With some of SA`s largest retailers as its customers, Affinity Logic - a focused IT solutions provider working across the retail and consumer goods industries - has developed a sophisticated integrated service centre (ISC) or call centre in Sunninghill, Johannesburg, through which it successfully handles in excess of 14 500 calls per month.
"The Affinity Logic Integrated Service Centre (ISC) uses a combination of technology solutions, all integrated to ensure a high-level of service and increase the company`s call resolution at the first level," says Debby Webster, service centre manager at Affinity Logic. "ISC is our single point of contact for the logging, tracking and resolution of problems and requests for Affinity Logic and its client base.
"Running a successful service or call centre environment depends not only on the technology one uses, but also on the approach of the company concerned," she emphasises. "Having a fully integrated service management approach means combining aspects such as investing in training, mentoring and retention of staff; with a focus on quality; the technology one utilises; and finally how one integrates all this into a holistic view of service levels."
Affinity Logic`s ISC is manned by 24 call centre professionals in Johannesburg who provide first level support. This is backed up by Affinity Logic support staff, and skilled staff at vendors, who provide second and third level support.
Affinity Logic`s technology selection at the heart of ISC includes: HEAT; Crystal Reports; HP Openview; Preworks (remote support and asset tracking); Windows 2000; Office 2000; MS Project; Visio; SQL 2000; and Affinity Logic`s custom-developed client service portal.
"Our clients are provided access to the ISC services by means of telephone, fax or e-mail," adds Webster. "Skilled consultants, support groups and external vendors are linked via the call centre technology using workflow technology, to provide an integrated solution."
According to Webster, a central aspect to the success of the ISC is the company`s ability to manage all calls to resolution and closure. "This is based on predefined service level agreements and the business requirements of each of our clients."
Existing clients of the ISC include: Affinity Logic internal staff, BPB Gypsum, CNA, I&J, Makro, MassDiscounters (incorporates Game and Dion), MassMart, MedMall, Shield, Rohlig-Grindrod and SupaJuke.
Providing more details on the ISC, Webster comments: "ISC is primarily an inbound call centre as it processes calls for clients with problems and requests. The ISC has the capability to support a full spectrum of IT products and services, as well as internal facilities issues."
Webster claims that 80% of Affinity Logic`s support calls are answered within 20 seconds. The company has service levels that are based on call resolution timeframes, which are prioritised and agreed with each of its clients separately.
A crucial part of Affinity Logic`s ISC is that it generates outbound calls as it is responsible for obtaining updates from support groups and vendors and providing regular feedback on the status of calls to the client. Affinity Logic has recently implemented a system to handle automatic call closure via the Internet in order to reduced the outbound calls, and to provide its clients with a forum to express their satisfaction remotely, thereby giving a more realistic customer satisfaction rating.
"Any world-class service centre must give constant and accurate reports for clients on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, as well as ad hoc reports on request," says Webster.
"We are able to provide our clients with vital telephone statistics such as the average speed to answer, call duration, percentage of calls abandoned, average time per call, average number of calls per consultant, inbound call statistics per interval/day/consultant.
"In addition, we provide case statistics such as the number of cases logged, number of cases open, number of cases resolved, number of cases closed, number of cases per severity level, first call resolution, and resolution time per call."
Affinity Logic sites its strong people management and service ethic as a crucial element to the success of its ISC. The company has dedicated ISC consultants who are responsible for managing the overall service from the ISC to the client. "Our ISC champions ensure that Affinity Logic`s extraordinary service levels are constantly met," emphasises Webster.
"All consultants are trained to various levels of support for all products utilised by all our clients. In addition, consultants have A+ qualification as a minimum standard.
"As our focus in the ISC is on the client and quality, all our consultants undergo a 'Through the Eyes of the Customer` training which is an intensive two-day internal training course."
Affinity Logic`s services include desktop support, networks, operations, procurement, change management and complaint management.
"An important aspect of the ISC is our client service portal, which provides a real-time, 'one-stop` services and service level monitoring tool for use by our management and support staff, and ultimately our clients," she says.
The portal displays four levels of severity status, from a mild to a severe alert, with attendant time scales and resolution times, in which the service issue or problem at the client must have been resolved.
Affinity Logic has different service level agreements (SLAs) for each of its customers, with clearly defined resolution times in order to keep the solution within the agreed SLA.
"Through this portal, we are able to manage all calls according to committed completion dates, which have been agreed between the customer and Affinity Logic."
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Affinity Logic is a focused retail consumer goods IT provider. Its emphasis is on IT service provision in the CPG/Retail Value Chain, with an added focus on e-commerce enabling key participants in this value chain. Affinity Logic currently has a team of 300 IT and e-commerce focused professionals and is located in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.
Views One of the major effects on the economy post-11 September has been to highlight the fragility of consumer confidence and the difficulties for any business to forecast with certainty the impact on its business of swings in consumer demand.
This is particularly true in the case of retailers and consumer goods manufacturers and SA has experienced this muting effect on the economy for several years - exacerbated recently by the impact of a credit squeeze and uncertainty in the banking and microlending environment. One of the key responses is for businesses to create greater flexibility to manage their cost base more in line with these and other pressures. This is where a more progressive approach to IT spending can play a major part - instead of making large fixed investments in networks, hardware and proprietary systems, major retailers and consumer goods manufacturers are increasingly looking to invest in `technology on demand` in a cost-efficient and flexible way that is still relevant for their specific business needs.
Our experience at Affinity Logic has indicated that several leading retailers have moved to aggressive new models of IT service provision to allow them to unlock value and focus on the key activities of their business - namely merchandise planning, supply chain management and instore operations - and satisfying the demands of an increasingly fickle consumer.
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