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Running Head: CRM AND DHL
An Analysis of the Various CRM Technologies and an Example of its Application at DHL
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An Analysis of the Various CRM Technologies and an Example of Application at DHL
CRM explained
Customer Relation Management (abbreviated CRM) is a widely popular jargon and methodology
normally associated with the information industry. CRM is a procedure that helps the company
which uses it in managing customer relations more effectively and efficiently through the use of
technology such as the Internet (Williams, 2008). It helps the company achieve organization of
customer affairs so the customers are better handled, more satisfied with the company’s services
and simultaneously, it helps the company save costs and much needed time. For instance, a
company could have an online collection of clients’ profiles that is regularly updated and in vivid
detail which can be accessed by all related parties, such as employees, management and maybe
even the customers (Williams, 2008). This database would make it possible to provide the
customers with what they want and inform customers of new and improved products and
services and also hold a history of past transactions of the customers and other various details
that are useful.
The process of Customer Relationship Management before the Internet era was conducted
through face to face meetings, telephonic conversations, letters, sales people visiting the clients
and other such traditional methods. The internet boom has revolutionized the way business is
conducted throughout the world and with it CRM has evolved to become a major area for
improvement, success and competitive advantage.

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Various types of CRM tools
CRM has many different applications and categories that are or can be used by companies to
their advantage. Some of these categories are discussed below:
Customer-Facing Application
A customer facing application is a tool of CRM that can be a technology, software, or hardware
or any aspect that enables the customer to effectively deal with a problem directly (CRM.Com,
2001). An example of a customer facing application can be a the GUI of a software product or a
Universal Access Number (UAN) that a customer can call, which is open twenty four hours,
seven days a week for customers. The customers can inquire about any problem that they are
having related to the company’s products that they have purchased, about any complaints that
they have regarding the product or a company’s employees or any issue that involves the
customer and the company.
Customer facing applications include help desks as already mentioned and also call centers. A
call center is an innovative idea that sprung up over the last few years to deal with customer
issues and also for telemarketing services for making sales calls to customers. A call center
employs people and trains them on how to talk professionally to an existing or potential
customer and answer all their queries. It is a highly effective auxiliary department that most
major organizations use now for the purpose of Customer Relations Management.
As most companies realize the importance of CRM to their success in the contemporary climate,
the software related to customer facing applications is used primarily for CRM (CRM.Com,
2001).

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Customer Touching application
“Customer touching applications” are those kinds of CRM applications that the customer can
directly interact with and change without the involvement of another person as is the case in
Customer Facing applications. This provides the customer the ease of changing and altering any
information about their purchase from their very homes from their personal computers or note
books. It is also beneficial for a company in many ways to use these applications. For example,
they free up the labor of the company from CRM and they can be applied elsewhere in more
productive areas. This results in savings in both cost and time for the company. Campaign
Management is an example of customer touching application. Campaign management allows the
company to segment their client base and then focus on specific segments to market their
products. Other examples include Personalized Web pages and E-commerce applications (Buttle,
2008).
Customer-Centric Intelligent Operations
Customer Centric intelligent operations include data mining, data reports and analysis of
customer data. This analysis allows the company to convert all available data on their customers
into meaningful information that can be used to understand customer needs and wants and then
providing for those needs and wants.
An example of Customer Centric Intelligent applications is data mining. Data mining is a
technique that sifts through all the data and classifies and categorizes it, through which it

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becomes possible to find sequences and patterns and correlations discovered (Search SQL
Server.Com, 2008).
Customer Relations Management at DHL
DHL is one of the major overnight delivery service companies in the world. It has a history that
spans almost four decades. In that time DHL has grown from a small business employing only
three people to a worldwide behemoth with around three hundred thousand people in its
workforce (DHL International GmbH, 2009).
Part of the reason for the success of DHL has been the way they have handled and catered to
their customers. In the information era, they have innovated and created a state-of-the-art website
that has many customer features which are diverse in nature according to various customer
requirements. For example, if you go to their global website, DHL Global, (www.dhl.com) you
will see that it is a highly user friendly interface and directed towards the customer. The website
has many links that allow to customer to select the products and services that they require, which
include the “Same Day” package for emergencies, “Time Definite” package for overnight
delivery and “Day Definite” package which is less urgent and therefore less costly. Other
products and services are also available that cater to the needs of their diverse consumers.
Besides the products and services offered, DHL has different modes of logistics also available on
the website, such as air freight and shipping and road and rail freight which customers can select
from depending on their urgency needs. Also, they have an Online tracking system that allows
the customers to track their shipments and see where they have reached and the time remaining

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for their orders to be received. Moreover, there are different products and services available for
the business consumers and individual customers.
There are also various tools such as the World Clock and the Currency Convertor which allow
the international customers to see the time of delivery according to their standard national times
and calculate the cost of delivery in their own currency (DHL International GmbH, 2009).
Moreover, there are links to customer questions such as the FAQ link, specific details about
DHL in the customer’s country and general advice on shipping. Customers can also contact DHL
for queries or complaints.
Perhaps the most innovative feature is DHL Interactive, which allows the customer to mention
their specifications online and DHL designs the product and service that best fits their needs. It is
an excellent example of online customer relations management at DHL which gives the
customers information regarding to the time, cost and shipment details online (DHL International
GmbH, 2009).
Additionally, DHL has partnered with online companies such as SalesForce.Com to implement
better CRM practices and have a launching pad from where to start their CRM activities (CRM
Today, 2008). Furthermore, DHL have successfully created a Unified Global Customer Relations
Management System, using Oracle (Oracle, 2009).
Using Online Customer Service to gain Competitive Advantage
Nowadays, with the advent of computers, the face of business methods has changed altogether.
A global market has opened for businesses to operate in. To gain advantage of this market and

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prevent being swallowed by competitors, businesses need to be innovative and stay with the
times.
To get an edge over competitors, web based programs are a necessary tool of CRM. Web based
tools allow the companies to interact with their customers in a way that is speedier and cost
efficient and requires less man hours as compared to the traditional style of CRM. However,
most companies now have online CRM processes available so it makes it more difficult to gain a
competitive edge just by starting a website. Companies need to offer as many features as they
can online, have direct and real-time interaction with the customers (as with DHL) and construct
a website that is lively, interesting and very easy to use for the customer.
Integration of traditional CRM with online technologies
The process of integration of CRM to make it an online feature is highly costly and time
consuming for an organization. Companies have been practicing CRM for many years now
without the involvement of an online interface. To merge the CRM practices of these
organizations which have been done on paper or verbally with virtual systems will take a lot of
money, labor hours and effort and skill. Perhaps the best way to do this is to hire an outside
consultant as DHL did with SalesForce.Com.
Regardless of the problems with integration of CRM with online technologies, it is essential to
do so and the end result will be fruitful for the organization.

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List of References
Buttle, F. (2008). Customer Relationship Management, Second Edition. Butterworth-Heinemann.
CRM Today. (2008). DHL Expands Relationship with Salesforce.com . [online] CRM Today:
http://www.crm2day.com/content/t6_librarynews_1.php?news_id=113465 (Accessed February
13 , 2009)
CRM.Com. (2001, April 4 ). Customer Facing. [online] CRM.Com:
http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid11_gci538049,00.html (Accessed February 13 ,
2009)
DHL International GmbH. (2009). DHL Interactive. [online] DHL : http://www.dhl.com/publish/
g0/en/eshipping/interactive.high.html (Accessed February 13 , 2009)
DHL International GmbH. (2009). Our History. [online] DHL Globa;:
http://www.dhl.com/publish/g0/en/about/history.high.html (Accessed February 13 , 2009)
DHL International GmbH. (2009). Tools. [online] DHL:
http://www.dhl.com/publish/g0/en/tools.high.html (Accessed February 13 , 2009)
Oracle. (2009). DHL Creates Unified Global Customer Relationship Management System.
[online] Tech Republic: http://whitepapers.techrepublic.com.com/abstract.aspx?docid=279111
(Accessed February 13 , 2009)

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Search SQL Server.Com. (2008, December 1). What is data mining - a definition from
Whatis_com - see also data miner, data analysis. [online] Search SQL Server.Com:
http://searchsqlserver.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid87_gci211901,00.html (Accessed
February 13 , 2009)
Williams, E. (2008, September 23). CRM. [online] CRM.Com:
http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid11_gci213567,00.html (Accessed February 13 ,
2009)