An Order Fulfillment Process for Shared Services
This is the third in a series of articles on shared services implementation at a major company.
Summary
A large corporation which had adopted the shared services business
model found that they were unable to gain some of the potential benefits because of problems with handling requests in their information technology function. The author envisioned an order
fulfillment process for employee customers which was developed and implemented, resulting in a higher level of standardization, greater service efficiency, and significantly improved customer satisfaction.
This document summarizes the concepts, issues, and results. Background
Shared services is a business model in which common products and services
are provided under a single, shared organization for use by business organizations throughout a corporation. The shared services model
improves the financial performance of the corporation by enabling high efficiency in providing common (shared) products and services while allowing business units to focus on their business and their unique requirements.
The advantages of the shared services model are partially lost if the employee customers request custom rather than standard products and services, when a standard item would meet the business need. When
tens of thousands of customers are involved, it is not possible to give them all sufficient training to allow a corporate perspective in their selection of
products. We decided to design and implement an order fulfillment process which gave the customers natural incentives to use standard products and required additional review and authorization for custom products.
Process Design
The diagram below shows the fundamental design of the order fulfillment system under shared services. The process begins with a
customer who recognizes a need and ends with a "fulfilled" customer. The point of entry to the system is the centralized call center which is staffed by
individuals who understand the order fulfillment system and the various types of orders. While the order is being processed, it is tracked and monitored.
The features of this process which distinguish it from other order fulfillment
processes are tasks B through F. In B, the person who receives the order enters the order into the order fulfillment system, and also classifies the order
as problem, common, or custom. Problems are defined as something which once worked but does not currently meet requirements. Common orders are orders for products listed in a catalog of common products and services.
Problems and common orders are immediately handled by the call center or dispatched to the appropriate group for handling. Custom orders require special handling to assure that they are funded and business justified.
Implementation:
In less than six months, a new approach to order fulfillment under shared services was developed and successfully implemented. The problem
management tool which was already in place was modified slightly to allow for order classification. By modifying the existing problem management tool
instead of acquiring a new tool; costs, training, and time were significantly reduced. A new custom order tracking tool was developed and implemented. Account Managers were given the responsibility to review
custom orders and either recommend standard alternatives to the customer, or assure appropriate approval for business justified custom work. All call center
and customer service employees were trained prior to implementation. A key to the success of the project was documentation and training. Benefits:
Implementation of the order fulfillment process resulted in the following benefits:
- All orders were recorded
- Customers could monitor the progress of orders
- Shared Services employees had clearly defined roles
- Service providers could focus on providing service rather than upholding standards
- Common products were advocated unless custom work was business justified
- Efficiency improved due to increased standardization and clearly defined roles and expectations
Closing
The order fulfillment system enabled the realization of greater benefits under the shared services model. By focusing on the customer requirements and
taking advantage of existing processes and tools, the process was developed and implemented in less than six months. |
