Service Provider Opens Disaster Recovery Center
Floods. Hurricanes. Snowstorms. Mother Nature’s wrath was certainly felt in 2005. For companies with a lone contact center, such incidents can lead to significant downtime in operations and the loss of sales and customers. ...
Keeping the Faith When It Comes to Customer Service
Many companies talk a good game when it comes to customer service and follow-up, but Mike Faith, founder/CEO of San Francisco-based Headsets.com, walks it like he talks it. ...
The Human Factor in Slotting
Optimizing warehouse slotting can be a full-time job. For most distribution centers, the mix of items is constantly in flux. Items change packaging, and therefore handling characteristics. New items replace old or are simply added to the mix. Seasonality, promotions, demand, and other factors beyond anyone’s control change an item’s velocity with predictable unpredictability....
Why Service Initiatives Fail
Companies everywhere are struggling with the dynamics of how to profitably grow their business in a changing economy. Customers continue to demand exceptional service even when sales and profitability are declining. Employees are disgruntled, and shareholders are dismayed. Management is searching for the key to success and finding that all roads seem to lead to customer service....
Antivirus Accidents and Patch Management Pitfalls
In the uncharted waters of a corporate network, there are threats and risks lurking in some of the most unexpected places. In my time inspecting the IT environments of customers across North America, there are two areas that are commonly overlooked when battening down the hatches of even the sturdiest of IT vessels: insufficient antivirus software and operating system patches. ...
Survey: Young Adults Tolerate, Expect Bad Customer Service
Here’s a disturbing sign of the times: Younger consumers are so accustomed to poor customer service that they’ve come to expect it, according to a study of 303 adult, college, and graduate students conducted by Douglas Manor, NY-based consultancy Ernan Roman Direct Marketing....
The Case for Multicarrier Shipping Solutions
The major package carriers began providing PCs and printers to shippers 20 years ago to help them fill out waybills (the paperwork needed for shipment) faster. These devices were designed to print shipping labels, track, store recipient addresses, and provide reports and invoices for one single carrier and were not accessible for other functions. ...
Seven Service Valentines to Give Your Customers
Valentine’s Day is next week, but customer care expert JoAnna Brandi believes that you should give your customers "valentines" every day to increase loyalty, customer satisfaction, and referrals. ...
Datavantage Buys CommercialWare
The mergers and acquisitions merry-go-round isn’t limited to marketers. On Feb. 1, Natick, MA-based CommercialWare, the manufacturer of the CommercialWare Direct (CWD) order management system, was purchased for $13.2 million by Cleveland-based Datavantage, a subsidiary of the publicly traded Micros Systems. CommercialWare subsidiary OrderMotion was not part of the deal....
Performing a Holiday Season Fulfillment Center Post Mortem—Part II
By now you and your peak-season fulfillment center review team have no doubt met to perform the post mortem. During this process, you probably created a list of what went right, what went wrong, and what to change. ...
A Balance of Discipline and Incentives in the Distribution Center
TZA, a logistics consultant with over twenty years of experience in improving productivity in distribution environments, has long approached labor management from the perspective of “a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay”. The company’s focus is to set a minimum expectancy of what an individual should accomplish in the course of a specific period of time. The base line is the level of performance attained by an average trained person with normal skills, performing the proper methods, working at a normal pace under normal working conditions...
How to Maximize Downtime
Every business has slow periods. Some measure it in days, others in weeks. The dwindling sales reduce calls, packages, and productivity. The company becomes lethargic, and employees become nonchalant. This year, try something different. Use the downtime to recharge and revitalize your organization. Here are some tips: ...
Practical Perspectives…with Bill Kuipers
Q: What’s an acceptable call abandonment rate?...
The Case for Advanced Slotting Systems
How do you determine the best location in a warehouse for your products? Most companies begin by looking at their order pattern. Fast-moving products are placed in the front of the warehouse, while slow-moving ones are placed in the back...
The Four Keys to Improving Inbound Freight Management
Some things never change. After the holiday season, there is invariably a movement to determine how costs can be reduced for the upcoming year. Every aspect of the operation should and does come under review. But not every area of the business is given equal scrutiny. Management of the inbound freight function, for example, is one of the most overlooked areas for significant cost reduction. ...
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