With ServiceNow, Agfa manages aftermarket activities with unprecedented efficiency-Data News Information Services

What is Agfa’s goal for the ServiceNow project?

Peter Timmerman (current manager of Agfa Services): “Our international customers include hospitals, medical laboratories, veterinary surgery and military medical departments. Before 2011, we Existing software All our service processes. After a large number of Agfa acquisitions, we finally obtained dozens of different software applications. This setting is not suitable for customer-facing services because it can only give you a fragmented view, especially because the software for German customers is different from the software used in North America. In addition, the connection between different software usually does not work. This is why we set out to find a unified integration platform to integrate a large amount of information into a unified whole. ServiceNow is very user-friendly and has proven to be our best solution. “

Gunther Van Rompay (Manager HealthCare IT Application Services): “All information and after-sales processes are now on one platform and can be easily accessed through a database, which is a huge advantage. Our customer base has 50,000 contacts. In more than 40 countries around the world With more than 40,000 customers, the technology platform contains basic data on these customers and their contact information, as well as complete information about the hardware and transaction data installed by the customers. ServiceNow can even report potential problems in a fully automated way with our customers’ software sensors. This provides us with all the necessary elements to optimize the execution of maintenance and repair processes. With ServiceNow, we also benefit from innovation and new features included in the upgrades that our SaaS provider releases at least once a year. Security fix deploy. In addition, this is a cloud system that also enables Agfa to phase out its data center. “

ServiceNow even allows our customers’ software sensors to report potential problems in a fully automated manner.

15,000 users

How did your customers react to this change?

Peter Timmerman: “The satisfaction survey shows that the new technology is successful. As in the past, our customers can call Agfa support at any time for help. However, we noticed that the latest portal ServiceNow is widely used in our global customer base Approximately 15,000 members can visit user In ServiceNow. It should be regarded as self-service: they can view the user manual online, register questions or reset their passwords. As a result, our employees have more time to solve actual customer problems and emergencies, for everyone’s benefit. “

Caroline Van Rompuy (Chief Information Officer of Agfa (CFA)): “ServiceNow allows us to take full advantage of the value of the contract and provide services to our customers in the best possible way. When the hospital purchases software from us, we can verify the agreement and the level of support at any time. What does the customer package include? Our initial What is the response time? This innovative platform allows us to manage support contracts quickly and optimally.”

Digital Pioneer

Does Agfa play a leading role in digital transformation?

Caroline Van Rompuy: “Agfa is undergoing a second digital transformation related to more and more services surrounding our products. Our customer service will continue to evolve. We plan to use chat support and chat bots. However, this will require changes. And, Internal chatbots are not enough to solve complex IT problems. Agfa has set up an innovation office within the company, where we will develop the product portfolio for the next ten years. Office also has AI, VR, augmented reality and IoT A lot of proofs of concept, and we will continue to update the latest developers, hope they can do it. Therefore, more and more opportunities to use this technology.

The advantage is that we have achieved the first digital transformation from traditional movies to healthcare-related IT fields. As a result, the release of new ideas encountered less resistance internally. This is an important advantage. “

What is the goal of the Agfa ServiceNow project? Peter Timmerman (Manager of Agfa ServiceNow): “Our international customers include hospitals, medical laboratories, veterinarians, and military medical departments. Before 2011, we had a patchwork of existing software in all our service processes. After several acquisitions of Agfa, we finally obtained dozens of different software applications. The scattered view is mainly because the software used by German customers is different from that used in North America; in addition, , The connection between different software usually does not work, so we set out to find “a unified integration platform that can integrate a large amount of information into a unified whole. ServiceNow is very easy to use and has been proven to be the most suitable solution for us again. “Gunther Van Rompay (Healthcare IT Application Service Manager):” All information and after-sales processes are now on the same platform and can be easily queried through a database. , Represents a considerable asset. Our customers have 50,000 contacts, distributed among more than 40,000 customers in more than 40 countries. The technology platform contains basic data of these customers and their contacts, as well as comprehensive information and transaction data about the equipment installed at the customer’s premises. ServiceNow even allows our customers’ software sensors to report potential problems in a fully automated manner. This provides us with all the necessary elements to optimize the execution of maintenance and repair processes. With ServiceNow, we further benefit from the innovation and new features brought about by the upgrades released by SaaS providers at least once a year. Security patches are deployed every month. In addition, this is a cloud system that also enables Agfa to phase out its data center. “How do your customers react to this change? Peter Timmerman:” The satisfaction survey shows that the new technology is successful. As in the past, our customers can always call Agfa Support Services for help. However, we noticed that ServiceNow’s latest portal has been widely used. Approximately 15,000 members of our global customer base have access to ServiceNow. It should be regarded as self-service: they can view the user manual online, register questions or reset their passwords. As a result, our employees have more time to solve actual customer problems and emergencies so that everyone benefits. Caroline Van Rompuy (Chief Information Officer of Agfa): “ServiceNow enables us to take full advantage of the value of the contract and provide services to our customers in the best possible way. When the hospital purchases software from us, we can check the agreement and the level of support at any time. What is included in the customer package? What is the initial response time? This innovative platform allows us to manage support contracts quickly and optimally. “Is Agfa playing a leading role in digital transformation? Caroline Van Rompuy: “Agfa is currently undergoing the second digital transformation, which is related to the increasing number of services surrounding our products. Our customer service will continue to develop. We plan to use chat support and chatbots. But , This requires internal changes. And chatbots are not enough to solve complex IT problems. Agfa has created an innovation office within the company, where we will develop the product portfolio for the next ten years. The innovation office is still there A large number of proofs of concept are provided in the fields of AI, virtual reality, augmented reality and IoT, and we will keep employees informed of all new developments. We hope this will give them more and more opportunities to use this technology. The advantage is that we It has achieved the first digital transformation from traditional movies to healthcare-related IT fields. As a result, the release of new ideas has encountered less resistance internally. This is an important advantage. ”