Basic HTML Version
www.printit
reseller
.co.uk
Print.IT Reseller
Tesseract has more than 25 years’
experience in field service solutions
and operates in any sector that
depends on efficient service
delivery including the medical
and pharmaceutical, catering and
vending, security and fire protection,
refrigeration and air conditioning,
telecommunications and office print
industries.
An affiliate member of NAAPS, it
already has a number of high profile print
customers including Toshiba in the US (see
box). In the UK, its products are used by
XMA’s managed print services division and
M2 Digital, amongst others.
Its core product is Tesseract Service
Centre, which has more than 350
installations in 27 countries. The modular,
end-to-end solution addresses all aspects
of service delivery and management, from
meter readings and invoicing to two-way
communication between the host system
and field-based technicians armed with
tablets, smartphones and other portable
devices.
The system can be used on its own or
be fully integrated with other solutions,
such as Print Audit software and Financial
Systems, as part of a totally integrated
managed print service.
The browser-based software is available
as a server-based solution for customers
who like to keep everything on-site or as a
cloud-based software-as-a-service solution
for those who don’t want to invest in
additional hardware or IT infrastructure.
Earlier this year, Tesseract launched
Service Centre 5.1, which comes with
useful enhancements notably total browser
independence, which allows it to be used
on any device with a browser, including
Apple, Android and Windows tablets
and smartphones, as well as laptop and
desktop PCs and Macs.
Other useful features are fully
integrated real-time GPS, which enables
customers to see where field engineers
are at any time for more efficient routing
and management, and the Diary Assist
optimisation engine for the automatic
scheduling and allocation of service jobs.
Modules for everything
Like previous versions, Service Centre 5.1
consists of a number of modules that
can be used on their own or as part of a
complete service management offering.
This gives customers the flexibility to
deploy a module to satisfy a specific need
today and then add other modules in line
Tesseract targets dealerships with its flexible, end-to-end billing and
service management solution
35
supplier focus
Tesseract at your service
The system
can be used
on its own
or be fully
integrated
with other
solutions,
such as
Print Audit
software...
Keeping tabs on service delivery
Tesseract already has experience of working
with print suppliers including Toshiba
America Business Solutions (TABS), which has
completed a coast-to-coast roll-out of Service
Centre. The service management system has
been implemented by 22 dealers across the
USA and includes 378 office-based users across
86 branches and over 1,400 field technicians
equipped with PDAs, tablets or laptops.
Service Centre was chosen to create a uniform
platform for improved customer support from the
dealer network supplying and servicing Toshiba
copiers, faxes and printers. The implementation has
also given TABS increased visibility and control of all
inventory, service and contract information.
Denise O’Donnell, director of application
development at TABS, said she chose Service Centre
because of its ability to manage meter readings and
integrate seamlessly with TABS’ hosted Oracle IT
infrastructure.
She said: “Service Centre will not only provide
more effective call allocation and distribution and
improve the management of spares (parts request),
it will also improve the efficiency of invoicing. In
addition, from an overall business perspective we
will have one common platform for all our dealers.
This will make it so much easier for us to incorporate
new acquisitions while also leveraging corporate IT
support and operational resources.”
with changing requirements.
M2 Digital, for example, implemented
Service Centre for meter reading and
fully integrated billing and later looked at
providing engineers with remote access to
the system so that they could log in and
view customer call histories, schedule visits
and order parts without having to phone in.
Service Centre includes a number of
asset management, billing, invoicing, CRM
and service modules including:
Customer Assets.
Used on its own or
in conjunction with Tesseract’s service
modules, this manages customer asset
data across multiple sites. It tracks installed
equipment and handles warranties and
planned maintenance and also includes a
service contract administration programme.
Call Control.
Gives you all you need to
handle customer calls effectively, including
call routing and escalation. There is also
the ability to add service reports to calls,
including parts usage and charges.
Repair Centre.
Users can enter, update,
complete and ship workshop jobs,
individually or in a batch. Workshop
engineers can add reports indicating what
has been done and what parts used.
Parts Centre.
A fully integrated multi-
location stock control system for handling
repairable and disposable stock from
warehouse to van.
Quote Centre.
A logical, wizard-based
contract quotation module for collecting
prospect data and preparing quotes.
Accepted quotes can easily be converted
into contracts.
Remote Engineer Access.
Enables the
two-way flow of information between field
engineers and the service centre, with no
loss of central control.
Invoice.
Streamlines the processing
of sales orders and invoices for billable
service calls and service contracts. Invoice
tables can be printed or exported when
complete.
Meter Collection.
Tesseract’s meter
collection and invoicing module supports
a variety of billing arrangements including
variable rates and billing in advance,
arrears or both.
Prospect Centre.
A sales enquiry
and follow-up module, with ‘salesman
to-do lists’ and the ability to raise
sales quotations against a sales lead. If
successful, these can be converted into a
sales order or a service call.
www.tesseract.co.uk