Typical Applications
Order Processing
The key to making money is to be able to process all your customers requests quickly, accurately and on time...everytime.
A customised order-processing system can be used to enter orders as they are received, with automatic calculation of prices/totals, and printing of invoices. Orders may be automatically forwarded to departments responsible for filling them. There may be automatic updating & management of credit accounts.
There will usually be a history of customers' orders, and generation of sophisticated management information (statistics). Some will also incorporate stock control functionality. Often these systems can be extended to e-commerce solutions on the Web, providing customers with an online ordering/status checking facility.
Stock Control
If you handle a large volume of stock, you will almost certainly need to have some means of controlling & monitoring it. Stock control software is the answer.
A stock control system will maintain (and automatically update) a balance of number-in-stock for each item you handle, and will automatically trigger reordering based on pre-set reorder levels. If linked to an order-processing system, it can provide order entry staff with up-to-date information on availability of stock, and may also be used to minimise waste. Systems can also include management of suppliers' credit accounts.
A customised-designed stock control system can take the headache out of managing your business, saving you time and money in the process.
Sales Management
Recently there has been a trend towards using computers to match particular services/products or particular sales strategies with compatible customers. This is achieved by correctly arranging & analysing a wide variety of data about customers (usually a lot of them). If implemented correctly, this can lead to a much higher rate of return from marketing efforts.
We can build software that will help you to contact customers and prospects and analyse, monitor and track the success of your marketing efforts. Where different people have responsibility for different areas, the software can be made to automatically redirect an enquiry to appropriate sales staff, no matter who receives it or, in the case of distributed offices, where it is received.
Customer Support
The secret to retaining customers is to know them well and to treat them like real people. To remember their names, their business, their problems and their concerns and to deal with them in a professional manner. If you could get this right, you'd never lose a customer again!
When dealing with large numbers of customers or staff, it's difficult to retain detailed information about past dealings with customers. Database software provides the best means of recording & keeping track of customer data.
The benefit of a customer support system is that a complete customer history may be instantly retrieved by any staff member when the customer contacts you. The staff member can handle the call in (fully-informed) confidence, and the customer is left with an impression of quality customer service because the operator knew all about them.
Scheduling systems
Fed up with trying to manage the complexities of your business? Be smart, and use your computer to arrange people, resources, times or events in the most efficient order, with the minimum of manual effort.
Examples include room booking for hotels & guesthouses, seat booking for theatres & cinemas, appointment scheduling for field operatives or consultants, job scheduling for plant & equipment, customer service booking etc.
A computer system can be used to control, schedule & monitor any sequence of events, and get it right every time.
Some businesses involve manufacturing or services that pass through a number of different stages/locations/departments etc. Scheduling can be adjusted to maximise efficiency & productivity, and it is possible to ensure in advance that adequate resources are available as required.
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