Post-Sales Support Processes: The Next Competitive Battlefield

Transcription

1 H AMMER AND C OMPANY Post-Sales Support Processes: The Next Competitive Battlefield March 2001 Hammer and Company 2001 All Rights Reserved

2 table of contents Executive Summary 1 Introduction: The Search for Competitive Advantage 2 The traditional bases of competitive advantage no longer suffice; the search is on for new opportunities for differentiation. Post-Sales Support 3 Post-sales support processes are an emerging key to strategic advantage. The Crisis in Post-Sales Support 4 Post-sales support processes are in very bad condition in most organizations. Opportunities for Transformation 6 The advent of new technology is enabling the reengineering of post-sales support processes, leading to dramatic improvement in their performance. parts inventory management 8 field crew scheduling 9 complex system maintenance 10 inter-organization coordination 11 follow-on sales 12 Key Themes 13 The keys to reengineering the support chain are dynamic resource management, fact-based planning and management, end-to-end visibility, and collaboration. Technological Desiderata 14 Technology is the enabler of new post-sales support processes, and it must be selected with long-term considerations in mind. Turning Opportunity Into Action 15 There are specific techniques that a company can employ to harness the potential of its post-sales support processes. Summary 17 The time for action is now.

3 Executive Summary In today s highly competitive environment, a company that transforms its post-sales support processes has the opportunity to differentiate itself from its competitors and establish a leadership position in its industry. Post-sales support processes perform the activities that take place following the sale, delivery, and installation of a product or service. The purpose of these activities is to support the customer in the use of the product or service and thereby ensure continuing customer satisfaction. Typical processes in this arena include inquiry resolution, parts inventory management, field crew scheduling, equipment maintenance, and follow-on sales. These processes are extraordinarily critical in that they have an enormous impact on customer satisfaction and thereby on customer retention, and also influence followon, high margin revenue opportunities. Since these processes have been largely neglected in most organizations and consequently perform quite poorly, transforming them represents a major opportunity for competitive advantage. New technology is now enabling the transformation of these processes. Companies in industries ranging from aircraft engines and electronics to electric power and auto insurance have already harnessed the potential of new technologies to achieve dramatic improvements in the performance of their post-sales support processes. While each of these situations is different, certain themes recur in virtually all of them: dynamic resource management, fact-based planning and management, end-to-end visibility of process and information, and collaboration across corporate boundaries. Turning these concepts into reality requires more than technology, however; it also demands an implementation style that gets moving quickly and builds credibility through early successes. Those companies that move first and move aggressively in reengineering their post-sales support processes have the opportunity to open up a major gap between themselves and others in their industries. The time for action is now. 1

4 Introduction: The Search for Competitive Advantage The traditional bases of competitive advantage no longer suffice; the search is on for new opportunities for differentiation. In the contemporary business environment, it has become extraordinarily difficult for companies to find a basis for competitive advantage. Levels of quality and service once considered exceptional are now taken for granted, while rock-bottom prices are merely the ticket of admission to the competitive arena. Nor can leading edge products guarantee a company long-term advantage. As product life cycles continue to shorten, products turn into commodities practically overnight; at the same time, each day customers demand more than they did the day before. As a result, many companies have tried to differentiate themselves by rigorously pursuing operational improvements in such areas as order fulfillment, new product development, and procurement. While such process improvements can yield enormous performance gains, they have not turned into the strategic differentiators companies had hoped. The reason is that these innovations are no longer distinctive; they have become commonplace. Operational improvements in traditional areas are now competitive necessities rather than bases of competitive advantage. Consequently, competitive advantage must be sought in parts of the value chain that thus far have been either overlooked or underaddressed. Post-sales support is one area that offers businesses the prospect of significant competitive advantage. Long ignored by most companies, post-sales support activities have traditionally been fragmented, poorly linked to other parts of the enterprise, and given little management attention, other than in the context of efforts to reduce costs. Yet by reengineering post-sales support processes, companies can significantly improve their customer retention, operational performance, and competitive differentiation. 2

5 Post-Sales Support Post-sales support processes are an emerging key to strategic advantage. Post-sales support covers all the activities that take place following the sale, delivery, and installation of a product or service. The purpose of these activities is to support the customer in the use of the product or service and thereby ensure continuing customer satisfaction. Some of the major aspects of post-sales support include the following: Customer Inquiries Customer inquiries typically are concerned with commercial information or technical information. Commercial information covers such issues as customer orders and payments, while technical information includes issues of product use and troubleshooting. To an extent, the advent of CRM and call center support systems have provided the basic tools for improving response to customer inquiries. But many users of these tools report that they still lack the ability to respond forcefully and effectively to many customer inquiries. Moreover, customer inquiries remain an integral component of the portfolio of post-sales support processes, and therefore must be integrated with all others. Repair and Maintenance One of the most important and most daunting aspects of the post-sales support environment is repair and maintenance, which includes such areas as spare parts inventory management, field crew dispatch and management, reverse logistics, and warranty claims. Although very difficult to anticipate with any degree of accuracy, repairs must be completed very quickly in order to maintain customer satisfaction and to avoid costly service level agreement penalties. Repair and maintenance activities present a particularly severe challenge for companies that utilize a multi-tiered channel of distributors and retailers to move product to the end customer. Communications regarding replacement part inventory levels, product breakdown patterns, and customer satisfaction should but rarely do travel seamlessly across the channel to the party that can best interpret and act on the information. Similarly, the repair and maintenance of complex products, such as aircraft engines, demands an ability to distribute extremely rich product information directly to the hands of field technicians. 3

6 Follow-on Sales The post-sales environment represents an enormous opportunity for increasing sales. Effective post-sales support should lead to increased sales of warranties, service contracts, spare parts, and accessories. For some companies, the postsales support market also includes a very lucrative market for consumables, such as toner and ink jet cartridges. There are several reasons why these post-sales support processes are so critical. For one, the revenue opportunity in the post-sales environment is very large. For many complex products, such as HVAC systems, the market for aftermarket parts and service can be as large as the market for original equipment. Moreover, the aftermarket can be even more profitable than the original equipment market, since aftermarket customers have fewer supplementary options available to them. Second, by consistently meeting or surpassing customer needs, high-performing post-sales support processes lead to improved customer satisfaction, which in turn leads to increased customer retention. Third, post-sales support processes can have an important impact on an enterprise s other core processes. For example, accurate data regarding the frequency and specific nature of product failures in the field can help leverage new product development efforts. Similarly, post-sales support processes can serve as valuable radar for the sales organization. For instance, changes in a customer s desired maintenance levels might signify an impending purchase of original equipment an opportunity the sales force can then proactively target. The knowledge capital gleaned in the post-sale arena can be of vital importance to other areas of the enterprise, further broadening the platform upon which a competitive advantage can be built. The Crisis in Post-Sales Support Post-sales support processes are in very bad condition in most organizations. Given the enormous importance of this area, it is troubling to note that post-sales support processes are performed very poorly in most organizations. Typically, organizations treat post-sales support in an ad hoc and minimally coordinated fashion. Post-sales 4

7 processes are fragmented and replete with hand-offs. No single manager has responsibility for their end-to-end performance, most people involved in performing them can see no further than their individual tasks, and there are no effective measurement systems in place to quantify overall performance. By and large, these processes were never designed in the first place, their current methods of performance having merely been inherited from the past, the result of many years of undisciplined evolution and adjustment. This situation is exacerbated by the fact that many post-sales support processes involve multiple organizations, such as a manufacturer, its distributor, and its dealers. These organizations, which together we can call the support chain, are collectively even less coordinated than the various functions within one company. Post-sales support processes are information-intensive; to be performed effectively, they require current information about customers, products, parts, personnel, and much more. Unfortunately, most conventional post-sales support processes are performed without good information. This is a result of the fact that the information they use is static and often paper-based, the communications systems on which they depend are antiquated, and the information systems that support them are fragmented and narrowly focused. Repair and maintenance personnel, for example, are often unable to determine current levels of spare parts inventory because multiple independent organizations may be holding such inventory. (Faced with costly service level penalties in the face of customer downtime, many organizations therefore opt to stuff the channel with spare parts, which merely creates other problems.) Up-to-date product information can also take a long time to propagate in the organization, leading to ineffective maintenance work. Similarly, little organizational learning can take place in an environment of poor information about post-sales support operations. As mentioned previously, current information on the nature and specifications of field breakdowns is vital to new product development efforts, yet usually such information is not gleaned or communicated. There are several reasons why the post-sales support environment remains such a backwater. First and foremost, post-sales support activities have long been seen in organizations as cost centers, annoyances, and post-climactic distractions from the "real business" of designing and selling new products. Further, few in leadership positions 5

8 sufficiently understand the world of post-sales support. Few of them "grew up" in this area, and so they may not appreciate its importance or its complexity. Moreover, postsales support work is so spread out across multiple organizations that its extent can be very difficult to fully grasp. Their unfamiliarity with the area of post-sales support leads many executives to avoid or dismiss it; if they can t understand it, they defensively assume it isn t important. It is therefore not uncommon for post-sales support work to fall between the cracks and to be assigned by default to the sales organization, further burdening an already busy and ill-prepared sales staff. Post-sales support is not only critical, it is extremely complex. It entails high volume work that is driven by intermittent and unpredictable events, generally performed in a highly distributed environment (wherever customers are located), and characterized by great variation (in situations and in customer requirements). Given its complexity and its low position on the corporate agenda, it is unsurprising that post-sales support is so badly performed. On the other hand, its poor condition makes this area a major opportunity for differentiation and competitive advantage for those organizations with the imagination and commitment to do something about it. After all, competitive differentiation can only be found in areas that most companies are either too hesitant, distracted, or complacent to pursue. Opportunities for Transformation The advent of new technology is enabling the reengineering of post-sales support processes, leading to dramatic improvements in their performance. Fortunately, advancing technology is now enabling progressive companies to reengineer their often primitive post-sales support processes. The most important of these enabling technologies is, of course, the Internet. The Internet enables remote locations, whether supply depots, customer sites, dispatch centers, or even trucks in the field, to be con- 6

9 nected with each other and with the corporate center. This enables the ready sharing of current information up and down the support chain. For instance, current product information can be made available to the field, and current inventory levels and personnel status can be made known to the center. This information integration allows post-sales support processes to be considered and designed as whole units, rather than as isolated fragments. Information integration also provides a platform for other software tools that allow many aspects of these processes to be performed more effectively. Wireless is another critical technology, as it allows for communications with field personnel wherever they are. Content management software, which manages large and complex information sources, collaborative hubs, through which multiple organizations can exchange transactions and information, and modeling and forecasting tools, which allow for dynamic readjustment to changing realities, are other key technologies for the postsales support arena. In what follows, we offer brief case studies of a number of organizations that have already begun to transform their post-sales support processes using cutting-edge technology. These examples, drawn from several industries, are not offered as templates for imitation, but as illustrations of recurring, fundamental themes in the reengineering of post-sales support processes. They also serve as indications of what determined companies can do right now to transform this critical area. parts inventory management An auto manufacturer has significantly reduced the level of spare parts inventory in its distribution channel while simultaneously providing improved service to customers. Originally, the manufacturer s dealers purchased parts from the manufacturer s central warehouse and held the parts in inventory on their premises until needed. The problem was that most dealers had neither sufficient experience nor the right tools to anticipate what parts inventory was actually necessary to meet imminent customer demand. As a result, inventory was held widely throughout the dealer network, and often at levels inconsistent with customer needs. There was too much of what was not needed, and not enough of what was. 7

10 The manufacturer decided to build on its proficiency at managing inventory for original equipment operations and to develop a similar capability for spare parts. The manufacturer constructed an information system that monitors daily inventory levels at the dealerships and then maintains this inventory at target levels through automatic replenishment. Although the manufacturer determines the inventory target levels, dealers have to sign off on every replenishment shipment before it is sent. Should dealers be stuck with unneeded inventory, they can return it after a designated amount of time to the manufacturer for a refund. Additionally, should a customer repair require an out-ofstock item, the dealer can use the system to identify the nearest neighboring dealer that has it, rather than order it from the distant manufacturer s warehouse. It should be noted that in such cases, the manufacturer pays for the costs involved in rebalancing the inventory between dealers. This new parts inventory management process has yielded significant gains. The manufacturer now has the highest off-the-shelf parts availability in the industry. Nearimmediate parts availability for repairs has resulted in customer retention rates well above those of the competition. Remarkably, even with such very high parts availability, the manufacturer s use of a disciplined, predictive approach to inventory management has yielded the highest inventory turns in the industry nearly double those of the nearest competitor. Two broadly applicable ideas emerge from this example. First, when multiple organizations are involved in a post-sales support process, work should be assigned to the party that can perform it best. The manufacturer was much more adept at managing inventory than the local dealer, so the manufacturer assumed the responsibility of managing the dealer s parts inventory. Second, to make the process work, both dealer and manufacturer had to align their measures of performance around a common goal, namely parts availability. An electronics manufacturer had an even more complex spare parts inventory management situation. It maintained spare parts at its distribution center, in its branches, and in its repair personnel s service vans. In the past, the manufacturer knew neither what was 8

11 actually in these locations nor what ought to be there. Now the company has implemented a process that builds on the capability to predict and monitor inventory levels throughout the support chain. The process employs a software system that creates a predictive model of parts inventory needs based on customer demographics, historical usage patterns, and customer priorities. The manufacturer uses this model to establish targeted parts inventory levels for regional distribution centers, branches, and even the vans of local repair crews. For instance, the model will have a repair van serving an area dense with very exacting service level agreements carry more inventory than a van in a less demanding locale. The real time visibility of inventory allows for dynamic assignment of vans to repairs based on the inventory in the van, as well as fluid inventory rebalancing between branches and the distribution center. Where once the company suffered from prodigious levels of "just in case" inventory, the sophisticated prediction, modeling, and monitoring tools of the new process support customer needs with far less inventory, fewer broken calls (where field service personnel arrive without the parts needed to complete the job), and a more productive field service fleet. field crew scheduling A major electric utility has rethought how its field crews respond to problems. Customer service reps receive requests for service from customers via telephone and input them into a computer system. The system creates and assigns work orders to crews based on needed skill sets, geographical proximity, and crew availability. Each item on the work order is color coded to indicate its urgency. Crews are then expected to develop their own schedules to ensure they complete the most pressing items on the work order. Whereas traditionally the crews would have been directed to each work item by a dispatcher or a foreman, the new field maintenance process puts more responsibility into the actual field service jobs. This is a key mechanism for enabling post-sales support processes to have the flexibility that a dynamic environment demands. In contrast, a dispatcher s schedule that is created in the morning, for instance, is static once produced, it is unable to accommodate changes that may arise. Because detailed scheduling responsibility has been assigned directly to field personnel, crews can respond dynamically to changes or conditions they may face in the field. As a result, the process becomes more flexible and responsive to evolving customer needs. 9

12 A manufacturer of electronic equipment has implemented flexibility in a somewhat different way. Under its new process, a customer submits a service request into a scheduling system, either via a customer service representative or an Internet connection. The system then assigns a work crew, schedules it based on crew availability, and sends the customer an appointment confirmation. In the field, repair crews receive their schedules wirelessly, allowing for dynamic redeployment from site to site as priorities change. Further, the crews wireless link allows them to update their job status directly into the scheduling system. In turn, this up-to-the-minute repair status can be monitored by the customer online or through a CSR. Once notified of completion of the job, the scheduling system compiles performance data on the crew and automatically invoices the customer for payment. This approach allows crews to spend more value-adding wrench time at the customer site and less in overhead activities, such as driving from site to site and communicating with the office. The new process improves customer satisfaction through faster turnaround, increased responsiveness, greater schedule and invoice accuracy, and by allowing for enhanced job status communication with the customer. With fewer dispatchers and schedulers needed, the new process reduces the level of administrative and clerical costs. Additionally, the new process has freed up managers formerly burdened with micromanaging crew whereabouts and status to be able to handle exceptions more effectively and to target data-driven process improvements. complex system maintenance Complex systems present special support challenges. Such systems are comprised of a vast number of different parts and components and can come in a great many different configurations. This puts a severe burden on repair personnel with regard to having the relevant and up-to-date technical information they need to perform the repair, as well as access to just the right parts. In the past, the voluminous amounts of information associated with complex systems was very difficult to access and manage, leading to numerous delays and inefficiencies. Now, a manufacturer of aircraft engines has implemented a process that integrates all the information needed to manage the repair of these 10

13 engines and delivers it to maintenance people in the field. The process utilizes an Internet-enabled system that catalogs the myriad engineering change notices released for each engine model over the course of its service. Additionally, the system aggregates wiring diagrams and repair manuals, all updated with the most current content available. The system couples this technical information and integrates it with inventory status, parts catalogs, and parts ordering capabilities, and also links back to the manufacturer s ERP. Now a maintenance technician performing a repair can get up-to-date information about the particular engine, learn the latest ways of doing repairs, determine what parts he needs, find out if they are in stock, and if necessary order them directly from the manufacturer and then check on the status of the order. Such integration of disparate and dynamic information eliminates much of the delay that often plagues complex repairs to expensive assets. This process ensures that repairs are handled more quickly, needed parts are obtained more easily, and customer downtime is greatly diminished. inter-organization coordination Performance can be particularly poor when a post-sales support process involves a number of different organizations. Awkward communication among multiple organizations, coupled with the fact that each has a different version of the information describing the situation they are all working on, inevitably means that the process will be beset by extraordinary delays, high overhead costs, reconciliation, and inconsistency. In the auto insurance industry, for example, several parties must coordinate their activities before a damaged car can be put back on the road. First, the insurance company must assess a claim and determine how much to pay. A repair shop must then perform the repair. Spare parts not carried by the repair shop must be obtained from a supplier before the repair can be completed. All three parties insurer, repair shop, and parts supplier must complete their work before the customer considers the job finished. However, the work of these three entities is usually not coordinated. The parts supplier does not know what kinds of accidents have occurred and so what parts the repair shops will need; the insurer does not know which repair shops are available to handle new repairs, nor the repair shop about parts availability. The results are delay and rework. 11

14 This situation is worsened by the fact that insurers, repair shops, and parts suppliers each evaluate their performance on different internal measures. For instance, the insurer might measure how long it takes to cut a check to the car owner, the repair shop how long it takes them to perform the repair once they have the needed parts, and so on. No one in the support chain is measuring the overall time it takes for the customer to get back on the road, which is, of course, the only measure that matters to the customer. One auto insurer has redesigned the process to address these issues. The new process revolves around a collaborative hub, a private Internet site that the customer, insurance provider, repair shops, and parts suppliers can access. The collaborative hub facilitates the exchange of two vital categories of information: transactions and data. Transactional information, such as repair specifications, estimates, parts orders, and even payments, travels across the collaborative hub from party to party, and does so quickly, reliably, and at low cost. Data, such as repair shop availability and repair status, is put into the system by whoever has it and can then be accessed by all other parties. This eliminates many non-value-adding activities, such as checking, expediting, and redundant data entry, which previously led to delays, handoffs, and unnecessary costs. The new process puts cars back on the road more quickly, which has led to an increase in customer satisfaction. By collaborating across corporate boundaries and measuring end-to-end process performance, the support chain is able to improve what really matters to the customer. follow-on sales Many companies lose potential sales of such high-margin items as spare parts and accessories because the product is not in inventory at the site where the customer goes to purchase it. A motorcycle manufacturer has created a new process to address this problem. In addition to the motorcycles themselves, the manufacturer s dealers also sell parts and accessories, such as helmets and jackets. While they offer high margins, accessories also present dealers with a lot of inventory management problems. For 12

15 instance, a dealer may have to stock a number of different jackets, each in a range of colors and sizes. Fashion inventory management is not a particular strength of most motorcycle dealers. The company has created a new process based on an Internet site at which consumers can order accessories. The manufacturer handles and fills these orders, shipping directly to the consumer. However, the dealer is not shut out of the sale; the consumer must name a dealer with which he is (or wishes to be) affiliated before he can order the accessory, and that dealer gets from the manufacturer 60% of the gross profit he would have made had the consumer bought the accessory in his store. This is a win-win-win all around. The consumer gets the jacket he wants without having to roam about looking for a dealer who happens to have the right color and size in stock; the dealer gets a chunk of profit without having had to do much of anything; and the manufacturer maintains both consumer and dealer loyalty and sells a high margin item. Key Themes The keys to reengineering the support chain are dynamic resource management, factbased planning and management, end-to-end visibility, and collaboration. These cases exemplify a number of recurring themes in contemporary post-sales support processes, themes that can provide guidelines for other organizations seeking to transform this critical area. One key theme is dynamic resource management, be it for spare parts, personnel, or information. The constantly changing availability and composition of inventory, repair crews, and product content demands flexible decision-making. A closely related theme is the need for fact-based planning and management. Information on all facets of the post-sales environment, from inventory levels to field performance, should be aggregated, integrated, and analyzed to optimize operations to achieve desired goals. Such information should also be made available directly to service personnel, enabling their greater involvement in activities such as scheduling, problem resolution, and customer communication. 13

16 Visibility of process and information across the multiple organizations that comprise the support chain is of paramount importance. Visibility of inventory levels helps eliminate the carrying costs of redundant and unneeded inventory. Visibility of technical information, order status, and performance helps minimize non-value adding tasks and reduce cycle times. A related but even broader theme is that of collaboration multiple organizations working together like one. To make any of these ideas work, it is necessary to use customer-focused measures instead of internally-focused ones, so that all organizations involved adopt a common, multi-organizational commitment to improving post-sales outcomes from the customer s viewpoint. Technological Desiderata Technology is the enabler of new post-sales support processes, and it must be selected with long-term considerations in mind. The key to success in the post-sales support environment is the design of a new generation of business processes that capitalize on the themes we have discussed. Technology plays a key role in this, not as driver but as enabler. As organizations deploy new systems in this arena, it will be important for them to keep in mind the following criteria for effective supporting technology. Adhering to these criteria will help organizations avoid the creation of a new generation of legacy systems, built with the best of short-term intentions but carrying the seeds of long-term problems. interoperability: All deployed systems and technologies must be able to work together. New wireless devices, for instance, must connect to the planning and ERP systems already in place. Similarly, collaborative hubs must be able to communicate with one another. standards: Common data standards will greatly increase the utility of information. Communication standards, such as XML, must be developed and agreed upon across support channels and industries. scalability: As systems begin to link multiple organizations along the support chain, the volume of transactions can become very large, and systems must be able to expand accordingly. 14

17 system integration: Most post-sales support technology vendors offer point solutions that must be integrated in order to support complete processes. There is a great need for system integrators with expertise in the post-sales support area to handle these complex integration projects. customization/personalization: Systems should deliver only the content relevant to an individual or an organization at the time. This is of particularly critical importance in industries awash in enormous amounts of complex information. value realization: Organizations must make sure they understand the real business benefits their technology offers and focus on realizing them. Turning Opportunity into Action There are specific techniques that a company can employ in order to harness the potential of its post-sales support processes. When presented with the kinds of examples and themes we have explored, the senior leadership of a few companies will immediately recognize the opportunity for competitive differentiation that the post-sales support environment represents. Yet in many organizations, senior leadership may be reluctant to move aggressively. Some may still think of post-sales support as a corporate backwater, far removed from the critical operations of the enterprise. For others, the cost of replacing outdated legacy systems may be prohibitive, particularly if the return is difficult to quantify. Cultural aversion to change is always an obstacle in gaining organizational commitment; risk aversion is the glue that binds too many organizational cultures. Additionally, post-sales support initiatives can be difficult to coordinate at some companies because there is no single point of responsibility for the wide spectrum of post-sales activities. For instance, leadership of the post-sales arena may be divided among sales, customer service, and logistics units. In such cases, it can be very difficult to generate the consensus needed to support a major reengineering effort. This is even more difficult at companies that have outsourced much of their post-sales support work. 15

18 While significant, these impediments to action will yield to determined efforts. First, any project to improve post-sales support processes must be explicitly linked to the enterprise s strategic goals. For instance, if a corporate goal is to increase customer retention, it must be made clear how improving the post-sales experience will lead to customer retention. Creating a model of customer lifecycle revenue and profit can further establish the criticality of the post-sales arena, provided it reflects the higher margins of post-sale transactions. In general, the economics of post-sales support and its implications are very poorly understood and will need to be addressed to gain executive buy-in. In reality, data, however compelling, are rarely enough to convince the unpersuaded of the importance of a major initiative in an unfamiliar area. To be goaded into action, executives need to witness a high-performing post-sales support process at work at their organization. A limited pilot can demonstrate the benefits of focusing on post-sales support, without inducing the fear and risk aversion that a more broadly structured and comprehensive undertaking would. Such pilots must return results quickly before the initiative loses momentum and credibility. A word of caution: While such pilots should be limited in scale, they must also be part of a broader vision of what the post-sales support processes will one day become. By thinking big but implementing small, an organization can ensure that it won t be faced with a series of small but poorly connected projects that lead nowhere. Another useful device is to use customer-focused metrics to demonstrate the crisis in post-sales support. For instance, measuring an organization s performance from the customer s perspective can quickly establish the need to collaborate with support channel members whose actions may be reducing customer satisfaction. Executives can leverage such metrics to get broader organizational commitment by linking customer satisfaction metrics directly to everyone s bonuses. Another important step is to create a single point of executive responsibility for the post-sales support arena. Such an individual will have both the authority and the motivation to cut through the organizational underbrush and make things happen. 16

19 Summary The time for action is now. The post-sales environment is ripe for major change. It has all the ingredients to make it the centerpiece of the next wave of reengineering efforts: Other areas have largely been mined for the improvements they can yield; post-sales has been so neglected and its performance is so poor that major improvements are there for the asking; a new generation of technologies is enabling the radical redesign of these processes; and a handful of leading-edge companies have demonstrated both that major change is possible in this area and that the benefits of such change can be prodigious indeed. All that is missing is leadership will and direction. Those companies that move first and move aggressively have the opportunity to open up a major gap between themselves and others in their industries. The time for action is now. 17

20 Dr. Michael Hammer Dr. Michael Hammer is one of the world s foremost business thinkers. He is the originator of both reengineering and the process enterprise, ideas that have transformed the modern business world. Organizations around the globe have achieved unparalleled performance improvements by applying his principles to their operations and structure. A highly sought-after lecturer, Dr. Hammer also serves as an advisor to leaders of the world s most progressive companies. His public seminars are attended by thousands of people annually. He is the author of numerous articles and of three books: the international bestseller Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution (HarperBusiness, 1993); The Reengineering Revolution: A Handbook (HarperBusiness, 1995); and Beyond Reengineering: How the Process-Centered Organization is Changing Our Work and Our Lives (HarperBusiness, 1996). Dr. Hammer was formerly a professor of computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and he is a founder and director of several high-technology firms. He was named by BusinessWeek in 1992 as one of the four preeminent management thinkers of the 1990s, and in 1996 he was named by Time magazine to its first list of America s twenty-five most influential individuals.

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