,000 employees in 50 countries, and TUV SUD has 20,000 employees in 50 countries (800 offices.) Their global networks assist these operators in supporting global clients on a uniform basis, and accordingly they continue to seek acquisitions that contribute to greater geographic coverage. In addition to the above listed majors, most other large TIC companies are pursuing similar strategies to enhance their geographical footprint and to achieve greater operational diversification. (http://www.industrialcapitalstrategies.com/uploads/Testing_Inspection_Certification_2014_1.pdf) Financial companies report similar findings. J.P. Morgan’s co-head of global M&A, Hernan Cristerna, says, “Global market volatility has not stopped corporations cutting deals to support their growth strategies this year, in what has been a ‘golden age of M&A.’ In the past 12 months, investor support for M&A has noticeably increased because shareholders recognize such moves as important growth strategies” (http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/23/jpm-mergers-and-acquisitions-co-head-cristerna-says-its-golden-age-for-deal.html). In essence, TIC firms are primarily adapting to current economics conditions with the model of “more people in more places.” It works to a certain degree, but it doesn’t necessarily aid with standing out from competitors or developing agile workflows. To see either of those results, TIC companies will need to evolve existing products and services and disrupt their business models.
- Customer demand and M&A activity have irreparably altered the TIC landscape. There are a few exceptions, but TIC firms generally are large corporations with global workforces. They merge or acquire smaller TIC companies to offer additional products and services and meet customer demand. As a result, their firms often end up featuring commoditized products and services. The only way to differentiate from competitors who are “just like me” is through technology. Technology no longer is a barrier or even a nicety. It’s a necessity. More importantly, it’s an enabler. It gives TIC firms the ability to innovate on their products and services and to disrupt not only themselves but also the market as a whole. To read more about cloud computing and mobile technologies as business enablers, visit this article from Information Age: http://www.information-age.com/it-management/strategy-and-innovation/123459834/how-organisations-can-embrace-cio-cloud-enabler-not-cloud-gatekeeper.
- Some companies don’t heed the warning signs or misinterpret them. They’re much like ostriches burying their heads in the sand. They know disruption is happening. They might even see the benefits found with technology. However, they’re scared to make any changes. It’s understandable; change is scary. But they miss the point: change is happening. They either can unbury their heads and join the digital transformation, or they can stay where they are—permanently. Image: Peter Dowley (https://flic.kr/p/5TnCaP)
- Kodak declared bankruptcy in 2012 despite identifying digital photography as a potential source of disruption as early as 1979. “Foresight,” says GE, “is not enough. […] The dilemma appears when the innovations that led to a large company’s initial success are no longer enough to ensure longevity in a market in which younger companies are pioneering ‘disruptive innovations.’ Such innovations are often cheaper products or new business models that initially gain popularity at the lower end of the market and then rapidly gain market share” (http://gelookahead.economist.com/disrupt-disrupted/). Takeaway: TIC firms don’t have to adopt a startup mentality; rather, they need to become disruptors of their business models by encouraging innovation across the organization. They will also need to position leaders in the C-Suite who will protect and champion innovative projects. Image: Vladimir Fedotov (https://flic.kr/p/5EYhSu)
- Wang Labs, once a strong S&P 500 company, is but a distant memory for most. Says Gary Cokins, BusinessFinance contributor, “Wang Labs failed in part because it specialized in computers designed exclusively for word processing and did not foresee general-purpose computers with word processing software in the 1980s, mainly developed by IBM (pictured above)” (http://businessfinancemag.com/blog/why-do-once-successful-companies-fail). Takeaway: Stay abreast of changing customer needs and the competition and develop a habit of taking of calculated risks. Richard Foster, Innosight director, said this in 2012, and it’s still relevant today: “As we head into a time of stronger growth coupled with increased technological change,” says Foster, “the message for senior executives is clear: if you aim to maintain control of your corporation and deliver value to shareholders and customers, you must embrace creative destruction rather than wait to become a victim of this unstoppable force” (http://www.innosight.com/innovation-resources/strategy-innovation/creative-destruction-whips-through-corporate-america.cfm). Image: Bruno Cordioli (https://flic.kr/p/8dxA2R)
- Businesses that don’t innovate their products and services will see costs go up. Customer demand will go down, as will efficiency, productivity, and profits. Eventually, these businesses will die. Says GE: Innovate or die. Companies that ignore this modern mantra risk dying faster than ever before—today’s typical S&P 500 company survives on the index an average of 18 years, down from 61% in 1958. By 2027, an estimated 75% of the S&P 500 may have been replaced, according to consulting firm Innosight. An important driver of this high replacement rate will be the rise of disruptive technologies […] like open source, cloud computing, and mobile Internet. (http://gelookahead.economist.com/disrupt-disrupted/) Image: Quinn Dombrowski (https://flic.kr/p/4FM95e)
- Frank Gens, Senior Vice President and Chief Analyst at International Data Corporation (IDC) says, “The disruptive impact of digital transformation is about to be felt in every industry as enterprises ‘flip the switch’ and massively scale up their DX [digital transformation] initiatives to secure a leadership role in the DX economy. In the next two years, two-thirds of Global 2000 CEOs will put DX at the center of their growth and profitability strategies.” In addition, mastery of “3rd Platform technologies”—what IDC calls the conglomeration of mobile computing, cloud services, big data and analytics, and social networking—will become “table stakes for successfully executing DX business initiatives and ‘Cloud First’ will become the new mantra for enterprise IT” (http://www.firstpost.com/business/digital-business-strategies-will-drive-more-than-half-of-enterprise-it-spending-within-next-24-months-2496134.html). The organizations that “disrupt” themselves and master the 3rd Platform will see: Improved scalability Increased flexibility Global standardization Greater efficiency, productivity, and safety Decreased operating costs Increased profits Higher customer retention However, most businesses aren’t planning on “flipping the switch.” They’re instead taking, says Jason Sparapani, TechTarget writer, “a more gradual, systematic approach to fitting new technologies into the business framework” (http://searchcio.techtarget.com/news/4500257023/Too-much-too-soon-CIOs-sound-off-on-IDC-2016-predictions). That approach will help TIC companies manage the “change” and see the seven benefits mentioned above. Image: NEC Corporation of America (https://flic.kr/p/nJ813Q)
- Will you disrupt, or will you die? Will you use new technologies to meet customer demand and overcome the challenges of managing a global firm with a diverse workforce? Or will you bury your head in the sand and wait for the digital disruption storm to pass? (Hint: it won’t. Now’s the time to catch it and use it to give yourself a competitive advantage.)
- Pristine Eyesight is an innovative technology designed to meet the rigors found with testing, inspection, and certifications in real time. The capability makes it ideally suited to meeting customers’ desire for on-demand services. EyeSight brings scalable, enterprise-level remote collaboration to inspection firms, which drives more efficient, higher-quality inspection services. The technology features encrypted video streaming, two-way audio, high-resolution snapshots, and other rich media. It connects inspectors and auditors with the expertise they need anywhere, any time, and on any mobile device, including smart glasses.
- Pristine Eyesight is mobile video support built for customer service. It allows your inspectors to interact with customers before, during, and after calls. This not only differentiates your inspection service but also acts as a sales enablement tool for the service team. Think of mobile video as the equivalent of software as a service (SaaS) for the TIC market. With it, your service team has the potential for upselling and ongoing interactions with customers rather than only a once-a-year inspection visit. Eyesight is a way to add greater lifetime value to your firm’s products and services.
- Now’s the time to differentiate. Contact us to build video into your inspection service and customer experience. Let us help you disrupt your business and the TIC market. See EyeSight in action. Call 855-545-3777 to set up a demo!