Customer service and order processing

1. Chapter 2

2. Customer service
 The group of utilities or benefits the
customer expects from the supplier

3. Elements of customer service
1. Order cycle time- the time taken between
placing the order and receipt of delivery
2. Order cycle consistency- the extent to which
order cycle time varies
3. Order accuracy- the degree to which items
shipped meet order specifications
4. Order completeness- the extent the items
ordered are totally filled when the order is
assembled for shipment
5. Order condition- damage level at the time of
receipt

4. Other elements
 Patronage
 Segmentation
 Customer perception
 Profit impact
 Competitive advantage
 Location
 Warehouse location

5. Expected customer complaints
1. Sale order service- late shipments, errors in
invoicing, breakage errors, errors in sale
coding
2. Traffic and transportation-damaged
merchandise, failure of carrier to meet
standard transit time, to follow customer
routing
3. Ware housing and packaging-damaged
merchandise delivered from field warehouse,
incorrect order fulfillment
4. Inventory control- stock outs, delivery of poor
merchandise, errors in product identification

6. Designing the customer service
package
1. Identify customer service needs
2. Establishing relative importance of
customer service components
3. Identify companies’ position and the key
components of service
4. Segmenting the market by service
requirements
5. Designing the customer service package
6. Establishing customer service
management and control procedures

7. Order processing
Various steps involved in execution of
customer order
1. Order collection
2. Status reporting
3. Internal order communication
4. Credit checking
5. Order processing

8. 1. Order collection
 Through sales persons from the field
 Through pre-set formats
 Through telephone
 Through fax and e-mail

9. 2. Status reporting
 Consistent performance minimises
complications

10. 3. Internal order communication
1. Parallel order communication
2. Sequential order communication

11. 4. Credit checking
 Prompt communication between credit
in charge and local sales representative

12. 5. Order processing
 Order management cycle involves
various activities that include
1. Order preparation
2. Order transmittal
3. Entry
4. Filling

13. Functions of order processing
 Complete order forms and check customer orders
for error
 Keep customers, purchase executives informed of
the status
 Make the order available to sales, finance,
accounting and purchasing for extracting
necessary information
 Coordination with the credit department
 Communicate the orders to the appropriate
shipping point
 Updating inventory control records and
manufacturing schedules

14. Grouping them into four basic
activities
1. Order acquisition
2. Order entry
3. Order document processing
4. Order status reporting

15. Factors affecting order
processing time
1. Interaction with consumer
2. Processing priorities
 Relative order size
 Relative order volume
 Relative order placement time
 Order placement sequence
 Customer per sequence
3. Order filling accuracy
4. Order batching

16. Queries?