Xerox

Xerox Holdings Corporation, with approximately $7.0 billion in annual revenue (2021) and a global installed base of millions of printers and multifunction devices, operated one of the largest field service organizations in the business services industry. The company deployed thousands of field service technicians globally to diagnose, repair, and maintain equipment at customer sites. Each dispatched service visit cost Xerox an estimated $150-300 in direct costs (technician time, travel, parts), with first-visit fix rates of approximately 70-75% — meaning 25-30% of visits required a follow-up dispatch. Total field service and support costs represented a significant portion of operating expenses. Meanwhile, customers increasingly expected faster resolution times, and the post-COVID environment made on-site visits operationally complex due to access restrictions and scheduling constraints.

Starting in early 2021, Xerox deployed CareAR, an augmented reality (AR) remote support platform originally developed internally and later spun out as a Xerox subsidiary, to transform its customer support model:

• AR-powered remote diagnosis: Equipped customer support agents with CareAR's AR capabilities, enabling them to see through the customer's smartphone camera in real time. Agents could overlay visual instructions, circle components, and guide customers through troubleshooting steps without dispatching a technician. This replaced phone-based support that often failed due to customers' inability to describe technical issues accurately.
• Self-service AR experiences: Deployed CareAR Instruct, which provided step-by-step AR-guided self-service repair instructions triggered by scanning a QR code on the equipment. Customers could resolve common issues (paper jams, toner replacement, configuration errors) without contacting support at all.
• Technician-to-technician remote assist: When a dispatch was necessary, less-experienced field technicians could connect with senior specialists remotely via CareAR, receiving real-time AR guidance during complex repairs. This improved first-visit fix rates and reduced the need for senior technician dispatches.
• Predictive service integration: Integrated CareAR with Xerox's IoT-connected device fleet, enabling proactive support interventions when devices reported anomalies — often resolving issues before customers noticed them.
• Tiered support model: Restructured the support organization into three tiers: self-service (CareAR Instruct), remote-assist (CareAR Live), and field dispatch — routing issues to the lowest-cost resolution channel capable of handling them.

• Site visits eliminated: In the first 18 months of deployment, 21,000 site visits were resolved by remote support agents using CareAR instead of dispatching field technicians.
• Cost avoidance: At an estimated $150-300 per avoided site visit, the 21,000 remote resolutions represented approximately $3.2-6.3 million in direct cost avoidance.
• First-visit fix rate improvement: When dispatches were necessary, technician-to-technician AR assist improved first-visit fix rates, reducing costly return visits.
• Operating margin improvement: Xerox achieved 170 basis points of adjusted operating margin expansion, with field service cost reduction contributing to the improvement alongside other structural simplification initiatives.
• Customer satisfaction: Faster resolution times through remote AR support improved customer experience scores, as issues that previously required scheduling a site visit (24-72 hour wait) could be resolved in a single remote session (under 1 hour).
• Timeframe: CareAR deployed at scale starting early 2021, with 21,000 remote resolutions achieved by mid-2022.

• Xerox's internal development of CareAR AR technology gave it a proprietary support tool that competitors could not easily replicate
• Large installed base of IoT-connected devices provided the digital foundation for remote diagnostics and predictive service
• COVID-19 access restrictions forced both Xerox and its customers to accept remote support modalities, overcoming traditional resistance to non-on-site service
• Existing customer relationship trust allowed Xerox to guide customers through self-service and remote support without significant change management resistance