Enhancing customer service with Infor CloudSuite Industrial
23 May 2023
23 May 2023
Chris Stock, Inforlogic’s MD, looks at how a modern cloud-based ERP system can help manufacturers to improve customer relationships
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 demands inefficient manual input to bridge gaps and source information.
Against this backdrop, how can ERP help to address this evolving landscape to enhance the customer experience (CX), garner loyalty and win market share?
ERP helps organise and manage all aspects and day to day activities of operations, from 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. In order to attract and retain profitable customers, you must be able to deliver a fast, transparent and accurate service when processing an order.
One poor experience in the form of 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.
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:
Every request, order, fulfilment times, query, complaint, and history.
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.
A 360 degree view of the order lifecycle ensures live updates on lead times to better inform customers.
Your team can quickly check what’s in stock, out of stock to drive faster order fulfilment, more accurate delivery schedules and enhanced customer communications around order status.
These can be viewed or auto-applied to eliminate a need to manually check or look up details.
This area can incur a lot of costs if it’s not monitored. Through accessing this information in one place, repeat returns can flag an issue with a particular customer or product, and common repairs can flag quality issues to be investigated.
The financial management capabilities within an ERP system allow invoices to be tracked fully, fulfilling regulatory requirements, ensuring optimum efficiency levels and improving cashflow.
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.
For more information on how the Inforlogic support team can guide your business through the digital adoption process, get in touch or call the team on 01606 720499.
10 Cheshire Avenue,
Cheshire Business Park, Northwich,
Cheshire, CW9 7UA