In pretty much every conversation I have with leaders in the industrial space, I hear a common refrain:

“We are really focused on growing our service group.” 

Many companies in the industrial market are looking to grow their business quickly and make it more resilient to economic ups and downs. One of the best ways to grow and increase resilience is by starting a service division or growing the one you already have in place. 

We’ve watched this trend across the industry, and we have also walked alongside our customers as they have tackled the challenges and seized the current opportunities in service and have some information to share. 

Building Economic Resilience

One of the biggest advantages for manufacturers with a large service division is the compliment it adds to the existing business.

When the Economy is Booming

Companies that manufacture heavy industrial equipment as their main line of business are highly subject to macroeconomic factors. When the economy is booming and interest rates are low, customers are keen to spend on big capital projects. During these times, purchasing new equipment and expanding to new locations is the focus and priority. 

Similarly, when the economy is good, service divisions are busy installing new equipment and executing the big capital projects. These are all in addition to the continuing maintenance and repair work for existing customers. 

When the Economy is Struggling

Conversely, when there are economic challenges or downturns, these capital projects get deprioritized or canceled. Industrial manufacturing companies then have to navigate the slow down by pivoting to different business lines, scaling back production, or discounting their pricing. 

Also, during hard economic times when interest rates are high, service divisions have an influx of maintenance and repairs as the focus of the customer turns to maintaining and repairing existing equipment. The mindset now shifts to weathering the economic challenges and extending the life and viability of their already purchased assets. 

This shift in focus from purchasing new  to maintenance and repairs opens up a great opportunity for service divisions to capitalize on customers needs and grow the business even through tougher economic times. 

How crewOS Can Help

At crewOS, we’ve seen this work for our customers and pay off in big ways. In fact one of our customers grew their service division by more than 150% in the past two years, matching their service divisions with their current customer needs. 

Growing Interest in Acquisitions

Acquisitions are a common tactic to quickly expand into service, which can be very helpful if there is not an existing service group. Finding the right service companies to acquire can potentially help you skip the pain of starting up a new service division from the ground up, including building a team and all the corresponding infrastructure. 

Furthermore, acquisitions can expand the existing customer base by acquiring a company that has existing customers outside of the company’s portfolio. When you grow your footprint through acquisitions, it not only helps your service group (or enables you to have one), but it also opens up new opportunities for the manufacturing side of the business. 

Growth through acquisitions has become increasingly popular in our industry, giving companies the opportunity to be more competitive for projects that are now local for them. 

Interested in Growth? Understand the Challenges and Solutions 

If you’re interested in growing your field service group either naturally or via acquisitions, then it’s important to also understand the challenges and the possible solutions to those challenges as you begin to navigate the waters. 

As with all growth opportunities, there are challenges you will face and risks involved with establishing or growing your field service group. Running an efficient and profitable field service business is complicated. Onboarding new technicians and handling the influx of new customers and projects takes intentional strategic planning and determining how your team will operate day in day out. 

The Limitations of Manual Processes

We have seen how using manual processes and a patchwork of systems to run your operation is asking for trouble. While it can be sustainable for a bit, it quickly gets out of hand. Without systems in place that are designed for scalability, projects are done on the fly, billing gets delayed, payroll errors pop up, and your whole team will begin to feel the stress and chaos take hold. 

A Better Way to Grow

At crewOS, we’ve seen the story above with manual processes causing lag time and billing errors that costs companies millions. There is a better way and it’s the sole reason that crewOS exists. 

Our mission is to remove the stress and chaos of field service by empowering your team to do their best work. The way we do this is through an innovative, flexible and user focused software that’s easy to use, train and scale. 

Turn to crewOS For Growth and Efficiency 

If you’re interested in learning more about how crewOS can truly be the only industrial field service management software that you need, then we invite you to explore our website. 

When you’re ready, feel free to reach out for a quick chat to learn how crewOS can help address your specific needs in growth and efficiency.