The Client
A leading global supplier of photopolymer printing solutions, MacDermid Graphics Solutions delivers high-quality graphics to customers via a diverse array of packaging products, including paper cups, aluminum cans, newspapers and more.
The company also designs and produces printing plates, along with sheet and liquid platemaking equipment, offering customers a choice when it comes to selecting the best processing method for their specific application. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, its operations span North and South America, as well as several countries in Europe and the Asia-Pacific.
MacDermid Graphics Solutions is widely known throughout the industry for its excellent customer service. Its support teams provide day-to-day solutions on a variety of maintenance, repair and process issues around the world.
In recent years, MacDermid Graphics Solutions has been focused on applying remote solutions to further improve several key performance indicators (KPIs) on equipment maintenance, in order to bolster customer satisfaction and shorten resolution times.
The Challenge
As with many companies, MacDermid Graphics Solutions' interest in virtual support tools increased at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. With service technicians’ ability to fulfill maintenance and repair work orders on-site significantly decreased, MacDermid Graphics Solutions had to balance keeping its people safe while maintaining its hard-won reputation for customer care.
The company immediately began a search for virtual tools that worked effortlessly within its existing Salesforce CRM, could be quickly adopted internally and had maximum accessibility for customers and field technicians, many of whom were inexperienced with using advanced technology. It was essential to find a solution that would work on mobile devices, but also enabled its people to use hands-free gadgets such as smart glasses. A primary objective was to permit technicians to be remotely guided through a task or repair process with the benefit of augmented reality (AR) overlay, while still having both hands able to maneuver.
In the long-term, MacDermid Graphics Solutions was eager to tackle extended turnaround times for maintenance or repair work orders, convinced that with the right virtual support tool, needing several days to fix a printer issue and get a machine back up and running would be a thing of the past.
Response time was of high importance for the company, enabling its technical support team to deal with issues as if they were there, in front of the equipment.
The Solution
MacDermid Graphics Solutions adopted SightCall, attracted to its seamless interface within the company’s existing Salesforce CRM. SightCall proved to be a one-stop-shop for its visual assistance, with both the ability to conduct the calls and essential communications data from them gathered in the same system. This enables the company to maintain a more efficient workflow.
Customers and technicians can launch SightCall video sessions through their own smartphones, providing and receiving crucial work order information in real-time thanks to Salesforce integration. Regardless of where the work order is and dependability of local wireless or mobile data connectivity, sessions benefit from guaranteed HD picture quality and reliable video, with SightCall optimized for low-bandwidth conditions. Tools like Smart Optical Character Recognition can accurately read and interpret data on a machine, even from a distance of several feet, and feed it directly back to the work order, with no manual data entry required.
When MacDermid Graphics Solutions technicians have no other choice but to go on-site, they can have their hands free to do the work using smart glasses, while a remote expert walks them through it. SightCall’s AR overlay includes remote measurement and annotation tools that allow for precise identification and dimensions of parts, ensuring the most accurate maintenance processes.
Because of these features, only a single service technician needs to be dispatched to handle more complicated cases, preserving manpower and respecting pandemic-related social distancing requirements. The training of junior or less experienced technicians has also been augmented by the immersive experience provided by the platform.
“We are continuously looking to improve and implement valuable tools for our technical service and support. SightCall not only provides the features we desire, but also seamlessly integrates into our Salesforce ecosystem. We are excited to provide the value-add of interactive, live video assistance and diagnostics to our customers,” said Nancy Barto, Director, Global Customer Relations at MacDermid Graphics Solutions.
High compatibility with data protection regulation, such as GDPR and CCPA, means MacDermid Graphics Solutions can use SightCall as its sole remote support solution for its customers anywhere in the world.
After only a few months of deploying SightCall, MacDermid Graphics Solutions realized a 20% truck roll reduction in the number of work orders that required sending a technician on-site. Customers were guided through issues with their printers with the help of a remote expert, increasing first-time fix rates and improving the customer experience.
When service technicians are dispatched to the site, they can take photos of printer parts, identify them in the Salesforce database with 100% accuracy and feed the information directly back to the parts department. The use of SightCall for parts replacement has cut work order completion down from days to hours.
“The timing was perfect, because of the pandemic. But now that we have SightCall, I wonder how we ever did it without this before,” said MacDermid Graphics Solutions Equipment Service Manager, Nick Casaletto.