Which is your company’s Kodak moment?

In a world of constant change foreseeing innovation outcomes is very important

In the title, I am not referring to a photograph of your company but something related to one of the greatest photography companies, Kodak.  Being the leading photographic film company, Kodak was ahead of others in the industry and developed the first digital camera fifty years ago. 

However, Kodak management neither foresaw the utility of a digital camera nor the end of the photographs as pictures from film-roll negatives.  As a result, other companies raced ahead of Kodak to develop digital cameras and today lead the market in that segment, whereas Kodak’s industry dominance and business ended.  Sadly, Kodak could have dominated the new field of digital photography as it invented that device but could not judge the change in photography that would eventually end Kodak as it once was.

This PCO Mentor issue then is about each company’s Kodak moment or when they must decide whether to change or stick to what they are doing and, like in Kodak’s case, perish.

The resistance to change is inherent in humans and businesses.  When Thomas Alva Edison invented the light bulb in the nineteenth century, the gaslight makers could not foresee its consequences.  However hard they polished their metal gas lights, electric bulbs were a far better and simpler innovation that stubbed out the gas lights.

In the same century, the invention of the internal combustion engine (ICE) leads to the automobile industry and the introduction of passenger cars.  At that time, horse carriages were the primary mode of travel, and their owners could compete with cars with improved ones.  Sadly, horse carriages were no match for ICE cars, and such cars replaced horse carriages which were unwieldy and uncomfortable to travel.

Right now, you can look at how electric vehicles (EVs) are doing to ICE cars and what ICE cars did to horse carriages.  In this century, eventually, most cars will be EVs, and the best ICE cars will be unable to compete with EVs.

We have no single event or change that could transform the pest control industry but several disruptions which will make our business processes different from those we are using today.

Physical versus digital: While we traditionally relied on physical inspections of new or old customers’ premises, doesn’t it seem so outdated in 2022?  The insurance industry, which deals with far higher risks than the pest control industry, has been underwriting insurance policies digitally without paperwork or physical assessments.  Hence, industry leaders relying on physical inspections is a major inefficiency that will end soon.  On the other hand, the reliance on paperwork is another relic of the twentieth century that PCOs are not easily giving up.  Business through papers is inefficient when you consider the cost of printing, using, and storing them and the risk of loss due to physical damage.  When digital processes are available, from inquiry to payment, PCOs still relying on paperwork are operating inefficiently.

Technicians versus mechanization: In agriculture, drones are already conducting pest control and replacing people doing such work.  Innovative Indian drone makers have products that apply mosquito larvicides in weed-infested lakes helping to complete such work safely and efficiently.  Mechanization is the answer to improving both efficiency and effectiveness in pest control as the best technicians are prone to fatigue and error.  Repetitive tasks like visual inspections, application of gel baits, and placement of glue traps are all possible through robots.  Cleaning robots already deliver better output than any human, and pest control robots will in the future replace technicians.  We may need technicians only to drive vehicles to carry robots to customer premises.

Rise of independent contractors: Enterprising technicians are already part of the home service platforms like the Urban Company and Home Triangle in India.  No one can guarantee that there won’t be platforms that offer B2B pest control services in the future.  Also, with the change in employee aspirations, you will find more of them wanting to operate independently as contractors and not company employees.  A PCO would thus be the platform that generates orders and sends its independent contractors to conduct pest control treatments.

The effect of global warming on our industry: Among the most vulnerable industries to heat effects is the pest control industry because we send people to work outdoors and during the daytime when it is hotter than later.  Even in 2022, the summer in India has been the hottest ever, and in the future, the summer day temperatures may be intolerable for pest control.  Therefore, there may be a radical change to technician work timings and efficiencies when they face higher working day-time temperatures in the future.

Multi-software versus ERP: A few enterprising companies like Intellogrit have studied the pest control industry and designed a simple ERP, XERP, that combines all aspects of the pest control business.  Hitherto, only MNCs with trans-continental businesses could develop or deploy ERPs.  In contrast, even the smallest Indian PCO can now subscribe to XERP for an enhanced customer experience and business excellence.  PCOs with progressive management that adopts XERP-type solutions will race ahead of the competition by being agile, transparent (with employees and customers), and managing effectively by knowing costs instantly for interventions.  Unfortunately, the pest control industry lags behind others in technology.  Still, the progressive PCOs who adopt XERP-like software solutions will improve their growth rates and margins available online for review and action.

Industry 4.0: The manufacturing industry is rapidly transforming by process robotization and automation.  If a factory has few people managing it, will the factory owner accept a PCO sending a technician?  Or rather, will future factors ask for robot technicians?  It will be easier to manage pest treatments using autonomous indoor vehicles and drones in a highly automated environment.

Green pest control: One segment of customers is now asking for pesticide-free pest treatments, which may keep increasing.  Numerous natural product manufacturers now offer repellent products that may not kill pests but leave customer premises pest-free through odor repellence.

Each PMP will perceive the changing business scenario through their personal experience.  Therefore, I have listed seven trends that will influence the pest control industry to varying degrees this decade.