Many times we find ourselves in a purchasing process where two suppliers offer us a product with similar characteristics. The two brands are of recognized prestige, the prices are similar... What can decant the decision making? Clearly the after-sales service, because what is a good product without a good service?
The importance of after-sales service
The importance of the service is sometimes underestimated in the purchasing process. In fact, many companies give priority to the functionalities of the asset to be purchased. They make multiple demonstrations of product, visits to facilities in operation, they are informed on case studies... The decision can be so complex that everything that comes after the purchase is in the background.
In the case of the implementation of a software solution (ERP), after-sales service can define its success or failure. According to a study by the ERP consulting firm Focus, 60% of the implementations do not arrive at a good port. The reasons often go beyond the supplier, but it is very important to make sure that the company to hire has a team of qualified professionals. They must be able to lead the change process and respond to difficulties during implementation.
Thinking about the long-term relationship
The importance of the relationship with the supplier, in the case of management systems, does not stop at the implementation phase. The evolution of your organization, new technologies and the demands of the sector will require keeping your ERP constantly updated. That's why communication with your supplier's support team is vital. They must help you respond to technological challenges and modulate your operations to respond to your strategy. In addition, constant training of your team to use the platform and best practices to improve your organization's productivity will need a close, friendly and effective point of contact with your support team. In short, a long-term relationship for the entire management of your ERP.
The importance of communication channels
If a good after-sales service is important, the channels for that communication are even more so. It is not the same to have a generic telephone number to manage any incident than to have an automated system with online tracking. When companies have structured helpdesk systems, it is a sign that the tracking and resolution of customer incidents is particularly important within their strategy. These systems have the capacity to obtain more objective information about the query made, catalogue it and assign it to the most suitable consultant for its resolution in person, maximising response times and considerably improving supplier-client communication.
The quality of the human team
Imagine that one of your commercials wants to offer a shipment that has a complex pricing, which depends on multiple factors at once. It wants to do it well, so it proceeds to register the tariff in the system and operate with it automatically. But he doesn't know how to organize it or how to approach it. In this problem there are two needs: on the one hand, the need of the commercial to register the tariff in the system, the most mechanical part of the operation that can be easily explained with a sequence of steps. The other is the need for this person to raise his tariff so that it can be entered into the system. What does my tariff depend on? What correlations do I need? In this second case, the support needed by the commercial is a profile that understands the problems and the jargon of the sector, and has sufficient experience in developing tariffs to reach the optimal solution in the shortest possible time with a personal and close.
How do you rate the after-sales service of your next technology provider? The key is to focus on the following points:
EXPERIENCE IN THE SECTOR
Trust a consolidated company in the provision of services in your sector. In the case of the transport and logistics sector, be interested in the profile of the support team of the supplier company and ask, without fear, information about the people who compose it.
A GOOD SUPPORT STRUCTURE
Ask for information about your provider's helpdesk platform. Ask if you have an automated system and tracking incidents that can be viewed from the Internet. It relies on companies that provide, without further ado, the performance indicators of their support services.
THE OPINION OF OTHERS
If you have the opportunity to talk to other customers about your potential supplier, ask about the team that makes it up. Find out how they manage incidents, changes and updates to the platform. Trust a company that they talk well about and openly recommend to their customers.
Consultant in Logistics and Supply Chain Technologies
