ViaSat Case Study

Increasing the Efficiency of Field Service Management

Company that acquired WildBlue Communications is ViaSat’s two-way satellite Internet service provider division. Serving over 600,000 subscribers in the United States, the company offers services to home and business customers directly and via resellers including DISH and the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC). In January 2012, ViaSat launched a new, much faster satellite Internet service called Exede® by ViaSat. The service increases the speed and capacity of satellite Internet dramatically through the use of the ViaSat high-capacity satellite system, which includes the 140 Gbit/s ViaSat-1 satellite.

The Challenge

Thanks to the acquisition of WildBlue Communications, ViaSat has become an important player in the market of satellite Internet in the United States, delivering internet services in places where other technologies do not. The rapidly increasing number of new customers has raised new challenges in mobile workforce organization and efficiencies. As a result, ViaSat was looking for a solution that would help the company satisfy customer expectations for excellent service and the increased demand for broadband services.


The Business Need

ViaSat’s delivery of broadband services throughout the United States, while working with many sales and fulfillment partners, necessitates requirements for optimal planning of resource usage and flexible management tools.

ViaSat needed software that had the functionality to centrally manage work orders dispatched to different fulfillment providers, including fulfillment partners and self-installing dealers. It was important for ViaSat to prioritize work orders and assess fulfillment providers and smartly automate processes that clear executed tasks.

It was also important for ViaSat to determine upon the first call the time required to install or repair customer equipment, and promptly dispatch field work orders with no manual manipulations. Satisfying these requirements was necessary for ViaSat to provide excellent customer service. Central and automated reporting were also needed to provide real time information on the status of individual work orders, and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) for the company’s services and the performance of its fulfillment providers.

The Approach

Comarch proposed a comprehensive Field Service Management solution that allowed ViaSat to achieve:

  • Efficient allocation of technicians and dispatchers, with availability control and skill management
  • Advanced management of fulfillment partners, with automated dispatching of tasks, definition of warranty rules, monitoring and escalation tools
  • Full control over work order fulfillment – starting from the creation of a work order with a defined execution time, through dispatching, execution and closure of work orders
  • An automated process of scheduling and processing work orders, leading to improvement in dispatchers’ and technicians’ productivity

The Solution

Comarch Field Service Management is a complete solution that ensures the automated management of technical staff, resulting in less paperwork and better accuracy of scheduling customer visits. It also provides complete support for technicians in the field, including mobile access to the system.

Functionalities:

  • Dispatcher dashboard ensuring simple graphical tools for editing and assigning work orders in the context of available resources
  • Technician access to full information including mobile access to the system
  • Automated scheduling to ensure customer visits are planned in accordance with the availability of resources 
  • Resource management ensures the optimal allocation of resources at a given time
  • Fulfillment partner management ensures that work orders dispatched to different subcontractors such as sales and fulfillment partners can be managed centrally
  • Reporting to ensure that KPIs are achieved

The Results

With the launch of its ViaSat-1 satellite, ViaSat has enhanced the quality of its services through faster Internet access speeds and greater coverage. Comarch’s software helps the company improve the quality of its customers’ lives through the installation of outstanding communication services.

ViaSat benefits from Comarch’s software include:

  • Shortened time to arrange customer appointments and execute escalation procedures
  • Support for techs in the field who receive on-line access to their lists of tasks and task details and the potential to report task execution
  • Full reporting with automated reporting schedules and distribution for quick analysis of field situations
  • Increased number of work orders executed daily, enabling new customers to enjoy ViaSat’s services more quickly

Why Comarch?

"Comarch Field Service Management enabled ViaSat to automate order and resource management processes, which has enabled us to provide an excellent customer experience in fulfilling customer orders."

Brian Crouthers, Director of Field Operations
ViaSat

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