Technology is able to unlock significant improvements across virtually any aspect of an Organisation’s Customer-facing activities, helping to attract and win new Customers and retain and grow existing Customers.
Here are examples of how two firms have exploited IT to re-invent parts of their business to improve their Customer processes.
CASE HISTORY 1 – SharePoint delivers a competitive edge
A major tyre distributor had been using manual processes to manage bespoke Customer quotes. However, after implementing Microsoft SharePoint, significant business benefits were achieved resulting in a transformation of this critical organisational procedure.
Key issues with their manual process included slow decision making, disparate information silos, and cumbersome and complex processes. Recognising that they were losing out to their competitors, they looked for a solution and chose SharePoint.
Working with the client, a solution was developed to re-engineer the end-to-end process by taking advantage of a range of key features offered by SharePoint, enabling data to be extracted from a number of systems and integrating it into an efficient new workflow.
The worflow now starts with the initiation of a quote by completing a SharePoint web page which interfaces to an existing system to help make field selection easier and more accurate. Once the quote has been initiated, the automated workflow is then launched. Previously, quotes were taking up to 7 days to complete but, with the new system in place, this was cut to 48 hours.
Additional business benefits resulting from the solution included improved end-to-end visibility of the status of all quotes, better internal communication and collaboration, and the elimination of quoting errors and associated re-work. These and other benefits have enhanced the Company’s competitiveness, whilst delivering significant returns on investment.
CASE HISTORY 2 – Making money from waste
Implementing a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system for one waste management Company has transformed their business: increasing sales, retaining more Customers and driving company developments.
Before installing their CRM, the company managed each of their 500 Customers on an individual spreadsheet. Logging orders, scheduling collections and making notes on individual Customers was cumbersome, inconsistently implemented and restricted access and management of vital information.
Now, with a new CRM system installed, a fresh breeze has blown through the organisation. Relevant people from all departments can easily access the same information which is presented in a consistent way. The breadth and depth of reporting made available means any metrics can be examined quickly and simply.
Improved information management has enabled the company to grow sales by 35% without adding any additional people, and productivity in their Customer service department has increased by 40%.
Solving Customer issues has been speeded up, improving the Customer experience, and the intelligence and insight the system gives is now driving the company’s future development plans.
The firm found that implementing the CRM system was very straight-forward; a seamless exercise across all departments. The customisable user interface meant that the system was tailored to meet their precise requirements and internal procedures, whilst all Customer data is now much more secure and controllable.
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