Customer Case

We are carrying out a large – multi-year – project for a global producer of high-quality household items with 40 locations around the world. 

For this customer, operating worldwide from around 40 branches, our team previously successfully implemented one central platform for all services worldwide: inbound telephony, the possibility to make callback appointments, outbound telephony for marketing and sales campaigns, and virtual hold. Seamlessly integrated with all backend systems, resulting in an unprecedented increase in efficiency. A rather complex project that we described in an earlier case.

The next step in this multi-year project was the expansion of the number of interaction channels. Not long ago, it was only possible for customers to contact the company by phone or email. That was no longer sufficient in a time of increasingly demanding customers.

In addition, customer emails still went through Outlook, and tasks were manually forwarded to colleagues if necessary. Not very efficient, and no service level data was available simply because the backlog wasn’t tracked.

The request to also centralise email communications was initiated by the smaller branches that had a limited number of employees. For them, dividing tasks would yield the greatest increase in efficiency. Subsequently, the larger countries asked for a chat function, so a plan was made to not only have all email interactions run through the Genesys platform, but to also add chat, WhatsApp and WeChat (for the Chinese market) as interaction channels, in no less than 26 languages!

The expansion of the omnichannel platform was already part of the dynamic roadmap that we had put together with the client earlier in the project. The method that had proven successful time and again was also applied for this phase:

1. building new functionalities
2. adding these to the central customer contact platform
3. the step-by-step roll-out of the new functionalities in the different countries

This client consciously chooses not to globally roll out new functionalities in one go. This is partly due to the size of the company and the way the different regions, countries and teams are structured and organised, as there has traditionally been a high degree of autonomy. In addition, all kinds of cultural and political aspects play a role.

That is why new functionalities are rolled out in phases. Country by country, region by region. Experience shows that smaller countries are usually more proactive in adopting new technologies, while larger countries generally take a bit longer to act.

The advantage of a phased roll-out is that any technological teething problems can be identified and remedied in the smaller regions, which benefits the larger countries. This way, a large project such as this one causes the least disruption. Not only for the teams involved, but also for the end-customer. It's a matter of trying, learning, and only then taking the next step. A highly structured approach, time and time again.

The customer experience (CX) has significantly improved by the addition of new customer interaction channels. Customers can now not only contact the service centre by telephone and e-mail, but also via web chat and WhatsApp or WeChat. 24/7, thanks to the ‘follow the sun’ principle!

The next step is the implementation of a chatbot, which – like all other channels – will be available in 26 languages. So in the near future, most repetitive customer questions will be answered automatically.

Processing email interactions has also become a lot easier, since they are now handled through the central Genesys platform. As a result, it is no longer each region for itself, but one global service organisation that jointly guarantees efficient customer contact.

The efficiency increase has also become noticeable in the planning area. Adding interaction channels involves a lot of complexity, especially for a company that uses both internal resources and external service providers in 40 countries worldwide. Thanks to the Genesys WFM platform, scheduling can now be done effortlessly for all employees, spreading customer interactions evenly across countries. That’s good news for customers as well as employees!