Now we have covered the stages of the trainer supply chain; it is important we consider the other vital supporting services, functions, and departments that are required within a successful supply chain. Functions such as human resources and finance are crucial within a business.
The last function we are going to look at is Technology.
No modern business is operating without technology. Supply Chains cannot thrive without the ever-advancing systems and programmes that have been created to support the demands of the new expectations of customers. Modern Consumers are known as the ‘always-on’ generation. Every aspect of our lives now seems linked to technology, and this includes how we shop, and the information we expect to see from or about the businesses we are going to purchase from.
Thanks to advancements in technology, businesses can now adapt a wide variety of methods for their customers and suppliers to interact with them. Known as digital disruption, new and emerging technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) provides both opportunity and challenges for modern supply chains.
Giving your customers multiple ways to contact your business is great for improving the customer experience, however, before you rush out to purchase new lines of communication you need to consider how you will be able to manage responding to your clients in a timely and professional manner. If you have one person in your customer service team it is unlikely they could reply to emails, WhatsApp, Facebook, LinkedIn, LiveChat Text messages and phone calls all at the same time while maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction.
Of course, developments in technology means that the help you need might not need to be in the form of hiring new employees. Inventions such as Chatbots and other forms of AI can be adapted and programmed to respond to queries from your customers, taking on the role of an employee, the chatbots can convincingly simulate how a human would respond to questions and queries. Manufacturing giants Unilever has already successfully used Chatbots to raise brand awareness. Their Chatbot takes on the form of the much loved PG Tips monkey, a firm favourite on British TV.
Experts claim that the Monkey chatbot might lack a little of the charm of its television counterpart, but the bot is surprisingly good at responding accurately to user input. Monkey responded to user questions, and can also send users a daily joke at a time of their choosing and make donations to Red Nose Day at the same time.
Although still in the early stages of development, Chatbots are likely to become more common place in the coming years. Helping businesses provide instant customer service to their customers around the clock without the need to pay overtime.
Businesses will need to carefully consider the level of service they want to provide to their customers, and decide if they want to implement new technologies or stick with the tried and tested methods of good old-fashioned humans responding to and supporting customers. Both options have costs associated with them, and in our opinion, it is going to be a few years before the technology behind Chatbots and similar programs is clever enough to play a pivotal role in a customer-centric business strategy.