Feb 2

Written by: Hall
2/2/2010 7:42 AM 

Recently a client moved a decentralized returns process from its plants around the country, all managed by customer service reps responsible for its local customers, to a central headquarters location. Prior to the transition, reps at the plants had ownership and relationships with their local customers in their regions. They owned return paperwork, system transactions, and credit pricing and verification for the returns for their customers. They had close working relationships with each of their customers. After the transition to a shared services model where all returns transactions were processed by a shared services group at headquarters, the relationships with the customers were not as close as they had been and customers no longer had one customer service rep focused on their account. In the end, a smaller staff was responsible for work that previously had been managed by a larger group, on an FTE basis. As a result, there are more errors and more time needed to correct them, and the transition has been difficult. Customers grow more frustrated as more errors occur. Potentially, better planning could have helped the transition as well as more focused relationship turnover from local to headquarters staff, involving client contact and interaction as part of the plan.