This is part 14 of our Marketing Series, for the related article please see our Marketing Articles section.
In a recent poll, 27 percent of people surveyed, who had bought Christmas presents from an on-line shop, had not received their deliveries until the middle of January. The problem lay with ecommerce operations being more concerned about the look and feel of their website, rather than the back office functions of getting goods to clients. Businesses that can’t provide timely delivery of products or services run the risk of damaging their reputation and losing customers. (Understanding the sales process, the psychology behind Customer Behaviour).
An organisation needs to make sure that all relevant departments are singing from the same hymn sheet. This means that marketing is in constant contact with R&D for upcoming releases, the shop floor keeps production schedules and after care follows up on customer service. With the advent of Enterprise software this allows these tasks that previously were handled by separate systems, to be stored in an inter-relational database. (Difference between an accounting package and enterprise level)
I have seen organisations use separate spreadsheets to deal with stock, then an access database to lodge orders, a CRM system to cope with leads and SAGE updating accounts. Leads would not be followed up, orders would not reach the warehouse, deliveries would not update stock levels and everything had to be re-entered two to three times into different systems as nothing would talk to each other.
Information was being lost in the cracks and no-one had a clear grasp of what was going on. With an enterprise system, all data is held in one place, so each department access’s the information that is relevant to them. That means once orders are lodged on the system, they immediately appear on the warehouse dashboard, and once sent out accounts are notified to raise the invoice. A seamless workflow with checks and balances to make sure nothing is missed.
With the back office procedures now in place, a number of stock control methods can now be automated. Applying minimum order levels against product lines can highlight items that are running low, reports can estimate future stock levels based on previous usage, and a wizard can then raise suggested purchases orders to suppliers for a predefined amount (Enterprise Software). This strikes an optimum level to attract preferred supplier discounts while not becoming overstocked.
Supermarkets spend millions on linking live feeds from store tills to warehouses in order to plan logistics. For example if there is going to be nice weather on the weekend, then extra burgers and salads are shipped to store in the anticipation of more bar-be-ques. Hand-held bar code scanners can record stock movements, satellite tracking informs customer on delivery times, and electronic funds transfer allows for quick prepayments. Enhanced consumer response (ECR) are used to develop closer relationships between vendors and the end user. This not only guarantees quick deliveries but co-ordination on promotion, special offers and packaging. Mobile communications enables instant messaging between smartphones, tablets and laptops to the central server.
I bought an item over the internet a few weeks back and I got an email notice when it was dispatched with expected arrival date. On the day in question I received a text from the driver giving the time of his arrival (he arrived shortly after). It is this sort of convenience that consumers appreciate as there is nothing worse than wasting a day wondering when an item will be delivered.
All this technology should be used in conjunction with an organisations workflow to provide maximum results for the client (Workflow download). Clear goals needs to be envisaged and functions defined to implement the appropriate level of technology to best effect. The important thing to remember is that these processes have always been there, it’s just that IT is able access this information quickly and more accurate than it did before.
Malcolm Ford has worked for over 5 years selling enterprise software solutions to SME business’s and advises sales teams on using CRM systems.
