Service Excellence
Driving Customer Loyalty and
Service Profitability
^ 4 Executive Summary
Of course, you need to consider the support and embedded software that By considering these platforms and
proper strategic approach. For example, enables remote diagnostics. These adopting them as appropriate, you will be
you may need to determine whether to technologies will alter customer expec well on the road to differentiating your
harvest your installed base for new rev tations and change the game for you brand and offerings. In addition, you
enues, use services as a springboard and your competitors. will need to take into account imple
for product sales growth, or develop an mentation best practices and the role
independent services business. Based on our discussions with leaders of integrated systems to enable new
in companies in many industries, as processes. Finally, by establishing and
And you need to recognize that the well as with thought leaders in the monitoring strategically aligned metrics
status quo is not sustainable. With the services arena, we have identified five in your services implementation, you will
proliferation of products, customer key service process platforms that will be in a solid position to generate new
segments, and channels, your current shape the future: growth and superior shareholder value
approach will need to evolve substan • Integrated virtual call centers for the long run.
tially to keep pace with customer expec • Integrated service networks
tations. New technologies abound, • Proactive aftersales service
including Web 2.0 developments that • Customer touch-point management
allow virtual communities to provide • Smart service agents
Companies in every industry are are realizing that poor service will drive There are many motivations for change
increasingly recognizing the need to away their customers: an Accenture in the approach to service delivery. One
achieve service excellence to sustain study found that poor service is the is the growing complexity of products,
profitable growth. This is true in part principal reason that consumers choose markets, channels, and processes. Inno
because the traditional sources of to switch providers.2 vation is accelerating and driving creation
competitive advantage are vanishing. of new products for customers in count
Expectations for service quality are less segments – in different geographies,
Product features can be duplicated rising around the globe. Through im with varying sensitivities to price, and
quickly by competitors from anywhere proved access to both traditional media with a variety of demands for aesthe
around the globe, and price advantages
can be instantly eroded because of
ubiquitous access to Internet-based
Service excellence does more than purely allowing your
shopping. High-quality service can be a company to stand out from the crowd. Service can be an
differentiator as the rules of competition
change. The definition of high-quality
important source of profits.
service changes from one industry to
the next, but might include, for example: and Internet capabilities that foster con tics and function. Service channels are
• The customers’ ability to communi tributions by virtual community mem proliferating as well beyond the original
cate with knowledgeable and helpful bers, consumers and businesses have manufacturer, to include distribution
call center staff increased access to information about partners, outsourced call centers, self-
• Completely fulfilling service-level the service experiences of others. A service Web channels, and combinations
agreements (SLAs) notable customer experience, whether of these. There’s a heightened need for
• Rapid processing of warranty claims good or bad, will be quickly propagated integration of service with marketing,
• Exceeding expectations when for all to see. sales, and product development to re
addressing complaints duce the time to market for new service
• Timely availability of parts The Status Quo Is Not Sustainable processes that align with the stepped-
up pace of product delivery schedules.
Service excellence does more than To be sure, improving service can be a
purely allowing your company to stand major driver of costs in your firm. But Another driver for change is the fact
out from the crowd. Service can be an companies that continue to focus solely that new technologies are disrupting
important source of profits. In fact, on the cost side of improving the markets and rendering long-standing
according to Deloitte Development LLC, customer experience will do so at their business processes obsolete. Web 2.0
profitability of service operations can be peril: they will lose profit opportunities technologies are catalyzing development
75% higher than overall profitability in and customers. Quite simply, you need of communities that provide insights
a given business unit.1 In many manu to heed the long-term value of service into service capabilities in specific mar
facturing companies, achieving any infrastructure investments as well as kets – allowing rapid dissemination of
significant profit level is highly dependent customer expectations for service in expertise from completely new sources.
on the service business. And companies your markets.
1. “The Service Revolution in Global Manufacturing Industries,” Deloitte Development LLC, 2006.
2. “Customer Satisfaction in the Multi-Polar World,” Accenture 2007 Global Customer Satisfaction Survey, 2007.
Customer service channels secure and improve productivity. The platforms for to them. These call centers can be en
retain customers’ attention on a regular service process innovation and business ablers of service enhancements and can
basis, and customers will directly and transformation are discussed in detail be a source of differentiation. Compa
indirectly provide deep insights to com below. (See Figure 2 for a summary.) nies can better leverage a global talent
panies in the process of receiving ser pool and new technologies to solve
vice. Leveraging these customer insights Integrated Virtual Call Centers problems.
is a key foundation of new platforms for
service delivery. An integrated virtual call center enables Communication technologies supporting
distributed talent to respond quickly these call centers enable multiple inter
And while securing customer informa and knowledgeably to customer needs. action channels, including traditional
tion is vital, there are other factors that Staffers include call center reps, home- telephones, mobile phones, chat, and
motivate development of these new based agents, field service engineers, e-mail. Essential functionality in these
platforms. These factors include talent and many others who can be contacted call centers includes:
shortages, Internet-based community directly by customers or receive notice • Integrated routing of inbound contacts
development, and the continual need to of incidents that are electronically routed • Monitoring staff utilization
• Knowledge management
• Case management to handle a
Scenario Description Catalyst for Adoption relatively involved set of interactions
• Billing services when appropriate
Integrated • Supports distributed talent • Consolidation and integration:
virtual call • Leverages multiple interaction channels top agenda items
center • Offers integrated/centralized routing, • Shortage of quality talent The emerging top agenda items for
analytics, knowledge management, development of integrated virtual call
billing, and so on
centers are consolidation of call center
Integrated Integration of spare parts planning, Increasing need to outsource after management and process integration.
service knowledge management, product data sales services in complex organiza These allow companies to manage
networks for aftersales service tions while ensuring high levels of
service distributed talent more cost-effectively
and ensure that service processes are
Proactive Service platform that allows communica • Remote management through
aftersales tion between product and service hubs, embedded software and focused on the right issues. Consolida
service and shares diagnostic results to prevent connectivity tion and integration of virtual call centers
and log incidents • Shift toward solutions and SLAs
• Increasing cost of field services
enable firms to better cope with the
high costs of talent in some locations,
Customer • Allows design of customer experience • Transforming customer experience shortages of talent in certain markets,
touch-point based on segmentation, feedback, and is becoming a competitive
management so on differentiator and a proliferation of service channels.
• Enables agility to alter customer • Customer collaboration on social
experience based on proactive web has a significant impact on
sourcing of feedback from social web brand value
By providing staffers with the right tools
and through adept deployment of global
Smart service • Provide intelligent information and • Outsourcing hits diminishing networks, companies can overcome the
agents inferencing logic to troubleshoot issues returns.
• Provide recommendations at key • Service becomes a profit center talent constraints and improve employ
transition points and support up-selling ee retention. They can leverage dynam
and cross-selling
ically provided information, respond in a
personalized fashion to customers, and
Figure 2: Platforms for Service Process Innovation and Business Transformation cost-effectively deliver enhanced service.
12%
8%
Real-time
up-sell/
Assign
template –
utilities, for example, are using customer
4% cross-sell close issue information in their own databases and
0%
$100M + $10M –
$100M
$5M –
$10M
Under
$5M
leveraging inferencing logic to enable
Company size
Messages
“real-time offer management.” These
Product: Problem: Yes Cancel companies can learn from their inbound
Call volumes are rising, interactions, adapt based on customer
Version: 1. Suggest upgrade
product cycles are shortening responses, and immediately refine the
... Area:
Serial #: 2. Contract about
offer for the next customer. As a result,
Subarea: to expire, renew? these real-time offers are more likely to
Call Volumes
result in sales.
Next
In both types of applications of smart
Time
service agents, companies can contin
“Smart service agents” powered by knowledge base and real-time
recommendations – to solve technical problems and up-sell/cross- ually improve customer satisfaction and
sell solutions profitable growth. In particular, smart
service agents provide opportunities to
transform companies’ service operations
Figure 3: Smart Service Agents: Transform Service Operations into Profit Centers into profit centers.
As with any implementation investment, might concentrate on improving key well as possible how a constellation of
your company should approach rollout performance metrics such as rate of channels – partners, the Web, call cen
of new service capabilities in a way that first-call resolution and average time ters, and so forth – can best provide
ensures that your high-level business to resolve a complaint. the services you want to deliver.
The Importance of Data and the context of end-to-end processes, delivers the tools necessary to establish
Process Integration optimizing the way service is interwoven proactive aftersales service and support
into the activities of the broader organi management of customer touch points.
The service platforms described above zation. For example, when designing The business processes supported by
typically fall under the umbrella of cus real-time offer management services the service functionality of SAP CRM
tomer relationship management (CRM) using smart service agents, or estab include:
solutions. And their operation depends lishing proactive aftersales service
on the data typically stored in CRM sys processes that are paid for directly by Service order management
Streamline interactions with customers
by processing service quotations and
It’s essential to ensure a consistent customer experience service orders from initial receipt to
across . . . touch points, which reinforces your brand and billing and analysis
sends the message to customers that you understand Service contract management
them well. Increase revenue by offering more of
your services in the form of service
contracts, usage-based billing
tems, including customer profiles, order customers, invoicing processes need to contracts, and leasing contracts
histories, marketing campaign informa be well integrated into the mix. If billing
tion, and more. However, the operation processes are an afterthought, the end- Channel service
of these solutions depends on more than to-end process will stumble no matter Efficiently manage third-party service
CRM-based data alone. For example, how well specific service processes and spare parts providers – as partners
a virtual call center agent may need to are designed. or outsourcers – to lower your service
work with dynamic available-to-promise costs and extend to customers
data and applications that are embedded Service Features of SAP® services beyond your core
in a company’s supply chain systems. Customer Relationship competencies
Integrated service networks depend on Management
data from spare parts procurement Complaints and returns management
solutions. Smart service agent–based The SAP® Customer Relationship Manage the entire complaints and
solutions may require asset data that is Management (SAP CRM) application returns process, from recording com
typically managed in a product life-cycle equips your service organization with plaints to analyzing and processing them
management solution. Thus, integration all the functionality it needs to maximize and performing statistical evaluations
of the relevant CRM service applications the benefit your customers derive from
with other enterprise applications is key your service offerings. The service In-house and depot repair
to success. features of SAP CRM integrate inter Automate the entire in-house and depot
action center technology to enable repair process, including creating the
But more than data needs to be inte development of virtual call centers and return materials authorization, billing,
grated. To be successful, your company provide process support to develop and shipping repaired products to
should consider its service offerings in integrated service networks. SAP CRM customers
Resource planning
Organize, plan, and dispatch service
resources to meet service demands in
the most effective way
Service analytics
Identify problems and trends, compare
the effectiveness of service territories,
and take corrective action if needed
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