Supporting Telephone, E-mail and Chat Inquiries

| Kathryn Jackson

Can one agent handle telephone, e-mail, and chat inquries? And is that even a good idea? That depends on the communication skills you evaluated your agents on prior to hiring them and/or any additional training you have provided them since. Verbal and written communication skills are two distinct competencies, and being well-versed in one doesn’t necessarily guarantee success in the other.

Four Steps in Selecting a Business System

| Curt Barry

Whether your company needs a commercially packaged warehouse management system, point of sales system, an inventory control system, a direct-to-customer order management system –or some combination of the aforementioned, selecting of the right system is a major undertaking.

Quick Tip: Behold the Mouse Cart

| MCM staff

Are you looking to build a better mouse trap in your facility? You might start with the mouse cart. What’s a mouse cart, you ask? The mouse cart is a unique vehicle that can get a picker quickly around the facility. It is ideal for instances that require long travels between picks.

Survey: Outsourcing Still Maturing

| MCM staff

A recent survey from Raleigh, NC-based supply chain solutions provider Tompkins Associates finds that despite its rapid growth, outsourcing is still a maturing industry,

Ask the Fulfillment Doctor: Dashboard Dials

| Curt Barry

Imagine a series of dials in the corporate cockpit that reflect key indicators in customer service, sales tracking, and profitability. When tightly structured, these dials can give management an accurate and timely picture of the business

Upgrading the contact center

| Greg Anderson

Businesses that want to get closer to their customers are transforming their conventional call centers into multichannel contact centers that support