Locus Optimizing Field Agent Deployment With ServiceNow

Automation and supply chain visibility often are focused on the routing of consumer goods as they travel thousands of miles via various modes of transportation.

Locus, a supply chain visibility and routing solution, announced Tuesday it is offering these same services to optimize the deployment of field service agents in its integration with the ServiceNow Field Service Management solution.

While on the surface the two might seem like an unlikely pair, Locus founder and CEO Nishith Rastogi explained the organic relationship between his company and the digital workflow provider ServiceNow.

"It was actually a very natural request from our customers," he said. "One of our customers is the largest retail group in India and we deliver many goods that need white-glove services. If they are buying a washing machine or refrigerator, we could get someone to install it. … Instead of reinventing the wheel, we partnered with someone who is a leading player in that domain. Now we have a great product for managing the ticketing requests and a great product for optimizing the movement of those goods."

Related Article: Locus raises $50M to build the operating system of logistics

ServiceNow helps build digital workflows for 7-Eleven, Siemens, Ricoh and more than 6,000 other companies, according to its website. These various use cases will allow Locus to expand into new vertical markets around the world.

"Your Uber driver is typically carrying your order and usually one more," said Rastogi. "We realized we could also adopt the same technology to the movement of service professionals. They could be a phlebotomist coming to collect a blood sample or they could be dry cleaners picking up laundry or they could be a Comcast professional coming into your home at a specific time to do the actual installation."

Rastogi said performing these in-person services well is crucial for obtaining customer loyalty.

"Imagine something has gone bad with your television set and you're making requests to fix it at your home. The customer is already in a really sensitive place with a broken product, right? That is where it matters now if you are going to be there between 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Can you effectively get your service technician there at that time, in a predictable fashion with the right visibility to the customer? If you're able to fulfill that promise, you have a chance at saving the customer as well as converting that customer for life," he said.

"Bringing ServiceNow and Locus together gives them tools to optimize goods and services in real-world scenarios, it gives you the entire breadth of your business, it gives you the entire breadth of your business," Rastogi said.

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