With the multitude of challenges currently faced by small and large companies, including new regulations, talent and staff engagement, and responding to market volatility, ensuring that internal processes are working effectively is crucial to client management and service delivery
In 2017, adopting a business communications strategy that meets customer expectations and improves company efficiency is critical to business development and success.
With the multitude of challenges currently faced by small and large companies, including new regulations, talent and staff engagement, and responding to market volatility, ensuring that internal processes are working effectively is crucial to client management and service delivery.
So, how do you identify when inefficiencies are hampering business success?
Take Neopost as an example. The business communications solutions supplier faced increasing pressure from customers to adopt e-invoicing, and the company had encountered high business costs when tackling email management and receipt verification. The high number of customers who failed to pay their invoices on time was also a key business concern, and often resulted in subsequent telephone communication to resolve the problem.
One common reason for non-payment or late payment was the customer not having had received the invoice. To resolve the issue, the company needed to implement a solution that enabled it to track whether and when invoices had been sent, received and read; allow customers to download historic invoices and update their contact details; and provide an alternative in case of email non-delivery (in this case, sending the invoice by post). Although specialists in print and post services, the switch to e-invoicing was essential to improving business efficiency.
The solution for Neopost was Netsend, the e-billing, e-invoicing and document distribution provider. Key elements of the service enabled Neopost to streamline their processes, including being able to set multiple recipient addresses and having a postal address back-up if email delivery failed after three attempts.
Successful adoption of new business initiatives, including switching to an email invoice and billing process, requires careful implementation in order to ensure that management, employees and customers are fully on board with the new system and that it supports and benefits the business rather than resulting in further problems.
A phased approach can be ideal. In the example of Neopost’s adoption of Netsend, the first phase involved enabling customers with the electronic delivery of their statements, reducing the usual five-day postal delivery timeframe. Credifon customers, recipients of franking machine credit, were then moved to electronic statements, followed by sales ledge customers, who were transferred to electronic invoicing.
To deliver a fast implementation, Netsend took the invoice feeds directly form Neopost’s accounting software and enabled access for certain Neopost employees to document management and reporting through an online portal. This approach required minimal involvement from Neopost’s IT team, lowering implementation costs.
Successful adoption of efficiency processes can often have an immediate impact on the business, but it’s important to measure the success against previous performance. In the case of Neopost, the number of customers making late invoice payments reduced by half within a few months of the Netsend implementation. In addition, cash allocation was achieved by 12 noon, rather than 2pm as it had been previously. E-invoicing contributed to a five-day reduction in days sales outstanding, and the company reduced the number of customer service calls received as a result of invoicing or billing issues.
Businesses shouldn’t shy away from change, particularly when process improvements can significantly enhance a company’s efficiency. With the right training processes in place, and phased implementation across the company, fast results are likely to be experienced by employees and customers alike. Knowing your current inefficiencies and finding a service that matches your business’ growth plans are key to success, as is embracing technology to deliver real results for your business.
Find out how you can improve your business efficiency and service delivery with Netsend.
