Nov. 2, 2006 -- Almost two-thirds of service organizations recently surveyed by the Aberdeen Group stated that they currently use location-based services (LBS) such as GPS, GIS, and AVL to support their field service operations.

The recently published study -- "Location, Location, Location: Does It Matter in Field Service?" -- found that LBS-enabled field service organizations have experienced a 6% reduction in mean time to repair, which directly maps to a 17% jump in revenues.

"Much to our surprise, the majority of LBS-enabled service organizations is using location intelligence for more than just worker compliance checks," said Sumair Dutta, Research Analyst at the Aberdeen Group and co-author of the report. "They are using it to improve scheduling and routing decisions."

Other benefits of LBS-enabled field service include the following, according to the report:

* 4% reduction in fuel costs
* 16% increase in customer retention
* 20% increase in first-call resolution rate

Dutta recommends that service organizations consider the following strategies when selecting and deploying LBS-enabled field service solutions:

* Ensure that service workers are adequately trained and educated on the
enhanced value of location-based and related field service solutions.
* Incorporate other aspects of the service chain -- like spares
management -- into LBS initiatives.
* Leverage LBS for more than just "bread-crumbing" field technicians.

More than 250 companies participated in this quantitative study, including Bausch & Lomb, BP, Bombardier Aerospace, Comcast, Charter Communications, Raytheon, Roche Diagnostics, Siemens and Toshiba Medical.

To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, follow the link: www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=3599

About Aberdeen Group, Inc.

Aberdeen provides fact-based research and insights focused on the technology-driven global value chain. Aberdeen's benchmarking, market and solution assessments, sales acceleration programs, and conferences support Global 5000 value chain and technology executives and the solution providers who serve them. For more information, visit www.aberdeen.com or call 617-723-7890.