The Customer Satisfaction Group
By Simon Tunmore, VP Customer Service
Now that the manufacturing sector has picked up again, companies are implementing the plans for expansion and modernization that they developed over the last two to three years. Adexa, too, had time for reflection during the slump and we discovered that we had a missing link in our commitment to customer service—an application check-up, if you will. That’s the role of the Customer Satisfaction Group (CSG)…to touch-base with our customers every so often and make sure they are getting the returns they should be getting from their Adexa deployments, and to provide customer input into Adexa’s future development planning process.
Between the years 1996 and 2001 Adexa grew so rapidly that we were completely consumed by signing new deals, implementing solutions and developing new applications. A “Post Implementation Audit” was part of the implementation methodology, but we rarely had time to go back and engage in a dialogue with our customers about the benefits they were receiving, six months to a year after “go live.” Sales would sell, consulting would implement and then both groups would move on to the next customer company. That just wasn’t good enough. Since it was established last year, the CSP has reached about 60% of our worldwide customer-base and we expect to have 100% coverage within six-months.
Here’s how the CSP process works. Adexa assigns an Account Manager to a customer and he or she is responsible for the ensuring 100% satisfaction with the software and services that we provide. The Account Manager’s first step is to audit the current solutions that are deployed and gain an understanding of the value that’s being delivered and the areas where improvements could be realized.
In a recent report, AMR Research identified these across industry averages for companies with better demand forecast accuracy:
· 15% less inventory
· 17% better perfect order ratings
· 35% shorter cash-to-cash cycle times than their peers
And these benefits are JUST for improved demand forecast accuracy. The report goes on to correlate “Perfect Order Ratings” to the financial and market performance of the enterprise and provided these metrics:
Earnings Per Share (EPS)--A 10 percentage-point better perfect order rating correlates with 50 cents better earnings per share. On a million shares, those 50 cents translate to $500K.
Return on Assets (ROA)--5 percentage points in the perfect order rating correlates with 2.5% better ROA. On $1B in assets, that translates to $25M.
Profit Margins-- A 3 percentage-point better perfect order rating correlates with 1% of additional profit margin. Take the case of a $1B company with a 10% profit margin: increase to 11%, and you’ve added $10M to the bottom line.
AMR also reports that companies with improved perfect order ratings AND better supply chain management performance experience astronomically higher returns. This is why it’s important for Adexa customers to take advantage of the services offered by the CSG.
An Adexa CSG assessment usually covers three areas:
1. Better ways to use Adexa solutions.
2. How to improve model and data efficiency or accuracy
3. Identifying new functionalities to support business processes
This third area for improvement is critical to Adexa’s R&D efforts to better understanding how our solutions need to evolve to improve the customer experience.
If you are an Adexa customer and you’re not sure who your account manager is please contact me and I’ll make sure that the CSG gets to work on your issues.
Simon Tunmore is Adexa’s Vice President, Customer Satisfaction. You can reach him by email at stunmore@adexa.com or via phone at (310)344-0136.
