Evoqua Water Technologies Award Write Up

2016 North American Mobile Water Treatment Customer Service Leadership Award

2016

BEST PRACTICES RESEARCH

© Frost & Sullivan 2016 2 “We Accelerate Growth”

Contents

Background and Company Performance................................................... 3

Industry Challenges ......................................................................... 3

Quality of Customer Service and Customer Impact .............................. 3

Conclusion ...................................................................................... 6

Significance of Customer Service Leadership ............................................ 7

Understanding Customer Service Leadership ............................................ 7

Key Benchmarking Criteria ............................................................... 8

Best Practice Award Analysis for Evoqua Water Technologies ..................... 8

Decision Support Scorecard .............................................................. 8

Quality of Customer Service .............................................................. 9

Customer Impact ............................................................................. 9

Decision Support Matrix ................................................................. 10

The Intersection between 360-Degree Research and Best Practices Awards 11

Research Methodology ................................................................... 11

Best Practices Recognition: 10 Steps to Researching, Identifying, and Recognizing Best Practices ................................................................... 12

About Frost & Sullivan ......................................................................... 13



Background and Company Performance

Industry Challenges

Municipal and industrial customers for mobile water treatment systems are

spread across North America. As a result, making these systems available

in a short time is a challenge. A hub-spoke model is one of the best

solutions to overcome these challenges in the mobile water treatment

systems industry. With respect to the mobile water treatment systems

market, empowering all employees and establishing a connection for high-

quality customer service is essential. Despite technological advancements

in terms of mobile system configuration and system efficiency, customer

service and responsiveness have still been ruling factors for vendors to

ensure there is efficient utilization of the mobile systems.

Quality of Customer Service and Customer Impact

Empowerment

Evoqua Water Technologies believes customer response is critical and is

measured in turnaround time and quality of service. The only way a

company can have expert customer service is by having a decision making

process that is both quick and effective. Evoqua Water Technologies

ensures it is highly responsive and reliable, provides high-quality solutions,

and adds value as a trusted partner. Being responsive and reliable is

important, and the company achieves this by empowering employees in its

eighty-five local branches. Evoqua Water Technologies is the largest branch

organization in North America and is within two hours of most customers in

the US. Decision making is decentralized, and each branch office can make

its own decisions in terms of defining solutions for the mobile water

treatment and as well the accompanying pricing structure.

This unique system of empowering branch office employees has helped the

company with time management and has increased its customer base.

Speed/Timeliness

Evoqua Water Technologies claims to have a faster turnaround time than

other competitors in the market. Because the company has more branches

than its competitors, employees have shorter distances to travel to solve

problems for the customers. The company offers support to more than

50,000 customer sites in the United States, with a high level of intimacy.

Some of its key customers include the chemical processing industry, food &

beverage, municipal water and wastewater, life/health sciences, refining,



microelectronics, power, pharmaceuticals, and remediation. Each branch

has its own inventory of spare parts and consumables. Providing mobile

services is only one part of helping a plant get back online. If a plant is

offline, the mobile systems and service keeps production going and checks

for water quality problems.

Mobile water treatment has multiple systems types. One is the ion

exchange system for demineralization, which is a rapid response system

that is used to restore water service on the customer site. The ion

exchange system is dispatched from the service depot within two hours and

rapidly commissioned once it reaches the customer site, thereby affording a

quick start-up. Other treatment options generally need more time because

they require electricity, utilities and a certain level of site preparation

before operation. Evoqua Water Technologies’ mobile water treatment

systems are customized with the highest level of precision so that they are

ready to go online immediately after installation. The company is strong in

logistics and relies primarily on its own Class A drivers, and trucks to avoid

delays associated with contract drivers and trucks.

Frictionless Interaction

Evoqua Water Technologies focuses on strong customer interaction with the

employees who will be at the site to solve problems. The company relies

heavily on the fact that the technician solving the problems should be

communicating with the customer. In addition, the company has a non-

conformance performance process when service falls short of what was

promised. This reporting structure allows the employee’s manager to be

involved in evaluating the reason for failure. The manager is briefed on the

situation, and necessary steps are taken to rectify any problems. Evoqua

Water Technologies promotes a frictionless environment for interaction

between employees with a system that tenaciously discourages employees

from neglecting issues. The technician should definitely address the issue

and progress is constantly monitored by the respective managers to ensure

high quality service.

Customer Purchase Experience

Evoqua Water Technologies backs it customer service with guarantees on

both the quantity and quality of water with its well-trained team of

Technicians and Applications Engineers supported by a strong fleet of

mobile water treatment systems. The most important feature of the

customer purchase experience is safety. What makes the company

successful and unique is its focus on safety. The company operates safely

at customer’s site and while in transit to sites. Evoqua Water Technologies



represents the customer when the equipment is handled and operated with

minimum hindrance both at process and personal level. The company has

rigorous safety protocols as part of its EH&S Program. It has adopted and

committed to an effective behavior-based process (Loss Prevention

System) to ensure a safe working environment. Because the company

deals with sites such as refineries and power plants, safety becomes one of

the most important prerequisites when installing mobile water treatment

systems. The company was awarded the2015 Gold Award for excellent

safety performance at Chevron Refinery in El Segundo, California, USA.

This award is presented on a yearly basis to Chevron’s partners who

provide incident-free, on-site service. Evoqua has been the recipient of this

site’s, highest safety award from Chevron for three consecutive years.

Customer Ownership Experience

Evoqua Water Technologies has established well-documented standard

operating procedures (SOP). These SOPs provide guidance to technicians

who undergo a training program where they are trained, tested, and

certified. The company has created customer groups for some of their

product lines, and any product updates are communicated to them. One of

the company’s key elements in the customer experience is the establishment

of a corporate account management program. For an effective delivery of

service, some of Evoqua’s key corporate customers are involved in the

corporate account management program. When these corporations buy the

equipment, the equipment is designed based on the customer’s needs and

standards. For example, Evoqua Water Technologies was recently awarded

a 5-year contract to provide mobile equipment to the US Navy. The

company’s mobile equipment is used for producing deionized feed water for

ships docking at Norfolk Naval Station in Virginia (the largest naval station

worldwide).

Customer Service Experience

Evoqua Water Technologies has several programs to evaluate customer

service. One of these programs is called a net promoter score survey,

which seeks participation from all customer groups. The company selects

a percentage of customers to survey, which involves an escalation process.

If a customer reports any dissatisfaction, the response is automatically

escalated to the respective manager to reach out to the customer to

understand and solve the problem. If the customer records exceptional

service, that response is escalated to the manager as part of the company’s

recognition program. Technicians routinely evaluate the survey to ensure

the performance of the equipment and quality of service is not

compromised.



Conclusion

Evoqua Water Technologies is a new brand name in the water treatment

market with a long history of experience in the mobile water treatment

industry. The company is one of the most recognized businesses that have

pioneered the mobile water treatment services with unique strategies and

exceptional products to provide high-quality customer service.

With its strong overall customer service, Evoqua Water Technologies has

earned Frost & Sullivan’s 2016 Customer Service Leadership award in the

North American mobile water treatment market.



Significance of Customer Service Leadership

Ultimately, growth in any organization depends upon customers purchasing

from your company, and then making the decision to return time and

again. The service experience is therefore a critical component of a

company’s efforts to retain customers over the long term. Through

successful retention, companies enhance their brand, increase demand for

their products, and differentiate themselves from the competition.

Understanding Customer Service Leadership

Customer Service Leadership is defined and measured by two macro-level

categories: quality of customer service and customer impact. These two

sides work together to make customers feel valued, and confident in their

products’ quality and long shelf life. This dual satisfaction translates into

repeat purchases and a high lifetime customer value.



Key Benchmarking Criteria

For the Customer Service Leadership Award, Frost & Sullivan analysts

independently evaluated two key factors—Quality of Customer Service and

Customer Impact—according to the criteria identified below.

Quality of Customer Service

Criterion 1: Empowerment

Criterion 2: Leverage of Customer Feedback

Criterion 3: Speed/Timeliness

Criterion 4: Frictionless Interaction

Criterion 5: Technological Investment

Customer Impact

Criterion 1: Price/Performance Value

Criterion 2: Customer Purchase Experience

Criterion 3: Customer Ownership Experience

Criterion 4: Customer Service Experience

Criterion 5: Brand Equity

Best Practice Award Analysis for Evoqua Water Technologies

Decision Support Scorecard

To support its evaluation of best practices across multiple business

performance categories, Frost & Sullivan employs a customized Decision

Support Scorecard. This tool allows our research and consulting teams to

objectively analyze performance, according to the key benchmarking

criteria listed in the previous section, and to assign ratings on that basis.

The tool follows a 10-point scale that allows for nuances in performance

evaluation; ratings guidelines are illustrated below.

RATINGS GUIDELINES

The Decision Support Scorecard is organized by Quality of Customer

Service and Customer Impact (i.e., the overarching categories for all 10

benchmarking criteria; the definitions for each criteria are provided

beneath the scorecard). The research team confirms the veracity of this

weighted scorecard through sensitivity analysis, which confirms that small



changes to the ratings for a specific criterion do not lead to a significant

change in the overall relative rankings of the companies.

The results of this analysis are shown below. To remain unbiased and to

protect the interests of all organizations reviewed, we have chosen to refer

to the other key players as Competitor 2 and Competitor 3.

DECISION SUPPORT SCORECARD FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE LEADERSHIP

AWARD

Measurement of 1–10 (1 = poor; 10 = excellent)

Customer Service Leadership

Quality of Customer

Service

Customer

Impact Average Rating

Evoqua Water Technologies 9.5 9.5 9.5

Competitor 2 8.0 7.0 7.5

Competitor 3 6.5 6.5 6.5


Criterion 1: Empowerment

Requirement: Service providers are encouraged to take independent,

informed, and creative approaches to issue resolution

Criterion 2: Leverage of Customer Feedback

Requirement: Customer opinions are continually solicited and monitored,

leading to direct changes to product features or the service model

Criterion 3: Speed/Timeliness

Requirement: Issues are resolved within a timeframe satisfactory to the

customer and the provider

Criterion 4: Frictionless Interaction

Requirement: Service providers deftly avoid customer conflict by

maintaining a friendly, professional demeanor at all times

Criterion 5: Technological Investment

Requirement: Investment in best-in-class technologies that enhance

customer knowledge, accelerates issue resolution, and/or improves the

customer experience

Customer Impact

Criterion 1: Price/Performance Value

Requirement: Products or services offer the best value for the price,

compared to similar offerings in the market



Criterion 2: Customer Purchase Experience

Requirement: Customers feel like they are buying the most optimal solution

that addresses both their unique needs and their unique constraints

Criterion 3: Customer Ownership Experience

Requirement: Customers are proud to own the company’s product or

service, and have a positive experience throughout the life of the product

or service

Criterion 4: Customer Service Experience

Requirement: Customer service is accessible, fast, stress-free, and of high

quality

Criterion 5: Brand Equity

Requirement: Customers have a positive view of the brand and exhibit high

brand loyalty

Decision Support Matrix

Once all companies have been evaluated according to the Decision Support

Scorecard, analysts can then position the candidates on the matrix shown

below, enabling them to visualize which companies are truly breakthrough

and which ones are not yet operating at best-in-class levels.

DECISION SUPPORT MATRIX FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE LEADERSHIP AWARD

High

Low

Low High

Customer Impact


Evoqua Water Technologies

Competitor 2

Competitor 3



The Intersection between 360-Degree Research and Best

Practices Awards

Research Methodology

Frost & Sullivan’s 360-degree

research methodology represents

the analytical rigor of our research

process. It offers a 360-degree-

view of industry challenges, trends,

and issues by integrating all 7 of

Frost & Sullivan's research

methodologies. Too often,

companies make important growth

decisions based on a narrow

understanding of their environment,

leading to errors of both omission

and commission. Successful growth

strategies are founded on a

thorough understanding of market,

technical, economic, financial,

customer, best practices, and

demographic analyses. The integration of these research disciplines into the

360-degree research methodology provides an evaluation platform for

benchmarking industry players and for identifying those performing at

best-in-class levels.

360-DEGREE RESEARCH: SEEING

ORDER IN THE CHAOS



Best Practices Recognition: 10 Steps to Researching,

Identifying, and Recognizing Best Practices

Frost & Sullivan Awards follow a 10-step process to evaluate award

candidates and assess their fit with select best practice criteria. The

reputation and integrity of the Awards are based on close adherence to this

process.

STEP OBJECTIVE KEY ACTIVITIES OUTPUT

1 Monitor, target, and screen

Identify award recipient candidates from around the globe

• Conduct in-depth industry research

• Identify emerging sectors • Scan multiple geographies

Pipeline of candidates who potentially meet all best-practice criteria

2 Perform 360-degree research

Perform comprehensive, 360-degree research on all candidates in the pipeline

• Interview thought leaders and industry practitioners

• Assess candidates’ fit with best-practice criteria

• Rank all candidates

Matrix positioning all candidates’ performance relative to one another

3

Invite thought leadership in best practices

Perform in-depth examination of all candidates

• Confirm best-practice criteria • Examine eligibility of all candidates

• Identify any information gaps

Detailed profiles of all ranked candidates

4

Initiate research director review

Conduct an unbiased evaluation of all candidate profiles

• Brainstorm ranking options • Invite multiple perspectives on candidates’ performance

• Update candidate profiles

Final prioritization of all eligible candidates and companion best-practice positioning paper

5

Assemble panel of industry experts

Present findings to an expert panel of industry thought leaders

• Share findings • Strengthen cases for candidate eligibility

• Prioritize candidates

Refined list of prioritized award candidates

6

Conduct global industry review

Build consensus on award candidates’ eligibility

• Hold global team meeting to review all candidates

• Pressure-test fit with criteria • Confirm inclusion of all eligible candidates

Final list of eligible award candidates, representing success stories worldwide

7 Perform quality check

Develop official award consideration materials

• Perform final performance benchmarking activities

• Write nominations • Perform quality review

High-quality, accurate, and creative presentation of nominees’ successes

8

Reconnect with panel of industry experts

Finalize the selection of the best-practice award recipient

• Review analysis with panel • Build consensus • Select winner

Decision on which company performs best against all best-practice criteria

9 Communicate recognition

Inform award recipient of award recognition

• Present award to the CEO • Inspire the organization for continued success

• Celebrate the recipient’s performance

Announcement of award and plan for how recipient can use the award to enhance the brand



STEP OBJECTIVE KEY ACTIVITIES OUTPUT

10 Take strategic action

Upon licensing, company may share award news with stakeholders and customers

• Coordinate media outreach • Design a marketing plan • Assess award’s role in future strategic planning

Widespread awareness of recipient’s award status among investors, media personnel, and employees

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Environment

Evoqua Water Technologies Award Write Up