ITIL® 4 USE CASE:

FARFETCH®

A XELOS.COM
A X ELOS.C O M
 SERVICE REQUEST AS A PART OF THE A solution was then found for a common customer complaint, which was the constant
need for updates after a request had been submitted. The service catalogue and types of
SERVICE MANAGEMENT TOOL REVAMP request ensured that the customer was asked the right information when opening a service
request. As a result, all request types had been mapped, a basic form was created for every
Farfetch Limited (NYSE: FTCH), is a leading global technology platform involved in the request type. This was to ensure that all the information required to execute the request
luxury fashion industry. The business is mainly focused on fashion and it is supported by was obtained from the customer during the opening process. Below is an example form
technology area F-Tech. When they planned to expand their business, they realized that from the service desk that the customer is expected to complete when requesting access
they needed to revamp the service management tool and the service request process, to to application A.
meet the needs of internal customers. Furthermore, Farfetch must comply with several
regulations, including adding an approval process, and a formal documentation process, “When they planned to
in order to float on the New York stock market. Example form: Gaining access to application A
Summary: expand their business,
The revamp process started with the creation of customer-orientated applications, which
aimed to make the service request process more intuitive and straightforward to users.
Purpose of application usage:
Attachment:
they realized that they
The revamp process mapped 15 major areas (these could be a team or an application) Application name: needed to revamp the
that were then input as a unique point of entry within the service management tool. Email address:
The revamp projects are centralized so that users can raise requests to the appropriate Role: service management tool
teams: infrastructure, data support, and IT service. The projects were organized into a
small group of subjects, to make navigation easier. In events where requests have multiples Example form: Unsubscribing from the newsletter
and the service request
resolvers, it was divided by applications such as: mobile apps support, Farfetch portal Summary: process, to meet the
support, finance tech support, and production support. The queries are then forwarded to Reason for unsubscribing:
the service desk for triage by the service desk or forwarded to the correct group. Attachment: needs of internal
The next step of the process was to define a service catalogue containing the services
Customer email: customers”
provided and the time to fulfil the services and create a unique request type for every
service mapped. The service management area provided guidance. The time taken to The request types, which are independently managed by the teams, contain a basic set of
fulfil the request was related to the request type rather than its priority, except when the information: summary, reason for the request, and attachment. Additionally, every request
customer is responsible for choosing the correct priority stream. The service desk mapped type has a specific set of information, to ensure it can be successfully accomplished
45 services that it provided and executed, and defined how long it would take to fulfil the without requiring further information from the customer. Further information requests only
following five possible SLA´s request types: occur when a specific requisition is made, or if the customer makes a service request
• 24 hours with 24/7 support using the wrong request type option. At the triage stage, the service desk will identify the
• 48 hours with 24/7 support customer’s request and direct them to the correct request type. The form will then have to
• 27 hours with working hours (9am to 5pm five days a week) support be completed.
• 45 hours with working hours (9am to 5pm five days a week) support
• 180 hours with working hours (9am to 5pm five days a week) support. This new approach resulted in more accurate and reliable metrics, the team could see
what they were executing, how long it took each time, and how often the requests were
escalated to a specialized team. However, the most important outcome of this approach
was that the team could see the daily numbers for each request type. Consequently,
it showed that a unique request type (in this a request to change the address prior to
shipment, when a customer incorrectly completed it) was responsible for more than
40% of the service desk’s work.

A X ELOS.C O M 3  ITIL®44MP
2  ITIL UseinCase:
1000Farfetch
words: ®HVIT ITIL 4 case study  3 A X ELOS.C O M
 IMPROVEMENT CONCLUSION
There were already several processes in place before the revamp started. For example, The service request revamp process has delivered good results, not only in “The success of this
data and knowledge about the service already existed. This included a catalogue that could terms of finances, but also in terms of the service and the customer experience.
be updated with the details of every new service, such as a change in the time taken to It is a continuous process that must not be forgotten. The success of this project depends on
perform the service or any new information that should be included in the opening form.
The process of continuous improvement could now start; however, some issues needed to
project depends on the updated catalogue and request, a consistent time
to fulfil agreements, and the continuous participation of the business.
the updated catalogue
be resolved first. It is a journey that is shared with everyone within the company to and request, a
create an incredible customer and partner experience.
Despite the efforts to map every service, there was still a need to create a generic request consistent time to
type form to accommodate everything that was not included in the first version of the
catalogue. So, one area of improvement was to identify the type of request and decide if it
fulfil agreements”
was a frequent request. If that was the case, then a specific request type for those requests
should be made. This was an important task as repeating the same specific request in
a generic request form did not create value and obscured knowledge about the type of
services delivered. Currently, and for the foreseeable future, the service management team
is mapping and analysing the generic request form so that it is relevant to the company.
The team are creating new request type forms as a result of their analysis.

The analysis performed on the most frequent requests resulted in another solution.
After discovering that one specific request type was responsible for 40% of the service
executed by the service desk, the service management team started working with the
developers to automate this activity and reduce the workload of the first line support.
This activity was automated; the customer changed the necessary fields and a script ran
the form. This resulted in more time to execute tasks important to the business, both
in terms of generating income and decreasing unnecessary expenditure. This is already
delivering financial savings.

OPPORTUNITIES
The subsequent changes not only showed that there was room for improvement, but
also that there were opportunities to improve other areas of the business, outside of
F-tech. Moreover, it showed that the whole company could be engaged with the ideas of
controlling, management, and customer centricity.

To keep the momentum going in relation to these changes, the service management team
supported other business areas, by providing support or services internally as a result of the
centralized structure. Consequently, it was easier to complete requests, measure targets,
and deliver a better experience to customers. This approach was integrated into the service
management structure areas such as the team, office management, and treasury. Work had
been delivered to define the service catalogue, assist on the new project configuration, and
define the agreements. This created a unique standard and every Farfetcher now knows
where to find and proceed with requests for anything, within any area, of the company.

Another opportunity was the creation of organizations within the service management tool, Author bio
which allowed customers to subscribe only to the services and communications that matter Paulo Tourinho graduated in FATEC-Guaratinguetá college
to them. For example, a person in the partner services team would be able to subscribe to studying IT. Since then, he has built his career entirely in service
the projects that they work on and receive the required support. They can also subscribe management and was introduced to ITIL in 2009. At various other
to receive communications regarding outages on relevant applications, schedule activities, work places such as AT&T and British Telecom, Paulo was able
and receive announcements regarding new features. So, the person would only receive to consolidate this knowledge and become an ITIL expert while
meaningful information. They avoided: wasting time, receiving communications or updates using these concepts to deliver a unique customer experience.
from services/applications that the user did not even know existed, and avoid viewing Paulo currently works with Farfetch and built a support center from
options to open tickets when they only need the same set of requests. scratch; he has contributed to the development of ITIL 4, and was
a reviewer for the ITIL 4 service request practice publication.

A X ELOS.C O M 4  ITIL® 4 Use Case: Farfetch® ITIL 4 case study  5 A X ELOS.C O M