Customer Appreciation Day – held on the third Friday of May – serves as a reminder of the importance of valuing those you serve, whatever your line of business. This is no different in the world of manufacturing. With increasingly demanding end-consumers and buyers able to choose from the entire global supply chain, remember to consider customer experience beyond your core product offering.
It is five to seven times more expensive to acquire a new customer than to keep one: are you doing enough to keep those who buy your products satisfied?
Stand out from the crowd
With manufacturers often producing items that are identical to those offered by competitors, customer service can be a key differentiator. The industry has traditionally focused on the long and complex processes of manufacturing products, and overlooked relationships with the businesses that buy them. The efficiency of the B2B interactions with your client base is a way you can stand out, especially in crowded markets.
Manufacturers today can also gain a competitive edge by offering agility and flexibility. End-users have become more demanding, expecting next-day deliveries and product innovation – and manufacturers have a key role to play in meeting these expectations. By ensuring swift and effective responses to changing customer demand and the ability to adapt orders at short notice, your business becomes a trusted ally to retailers.
Digital relationships
Buyers now expect their journey with a supplier to be digitally optimised. Lost POs and invoices, inconvenient physical contracts, and poor data management will no longer be tolerated, and inefficiencies come with a risk of losing trade to more technically savvy competitors. Manufacturers must be ready to provide customers with smart digital contracts, safely store data, and streamline interactions.
Go a step further with an intuitive ‘self-service’ financial solution. Cloud financial management software like that provided by OneAdvanced offers a user-friendly, self-service portal that registered customers can access. Customers can review their account balances online and settle invoices directly with online card payments. By minimising delays and handing customers control over their payments, you are reducing admin and making life easier for your customers’ financial teams.
Built-in flexibility
Digital solutions can also boost agility, helping manufacturers become a trusted partner for retailers dealing with fluctuating consumer demand. When requirements change rapidly, planners need to be able to order in new raw materials and components, and spin up new work schedules.
A supplier management system ensures 100 per cent visibility of all the companies you rely on for materials, making it easier to assess and change production levels. Alongside this, a contract management solution allows for easy adjustment of contracts; tracking, monitoring and documenting amendments. This means leaders can quickly adapt to increased demand, while reassured that any last-minute alterations will not result in administrative anguish further down the line. When your relationship with your own suppliers is efficient and digitally documented, you can more easily adjust production levels and become a reliable, agile supplier to your own customers.
Manufacturers also need to be able to ramp up staff levels at short notice, to meet increased customer demand without causing chaos. A Time and Attendance digital solution automates the creation of rosters, allowing managers to spin up new schedules based on employee availability and skills needed. When digital tools power supplier and people management, pivoting production becomes far easier.
As you reflect on whether your manufacturing business is doing enough for its customers, consider how digitalisation can elevate your customer service and operational agility to new heights. After all, in the competitive landscape of manufacturing, it's the businesses that go above and beyond for their customers that will ultimately thrive.
