Enhancing Customer Service with Infor SyteLine ERP
By Chris Stock, Managing Director at Inforlogic
In times gone by, manufacturers typically operated in a fairly one-dimensional manner, shipping products to a fairly faceless market. Today, that kind of business model simply isn’t viable, as fluctuating demand and increased customer expectations prevail.
Increased competition means that manufacturers typically have fewer customers; therefore, they must engage and deliver an experience to them which is superior to that of their competitors.
This shift from pushing out its products to delivering against a unique set of demands necessitates a means of connecting processes across the organisation and ensuring real-time insights from which to manage customers’ expectations and experiences.
The problem is that many businesses still run with disparate systems and processes. This not only impedes an aerial view of a particular order or customer but also demands inefficient manual input to bridge gaps and source information.
Against this backdrop, how can ERP help address the evolving landscape to enhance the customer experience (CX), garner loyalty, and win market share?
Beyond Fulfilment
ERP helps organise and manage all aspects of day-to-day operations, including financial management, production, planning and scheduling, CRM, and project management.
Crucially, the visibility it facilitates allows all departments to view insights in real-time, which, roughly translated, means anyone can see the status of an order or customer account at any point.
This capability is intrinsic to the modern manufacturer. To attract and retain profitable customers, you must deliver a fast, transparent, and accurate service when processing orders.
One poor experience, such as a late or lost order, can lead to defection to a competitor and a potential dent in profits.
The best systems take this fulfilment efficiency to new levels, capturing detailed information on a particular customer to underpin cross-selling and up-selling opportunities.
All Information in one Place
Through storing all customer information and the order details within the system, the right ERP platform enables a smooth transition from the customer placing the order to getting it out the door to them according to their expectations, providing the following key elements:
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Customer Profile
Every request, order, fulfilment times, query, complaint, and history.
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Product Profile
All details on all products, from BoM to finished goods, specifications and allergens to underpin informed conversations, support regulatory requirements, and facilitate transparency and traceability.
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Lead Times
A 360 degree view of the order lifecycle ensures live updates on lead times to better inform customers.
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Inventory Levels
Your team can quickly check what’s in stock and out of stock to drive faster order fulfilment, more accurate delivery schedules and enhanced customer communications around order status.
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Pricing & Offers
These can be viewed or auto-applied, eliminating the need to manually check or look up details.
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Replacements, Repairs, or Returns
This area can incur high costs if it’s not monitored. By accessing this information in one place, repeat returns can flag issues with a particular customer or product, and common repairs can flag quality issues for investigation.
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Payments
The financial management capabilities within an ERP system allow invoices to be tracked fully, fulfilling regulatory requirements, ensuring optimum efficiency levels and improving cashflow.
Enhanced Infor SyteLine Customer Service
Ultimately, today’s demanding, fickle and price-conscious customer has limited interest in what goes on in your back office. They do, however, rely on receiving orders quickly and reliably in order to run their businesses. The right ERP system can make that happen and secure the loyalty necessary to thrive in today’s tumultuous markets.
Planning a new ERP implementation, considering a system upgrade, or looking to improve the performance of your existing Infor solution? Our experts are here to help. Contact the Inforlogic team today or call 01606 720499 to discuss how we can support you.
