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IT
Managers Believe Order Fulfillment Is Key to Excellent Customer
Service
Results from a new national survey indicate that IT managers believe
order fulfillment is key to excellent customer service, and that
integrating customer relationship management across their critical
business applications enables them to fill that need.
The survey of more than 150 IT purchase decision-makers, conducted
on behalf of J.D. Edwards & Company, also highlighted the important
role that integrated supply chain and CRM solutions play in quality
customer service. Data collection was conducted by Decision Analyst,
Inc., a leader in Internet-based research systems headquartered
in Arlington, Texas.
The Role of Integrated CRM and SCM in Providing Excellent Customer
Service
The survey results indicated that mid-market companies are eager
to integrate their CRM and SCM applications. Three-quarters of the
150 respondents have either already integrated their CRM and SCM
solutions (26 percent) or plan to in the near future (49 percent).
They also are very aware of the customer benefits that come from
successfully completing such a project.
Ninety-one percent of respondents said it was extremely important
or very important that back-end fulfillment systems have sufficient
inventory to meet customer needs. Moreover, tailoring processes
to the individual needs of the client or customer was extremely
important to 49 percent of respondents and very important to 42
percent.
About Extending CRM Implementations to the Back-End
Despite their embrace of the integration of SCM and CRM, companies
still have to find a way to get around a few obstacles. According
to the J.D. Edwards Collaborative Customer Relationship Management
Survey, there is tremendous opportunity for enterprise solution
vendors to service the mid-market if their solutions can solve the
following problems facing the industry:
- Being able to leverage the investment in the future. Seven in
10 said they view integration with future software investments as
a major consideration when purchasing systems today.
- Being able to leverage existing investments in software. Half
cited integration with legacy software as a current stumbling block.
- Long-term cost. Sixty-nine percent of respondents are still attempting
to manage long-term costs – selecting and deploying a solution
that will not become obsolete. Two out of three respondents cited
the complexity of customizing CRM solutions as a challenge in meeting
operational needs. Purchasing costs posed a hurdle for somewhat
fewer (56 percent) respondents.
- Support. Two out of three (66 percent) felt vendor support should
be improved to enable effective integration of SCM and CRM.
“Without question, the mid-market is ready to integrate their
existing investments, but they want to do it without incurring the
same expense that usually comes with replacing an entire system
or customizing software to a great extent,” said Joel Reed,
director of CRM product marketing for J.D. Edwards.
“Where larger companies can afford to do this, mid-market
companies cannot. In the slowing economy, it will be up to the software
vendor to overcome these obstacles for their customers. J.D. Edwards
has historically taken on the burden of integration on behalf of
its customers, and we think this survey validates that our experience
will reward us in the near future.”
Manufacturing Industries vs. Service Industries: CRM Differences
The research results suggest fundamental differences in CRM deployments
between manufacturers and their service industry counterparts. While
more service industry companies cited “quality products and
services” as the most important priority for customer service,
manufacturers believed “on-time delivery” was most important.
In addition, manufacturers were at least 10 percent more likely
than service providers to seek the following benefits from CRM:
order-promising capabilities (11 percent more likely), more accurate
inventory fulfillment (13 percent more likely) and shorter lead
times (12 percent more likely).
“The central role of the supply chain in manufacturing enterprises
dictates a different kind of CRM – one that is tightly woven
into the enterprise’s SCM solution, providing sales staff
and often the end customer with the visibility they need,”
said Joel Reed. “As the manufacturing sector’s adoption
of CRM solutions matures, we believe collaboration between manufacturers,
suppliers and retailers will take on increased importance in creating
profitable loyal customers.”
CRM Successes Thus Far
The survey results indicate that a large percentage of respondents
can point to improved customer collaboration from CRM implementations.
Among respondents who had deployed CRM systems, 94 percent stated
that their CRM solution had enabled them to better collaborate with
their customers. Respondents also stressed that they have achieved
more success with CRM projects that were limited to customer-facing
functions or simply focused on one segment of the enterprise.
Driving Customer Satisfaction
Respondents cited the following customer satisfaction drivers as
“very” or “extremely” important:
- Quality products (89 percent)
- On-time delivery (85 percent)
- Knowledgeable sales personnel (83 percent)
Also ranking high on benefits to top-notch customer service, were:
- Business intelligence on customer needs and preferences (91 percent)
and
- Increased fulfillment accuracy (78 percent)
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Products & Services 
