What Service Resolution Management Offers

Built on KM and search technologies, SRM (not to be confused with supplier relationship management) applications optimize the resolution process across multiple service channels, including contact centers, self-service Web sites, help desks, e-mail, and chat.

An SRM system creates a knowledge backbone for the seller company by creating a single interface that pulls vital information and knowledge from wherever it is stored, whether it is in the CRM system, legacy support systems, search engine, Web site, document libraries, etc. It allows the company, as a business leader, to evaluate what processes are taking place in its support environment and to then determine how it would like those processes to be handled. With this, the company can guide users step by step through the process of answering their questions, applying the right process to each inquiry to drive the outcome it wants.

Service resolution systems enable the company to harness all the tools and knowledge it has already acquired to solve customers' issues, regardless of what channel they use to tell the seller company about their issue. These SRM applications have to complement, integrate with, and enhance traditional CRM areas like sales force automation (SFA), marketing automation, contact center, and help desk applications by providing knowledge-based solutions that improve service delivery. Although still an emerging software category, existing SRM customers include some of the largest companies in the world, and SRM products have reportedly enabled these companies to reduce operating and service delivery costs, improve customer satisfaction, and increase revenues.

Here is an illustration: A service call (customer inquiry, complaint, etc.) comes in, and the agent fields it by performing a search. A technical bulletin, written by a product manager and stored on a network drive, comes up in the query results because the knowledge base searches both structured and unstructured knowledge. This very issue has been documented, and a resolution has been built to ensure that an answer can be provided. A wizard pops up and prompts the technical support agent to walk the customer through a setup process. The new product can then be used successfully, resulting in a happy customer.

This is the type of service the customer wants and what support systems are really trying to provide—seamless service resolution, which can only be provided by effectively using and managing corporate knowledge (i.e., the knowledge of products and services; diagnostic troubleshooting; information stored in all documents on the network drives, intranets, and e-mail systems; and, most important, the knowledge of the customers and support agents).

Bolstering the Call Center with Service Resolution Management Processes

To accommodate increasing customer demand for company and product information and for quick issue resolution, companies are now considering the benefits of online self-service systems. Knowledge management (KM) software is the key to such systems, as well as to integrating customer relationship management (CRM) and service resolution management (SRM).

For more background, please see Integrating Customer Relationship Management and Service Resolution Management and Knowledge Management: The Core of Service Resolution Management.

Bolstering Call Center (and Other CRM) Processes

The trend of customer service enablement and the nurturing of customer relationships (which have traditionally been the forgotten stepchildren of CRM) may be overtaking customer acquisition as a main driver of recent CRM deployments. Customer service has historically been provided primarily in person or over the telephone, with limited reference materials available for the customer service representative (CSR). This emerging business model assumes that companies that provide customer service over the telephone will find value in aggregating company knowledge by using the appropriate software, and will be willing to access the content over other channels, especially the Internet. The business model also assumes that companies will find value in providing some of their customer service over the Internet instead of by telephone.

In the past, customers would show a preference for a certain channel of communication with a company, but this is no longer the case. Customers now use several different channels available to ask for support and service and about upgrade issues, or to inquire about or request new products and services. And they expect to receive accurate, consistent information, regardless of the channel they are using. Service that does not meet these expectations is considered a waste of time, and a reason for the customer to seek out competitive offerings elsewhere.

The use of multiple channels for customer service and support, as well as the importance of consistent, accurate, and swift answers, is expected to only increase in the future. Companies are thus realizing that what their customers are seeking is knowledge (which is likely stored somewhere in the company, but more likely, scattered all over the company), and that these customers want it regardless of the channel they choose, be it telephone, Web self-service, e-mail, retail kiosk, or chat.

The logical question a company should ask itself is how it can provide customers with direct access to the knowledge they are looking for when that data may be residing in a variety of places. For example, product specifications, technical support, billing questions, and pricing and policy information can all be found in any number of places, such as CRM databases; legacy KM systems; frequently asked questions (FAQ) lists; intranets; content management systems; billing systems; or an automated response system. The goal here is to analyze the customer's problem, retrieve the information needed to solve that problem, and to do so in whichever contact channel the customer chooses. This process should not only minimize customer frustration and lower the cost of the support transaction, but it should also leave the customer delighted.

Although computer-telephony integration (CTI) systems do a great job at automating call routing and case management, Web sites have become ever glossier and animated, and CRM systems do a decent job of handling customer contacts (and possibly preferences) and product information, something is still missing to enable cohesive customer service. The plethora of new self-service technologies, such as natural language search engines, knowledge bases, guided navigation, user forums, collaboration, personalization, multichannel (e-mail, instant messenger [IM], integrated voice response [IVR], call centers), and so on, lead us to the emerging part of CRM software applications, specifically applications that enable customer service organizations to more effectively resolve service requests and answer questions.

Ingredients of a Comprehensive Retail Suite for SMBs

To achieve success in today’s retail industry, retailers that are small to midsize businesses (SMBs) need to effectively meet their customers’ needs on time, with the right price, in the right quantity—and at the right place, with the right promotions. All of these things can be very overwhelming for a retailer. To get them, retailers require tools that support effective and precise operations. In this volatile global economy, every retailer is trying to beat the competition and win over the customer base. The winners in this race are the retailers that can provide customers the supreme (winning) combination of product, price, and customer service, and do it without affecting profitability. For a retailer to make gains over its competition, it should incorporate one of the best business solutions created by experts in the retail software industry. Retailers need solutions that have capabilities to help them serve their customers better than their competition, and that don’t cost them an arm and a leg to do it. As retail operations are becoming as complex as its supply chain, retailers are not only trying to stay competitive, but also face challenges of short product life cycles, sudden changes in product demand, and new evolutions in technology.

Retail operations consist of more than just one store, but large chains of stores with numerous amount of inventory and thousands of pricing decisions to be made with ease and flexibility. Retail management software needs to have numerous modules that can help retail operations be more efficient and lucrative. A comprehensive solution for the retailer’s specific industry—i.e., food, consumer goods, apparel, etc.—is beneficial for success.

Bringing all operations under one comprehensive system will facilitate retail organizations to make decisions based on actual information about the product’s position, price, and market trends. As well, retail organizations will be able to locate and move products in a leaner way, by which they will be reducing product cost and delays in delivery to the customer.

It’s all fine and dandy to think of having complete retail management software, but the question arises: what should this software include? TEC’s research analysts are currently developing a comprehensive new retail research Evaluation Center. Our main objective is to leave no stone unturned within the retail industry. But TEC analysts don’t want to create a monstrous and unwieldy number of solution requirements either for SMB retailers to deal with. In our retail research Evaluation Center, only the requirements needed by retail organizations will be included. TEC analysts will make sure not to exclude anything critical for retail operations and the achievement of their objectives. Within our research Evaluation Center, retail organizations and retail software providers will be able to match up with each other, just like an e-harmony dating service, in which individual needs are matched with potential qualified prospects meeting the predefined criteria.

So now the question is: what do retail organizations need to look at when buying a “reasonably” comprehensive retail software suite or package?

Here’s a list of the modules SMB retail organizations need in a retail software suite.

Case Study:Solution

Taking advantage of an organization-wide implementation of PeopleSoft for ERP, the NSCC controller's office decided to implement a new reporting tool as well, and a trial version of Business Objects' Seagate Info 7.0 was installed. The trial version provided free software, with all of the functionality available in the regular Business Objects Crystal Reports product offering, giving NSCC the ability to see whether this software had the required functionality. It also gave NSCC the opportunity to see how a new reporting process would work with respect to a centralized report creation and distribution structure.

The solution choice had been straightforward, as a colleague of NSCC controller David Dewey had recommended Seagate Info 7.0. After a three-day on-site visit by Business Objects, the system was up and running. Within one and a half weeks of full time work, the reports were being published to the web. This enabled reports to be uploaded, giving end users direct access to the information in real time. Within two weeks, the process of change had been completed. As this new reporting functionality was coupled with the ERP implementation, most end users thought that the new reports were a part of PeopleSoft, creating natural end user buy-in. The PeopleSoft logo was placed on the reports as well, giving the illusion that one system was being used. This tactic created a seamless integration as the end user community was not adversely affected.

One of the main discussions surrounding the actual implementation was whether to use PeopleSoft as a reporting tool as well. Most report users were centered in the financial departments across the various campuses. Due to the multiple end user locations, the training involved in the adoption of the new system would be time-consuming and costly. The alternative was to implement a reporting system that could integrate with the ERP system, in a seamless and user-friendly manner to allow for an easy transition. The decision to implement a third party reporting tool was made to take advantage of the advanced reporting capabilities it offered. Once the reporting framework was set up, a pilot project was put in place with fifteen users across NSCC campuses, with the members of the selected pilot group trained as super users. Since the original implementation of Crystal Reports, the use of Business Objects throughout the organization has expanded to over 200 users.

Additionally, attaining management buy-in was simple because the associated implementation costs were 75 percent less with the trial version than they would have been if Crystal Reports had been implemented first. Also, this meant that there was little to no risk regarding the implementation. The evaluation of risk was assessed based on simple criteria, the main factors including a relative no-cost implementation because of the trial version (as well as the fact that management felt the situation couldn't get worse). The main concern was the need to drive change for a process that was frustrating for all levels of financial decision makers; therefore, implementing a new reporting system for between $2,000 to $3,000 (USD) was seen as very low risk, as the low cost factor added to the advantages of attempting something new.

Moving from the original physical distribution of reports to providing end users with access to the reports (via Internet and e-mail distribution) gave end users more freedom regarding use and manipulation of the data. Due to the data being generated right after month's end, users were able to access the required reports at the close of the financial period. This new access to reports created a series of new requests from end users to make changes to the income statements. Those changes were made, updating individuals' views to reports, and making the number of report variations expand exponentially. Now decision makers were able to access the right data at the right time.

Due to the increased use of reports, a more stable server environment was required to meet the needs of the additional users, who had grown in number to over 200. Also, the decision was made to purchase additional licenses and to implement Crystal Enterprise, with subsequent upgrades as new releases became available. Now, one version of the income statement is created as a prompted driven report, to allow each user to see the report based on the view they need. From the users' perspective, there is only one report; however, in the background, the prompt-based report replaces over thirty variations of income statements.

Case Study: Community College Embarks on Financial Reporting System Implementation

In 1996, the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) became an independently managed, board-governed institution. NSCC is the primary community college body across the province, and represents thirteen main campuses as well as six community learning centers. The schools are housed across five main academic sectors, including business; access; applied arts and new media; health and human services; and trades and technology. NSCC provides a full range of academic programs and provides the majority of technical and apprenticeship training programs in Nova Scotia (Canada). The school has a yearly enrollment of 25,000 students, and a faculty and staff of 1,400.

Business Problem

Managing the financial activities of NSCC required the monthly generation and distribution of month-end financial reports to various decision makers across the province. The generation and distribution of those reports to over thirteen different physical locations was quite difficult. NSCC relied on financial legacy systems to run all of its financial applications and month-end processes, and to generate financial reports. The month-end process took up to two weeks to complete after each month's close; it then took an additional week to print and distribute the reports to the required financial decision makers across the various campuses and community centers under the NSCC umbrella. By the time reports reached the appropriate decision makers, the data was stale and did not provide any value for the decision making process. Aside from not seeing any added value, end users were not using the reports because of the time frame in which they were received. The lengthy distribution process became an excuse for poor performance, due to users not receiving the appropriate information in a timely fashion. Additionally, it was difficult to develop new reports or make changes to the current report structures, meaning that the overall process was difficult to manage.

Different decision makers across the organization needed to analyze the data in different ways. Without the ability to customize, to change, or to develop new reports, the reports themselves provided limited benefit to end users. Having access to print-based reports only allowed end users to view the reports without access to source data, and without the ability to manipulate the report structure.

Additionally, the office of the vice president (VP) of administrative services was experiencing difficulties acquiring financial planning information across the various campuses, due to discontent with the lag time between the completion of month-end processes and the time at which reports reached their destination. Instead of receiving feedback from various departments regarding planning activities, excuses were being given to the VP regarding the lack of information decision makers were receiving. Without the right information, the decision makers assumed they couldn't make the right decisions.

Vendor Rating Updates: Process ERP, CRM, and Financials

Newly published TEC ratings are available for a number of software vendors. Individual reports are available for purchase, or you can review the ratings in-depth using the evaluation centers. Here’s a quick rundown of the updates.

Take note if you’re in the process of evaluating any of the following systems.

* enterprise resource planning (ERP) for process manufacturing industries
* customer relationship management (CRM)
* enterprise financial software

Our public data on the BatchMaster ERP system is now up-to-date as of version 8.10, which targets medium enterprises in pharmaceutical, chemical, paint, food and beverage industries.