Lessons from the Service Council Symposium: Cracking the AI ROI Code

This week in Chicago, we had the chance to sit down with some of the sharpest minds in service at the Service Council Symposium. On stage with Aquant’s own Doug Wilmot were:

• Mike Galon, Coca-Cola – leading service for a million (!) annual activities across their food service business
  
  
• Mike Hughes, Peak Scientific – driving global service for their gas generators
  
  
• Travis Myers, JLG – supporting rental companies and ensuring uptime for heavy lift equipment

It was a fast-moving 30 minutes, but the conversation dug into one of the biggest challenges in service today: achieving ROI from AI. Spoiler: it’s not easy, and most organizations don’t get it right the first time.

The Hard Truth: Most AI Doesn’t Stick

Doug opened with a stat that made the room lean in: 95% of AI projects in service fail. Not because the technology is bad, but because it isn’t built for the realities of service workflows, or because it never makes it into the daily lives of technicians.

That set the tone: this wasn’t going to be about AI hype. It was about what actually works.

1. Winning Over the CIO

The panelists agreed—you can’t get far without IT on your side.

• Travis put it bluntly: “If you’re not starting with a well-defined use case, stop what you’re doing.” CIOs want to see projects that are desirable, feasible, and scalable.
  
  
• Mike Hughes added that you need your CIO as a true ally: “If they’re not your best friend, make sure they are.”

Lesson learned? Translate service KPIs into enterprise outcomes—things like productivity gains, scalability, and data security.

2. Stop Waiting for Perfect Data

Everyone nodded at this one: no one has clean data. Waiting for perfection just delays progress.

Travis recommended pilots and “seven-day challenges” with messy, as-is data. Mike Gallon stressed that CIOs care just as much about data security as data quality, so you’d better be ready to speak their language.

3. Keep It Simple: Fewer Use Cases, Bigger Impact

Instead of trying to boil the ocean, the panelists shared how they narrowed their focus:

• JLG targeted technician pain points like time spent documenting and searching multiple systems.
  
  
• Peak Scientific streamlined parts identification, which used to require checking five different databases.
  
  
• Coca-Cola validated AI internally first, then rolled it out gradually to bottlers.

The rule of thumb: start small, solve real problems, and tie every use case back to customer experience.

4. The “Silver Tsunami” is Here

One phrase kept coming up: the silver tsunami—the retirement wave hitting experienced technicians.

• JLG has seen 70% turnover in its support team over just four years.
  
  
• Peak Scientific stressed the danger of tribal knowledge walking out the door.

AI is part of the solution: capturing expertise before it’s lost, and putting it in the hands of the next generation of techs.

5. What They’d Do Differently

Each panelist wrapped with advice for anyone just starting out:

• Get an IT coach who can translate your story to the CIO.
  
  
• Build relationships—understand CIO concerns around security and governance.
  
  
• Own the education—service leaders themselves need to explain the “why” behind AI to the business.
  
  

Final Word

AI isn’t a magic bullet. But when you start with the right use cases, build CIO partnerships, and keep technicians at the center, it can be transformational.

As Doug put it: “It’s not about selling the CIO on a future threat—it’s about showing them the problems you’re already facing, and how AI can help solve them.”