Sbusiness Preview

Sbusiness Highlights
Inside the upcoming Winter 2008 issue of Sbusiness, you’ll find a wealth of knowledge on critical services topics for today’s s-business executive. Below is a brief glimpse into two feature articles on CRM and Smart Services—check them out when your issue arrives!

Using Your Service Market Antennas
By Pim Bonsel
The s-business representative—who has built a relationship of trust through dealings with the customer—should become the antenna of the customer’s wants and needs within the confined, new service business domain. This article is an adaptation of the full AFSMI report, Getting Closer to the Customer: Using Your Service Market Antennas.

Making the Case for Smart Services
By Jack Levin
To build the business case for remote services on ROI alone is to sit on a one-legged stool. The service tool aspect of remote service is important, but by itself, it ignores the value-creation aspect of smart services.

Sbusiness Submissions
Want to share your knowledge with Sbusiness readers? Sharing your business experiences and industry knowledge keeps the industry’s wheels turning and generates real opportunities for opening discussions with your industry peers. Click here to submit your article ideas or submissions.

What's Hot

End-of-Year Membership Renewals
For many AFSMI members, the end of the year means membership renewal time. This year, you can choose from one of our new Individual Membership levels, or upgrade to a Corporate Membership. Visit the AFSMI Web site for more information on your membership options.

Technology Services Europe 2008 – Call For Speakers
AFSMI’s 10th annual industry conference for European services leaders will be held April 2-4, 2008, in Paris, France. This year’s theme is “The Next Wave of Business Growth,” and AFSMI is proud to join forces with our sister associations, SSPA and TPSA, to bring you our largest gathering of European services executives ever!

AFSMI is currently seeking dynamic speakers to present at the conference—submit your Speaker’s Application today!

2008 S-Business World Conference Set for October in Vegas
AFSMI is pleased to announce that the 2008 S-Business World Conference will be held at the Mirage Hotel and Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, from October 21-23, 2008. Save the date and plan to join us in Las Vegas for the longest running services conference in the world!

Industry & Technology News

Industry News
AFSMI Newsline keeps you on top of late-breaking industry news. Click here to view industry achievements, awards, company news, and new products and services announcements from such leading organisations as Colubris Networks, Destiny Wireless, DuPont, IDENTEC SOLUTIONS, and Synergy Outsourcing.

Are We Going in the Right Direction? Inflation, Unemployment, and Productivity in Europe
Before the start of the EU, many had a vision of an economic nirvana that was about to fall within reach. It is all about the living standards of its people, growth, productivity, employment rates, and curbing inflation. Growth in productivity is the biggest challenge in Europe. Click here for more.

Local Action

Australia Chapter
Maarten Tentij, President
The Australia Chapter’s October event served as the final session of day one at the TraceTech ID conference, a new annual conference focused on the monitoring of critical events in the supply chain. AFSMI was one of the industry bodies that were official supporters of the event. Click here for more.

Chicago Chapter
Jerry Kuziel, President
The Chicago Chapter met for its Annual Executive Luncheon at Maggiano’s Restaurant on October 18. Click here for details including discussions from chapter president Jerry Kuziel, chapter board chairman Walt Gasparovic, and Motorola’s Bernie Schaeffer.

France Chapter
Bruno Adeline, President
The France Chapter announced its Chapter Agenda for the remainder of 2007 and 2008, including discussions on the new French law regarding the management of supplementary hours (vs. the law on the 35-hour work week) and AFSMI’s S-Business Europe Services Leadership Conference being held in April in Paris. Click here to view the full Chapter Agenda.

Italy Chapter
Giorgio Di Giovanni, President
The 2007 ASAP (After Sales Advanced Planning) Service Management Forum is being organized in cooperation with AFSMI’s Italy Chapter. The 4th annual event, “From After-Sales to Added-Value Services,” will be held on November 21 at the University of Bergamo in Dalmine, Italy. Click here for more details.

U.K. Chapter
Simon Morris, President
The final U.K. Chapter event of the year will be held on Thursday, November 29, at the offices of Festo in Northampton. The topic addressed at the event will be “Teams,” where participants will explore how high-performing teams can help to grow the services business. Click here for more details, and for a report from the chapter’s special conference held at the Service Management Europe exhibition in October.

Events

Member Webcast: Getting Closer to the Customer
If you missed the “CRM: Getting Closer to the Customer” Webcast on October 31, the Webcast is now available “on-demand,” so you can replay it at your convenience.

Member Research

White Paper Published
In addition to viewing the latest member Webcast, Corporate Members can download the AFSMI Executive Briefing on the role services can play in building profitable customer relationships.

If You Ask Me…
AFSMI’s Sbusiness editors pose questions for our members to answer: Does your organization participate in an employee career planning program? If so, is it for all employees, or management level only? E-mail your response (no more than two paragraphs, please) to Angela Smith at asmith@afsmi.com, with “If You Ask Me” in the subject header. Select responses will appear in the Spring issue.

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