 Customer Relationship Management Implementation
PSC was selected on a competitive basis to help a large financial services company implement a new CRM application to meet their Customer Service and Cross Selling business goals and objectives. The customer needed help implementing and customizing a CRM application that would enable them to meet their changing business needs. Our team members provided architecture, design, planning, configuration, development assistance and mentoring assistance to support their many projects and business areas.
ERP, CRM,
and e-Commerce Roadmap and Strategic Assessment
PSC team members were selected
to help a major wholesaler develop a strategic plan to web-enable
its business. The key opportunities available to them were
the opportunities to increase sales to existing customers,
to expand into new markets, and to leverage operations efficiencies
available with web technologies. The customer requested
assistance in aligning various initiatives and in defining
their vision for customer service across many functional
areas. This was needed to support explosive growth, changes
in business models, outdated legacy systems, and increasing
customer demands. Several functional business areas were
brought together and led through as assessment process to
drive out the vision, identify technical components necessary
to implement the vision, and migration plan to deliver their
combined ERP, CRM, and e-Commerce vision.
Customer Service Self-Service Applications
PSC team members were selected
to help a major paint manufacturer, retailer, and wholesaler
to develop applications to enable self-service to their customers.
The key opportunities available to them were the opportunities
to improve customer service by expanding service availability
while reducing costs to deliver these services. The customer
had a vision to deliver these services via a self-service
model through new web-enabled and voice-enabled options.
The self-service models led to 24x7 availability of customer
self-service applications and significantly reduced call
volumes into their call center. The result was a solution
that gave customers more options to help themselves to their
information while extending customer service and reducing
costs to deliver services to these customers.
Customer Service and Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Strategy
PSC team members were selected
to help a growing software and services company develop
a vision, plan, and business case to position itself to
sustain and improve customer interactions. The customer
requested assistance in aligning various initiatives and
in defining its vision for customer service across many
functional areas. This was needed to support explosive growth
and increasing customer demands from its broad product offerings.
Several functional business areas were brought together
and led through a process to drive out the vision, identify
technical components necessary to implement the vision,
and migration plan to deliver the CRM vision.
Various customer-facing business
units were independently addressing how to support complex
customer interactions. In addition, the sharing and access
of customer information between business units was becoming
an increasing challenge as the company experienced major
growth. The customer wanted to create a common vision for
customer service and support; determine the right people,
processes, and technology to realize the vision; identify
the benefits, costs, and timing related to the implementation
of the vision; and align itself organizationally to begin
implementation of the vision. Areas assessed included the
customer contact center, account management, and solution
delivery business units.
PSC team members worked with
the customer to look at the company’s situation by
completing a comprehensive “current state snapshot”
that evaluated existing technologies, interaction processes,
and the internal structure as it relates to servicing and
supporting their customers. This was a two-week effort that
involved bringing the functional areas together to formulate
a holistic view of current customer interactions. The project
team also analyzed customer interactions both with the company
as well as between departments. From the information gathered,
initial opportunities for improvement were identified.
PSC team members then researched
and provided the project team the “best practices”
of customer interaction. This information was then utilized
by the project team to define the future model for customer
service and support. The future model covered such areas
as data, contact center foundational components (i.e. ACD,
IVR, multi-media blending), CRM software, workflow, web-enabled
self-service, extranet, and knowledge management. PSC team
members identified implementation options and formulated
the “short list” of vendor solutions for further
consideration. Benefits, measurements, priorities, and implementation
options were outlined for each of the component areas within
the model.
Once the desired future model
was defined, the team worked to provide business justification
for the change. To accomplish this, an extensive business
case was created to support the migration plan. This gave
the project team the information it needed to work with
senior level sponsorship and gain buy-in for moving the
initiative forward. Areas addressed included: software,
hardware, service, organization change, and business process
changes.
PSC team members worked in a
rapid 12-week process to help the customer define its customer
service and support strategy. The team continued to work
with the customer as its implementation initiative progressed
towards realizing the benefits identified.
Customer Service Roadmap and Strategic Assessment
A major motorcycle manufacturer,
in the process of enhancing services to a core customer
group, hired PSC to develop a strategic plan.
Opportunities for strengthening ties with this customer
group existed in the form of building customer loyalty,
increasing sales to this customer base, and smartly engaging
operations efficiencies available with web technologies.
PSC’s resulting strategic plan clarified the client’s
vision for customer service offerings. The plan also brought
into alignment various initiatives through which the client
could meet customer service objectives.
Customer Service and Order Entry Application
In swapping an antiquated order
entry system for a new responsive web-based order entry
and customer service system, a major wholesaler/retailer
also hoped to reduce personnel training time associated
with the system. The wholesaler/retailer retained PSC to
help.
PSC’s solution was the development
of a web-based system that, as the client wanted, significantly
streamlined training while addressing customer service needs.
In shaving training time from an average of three months
to two weeks, the process also markedly reduced training
costs. The solution further meant that temporary employees
could quickly learn the system and become readily productive
during peak seasonal demand times. PSC’s solution also
provided an innate flexibility to the company because temporary
workers could be hired nearer to peak seasonal times instead
of being brought in much sooner solely because of training
lag times.
e-Commerce Roadmap and Strategic Plan
A major Midwestern retailer engaged
PSC team members to help them develop a strategic plan to
web-enable its business. The retailer viewed web-enabling
as a viable avenue to increase sales to existing customers,
enter new markets, and capitalize on web technologies for
the purpose of maximizing operational efficiencies. PSC's
response was a plan enumerating the actions necessary for
the retailer to achieve the desired results for successful
web-based business-to-consumer transactions. PSC's e-commerce
roadmap, or strategic plan, included sections on:
Web Initiatives - Discussed
each web-enabling action relevant to this retailer's means
and objectives.
Project Objectives - Laid out
objectives for the project's phases in addition to laying
out objectives for the overall project.
Vision - The client's idea of
the solution was written into a context that defined initiatives,
common themes, site goals, site requirements, and solutions
to possible problems.
Operating Strategy - Related
how the client would operate the website(s) once it was
up and running.
Performance Metrics - Developed
methods by which the client could measure and quantify
the e-commerce solution of the website.
Conceptual Design - Defined
business, technical, and staffing requirements necessary
to bring about the operational success of the e-Commerce
solution and to keep it alive.
Solution Recommendation - This
plan area focused on the type of solution that needed to
be considered for the e-Commerce project to continue forward.
Initiatives - Identified those
areas requiring detailed management, definition, and implementation
as the project progressed.
Implementation Options for e-Commerce
- Outlined high-level implementation plans indicating
how the client could tackle prioritized initiatives in
a steady manner. An emphasis was placed on using a phased,
focused, managed, measurable approach.
Business Case - Introduced high-level
justification for the e-Commerce project and articulated
the results most likely to be derived from the project
solution.
Throughout the endeavor, PSC made sure that people, process,
and technology were all kept in mind as key, pivotal project
elements.
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