CRM - October 2007 - (Page 35)

Laying a Firm Foundation I N B U S I N E S S , time is money. In the case of SCM and CRM, though, time can also be the difference between satisfied and unsatisfied customers. This certainly holds true for Cemex: Cement, of course, dries up sooner or later, so it’s critical that Cemex maintain sufficient levels at its distribution terminals so there’s never a shortage for the endless lines of cement trucks. To manage this, Cemex focuses its efforts between the hours of 6 a.m. and 1 p.m., which is when the company’s terminals experience peak operating conditions. Besides the trucks that contractors send themselves, Cemex also has its own fleet that delivers cement and concrete to construction sites. The catch is Cemex doesn’t own the trucks. They’re rented from a thirdparty carrier, which means Cemex must have accurate, up-to-date information on orders and shipping schedules so the carriers set aside the right number of vehicles. Add customer inquiries into shipping schedules, loads, order status, and delays, and “its one hell of a juggling act,” says Ven Bontha, CRM director for Cemex. To deal with all this, Cemex installed LeanLogistics’ On-Demand Transportation Management System (TMS) in the company’s Houston region in June of 2005. Before LeanLogistics, the region’s contact center was fielding 3,400 calls per month because the company had PHOTOGRAPH: CEMEX The CCC now adds 200 customers online each day, greatly reducing call volumes into the contact center. Centralized order management allows customers to file complaints or inquire about order status, loads, shipping schedules, etc. This information is fed directly to On-Demand TMS, allowing agents to schedule shipments, optimize loads, and provide visibility into transportation operations. An inventory management system is also integrated which improves on-time response to customers by managing demand and allowing no “stock-outs,” or running out of cement or concrete at the terminals. As for the third-party carriers who are shipping loads for Cemex, they, too, can access On-Demand TMS and communicate order status, shipping changes, or delays. This information is downloaded directly to the CCC in real time—if customers call in or access their accounts via the Web, they’ll have up-to-date information on the status of their order. Cemex has seen customer satisfaction levels soar since on-time deliveries have improved. And Bontha estimates the project has resulted “in millions in hard-dollar savings” since the initial implementation in the summer of 2005, thanks to lower freight costs, lower call volumes into the CCC, and higher productivity at its terminals during peak operating hours—a set of results that may explain why Cemex now has Bontha overseeing the rollout of On-Demand TMS nationwide. Cemex is so confident, in fact, that it now provides customers with an Available-To-Promise time when taking orders. “If a customer says they want cement loads at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., and 12 p.m., we can now predict and tell them 10 and 11 are okay—but 12 won’t work because we’re booked. We can negotiate another time,” Bontha says. “Everyone drives away happy.” —C.B. no Web self-service portal for its customers. As part of On-Demand TMS, the company installed a new online portal that ties directly into Cemex’s new Customer Care Center (CCC). tasks between sellers and indirect channels, PRM solutions are improving the flow of information between SCM and CRM by providing a repository for “all the little data that applies to both sets of applications,” O’Marah says. PLM tools, on the other hand, have been around for years, but that doesn’t mean their importance to SCM has diminished. These tools offer companies visibility into the comwww.destinationCRM.com plex process of product design by providing a collaborative system that keeps information flowing smoothly and accurately between the parent company and its partners and manufacturing sites. PLM applications assist designers and engineers in understanding the real-world performance and challenges of the products they’re creating. The result, O’Marah says, is the development of generalized, CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | OCTOBER 2007 35 http://www.destinationCRM.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CRM - October 2007

Contents Front Office Reality Check Customer Centricity Coupons Without the Clipping Something Special in the Air Oracle’s Name Game Market Focus: Sports & Entertainment: CRM Scores for Sports Franchises Statistically Speaking The Pulse Required Reading Are We There Yet? Help Them Help Themselves The Chain Gang Pay Day OutClick Media Gets a Second Opinion Best Kiteboarding Makes a Splash with NetSuite True-Blue Service Documentation Secret of My Success The Tipping Point Re:Tooling Pint of View

CRM - October 2007

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