12 INSPIRATION
'At Swisslog Customer Service, we have a
great responsibility not only toward
employees, but also their families,' says
Thomas Müller, Head of CS in Germany.
Thomas is one of the bright and determined individuals in our company who
stood face to face with customers. His
stories from the pandemic underline how
important close collaboration and
partnership with customers is - to gain
trust and secure operations 24/7 - even in
critical times.
In March 2020, while the world held its
breath, Customer Service Professionals
bravely fought to mitigate the unknown
risks. They did their best to ensure security,
follow the safety protocol and introduce
measures to reduce contamination in
warehouses. It was a time when our
Customer Service colleagues changed the
way they collaborate with customers. They
faced problems that were unprecedented,
and no guidebook could inform them of
the right way to manage such difficulties.
The challenge was to deliver the same
level of service across the board, while
system critical companies, like pharmaceutical, needed special care and urgent
support.
Indeed, we bent over backwards to ensure
the necessary flow of materials in order to
support the timely delivery of medicine to
the market.
BE FLEXIBLE, BE EVERYWHERE
'Challenging times demand difficult
decisions. During the coronavirus pandemic we were there to support the critical
infrastructure of delivering medicine and
FMCG, so that 'no table would be left
without food and no patient without
treatment,' states Thomas. But what
happened with Swisslog customers from
other focus segments that suffered from a
dramatic, negative shift in demand?
Covid-associated issues and showstoppers
can prove highly disruptive. 'I am proud of
our colleagues. They were there to listen
to our customers and, where necessary,
were ready to pause the contract for a
while if the customer suffered from
unexpected downscaling of the business.'
At Swisslog, we believe in building trust
and long-term relationships with our
stakeholders.
DATA AND REMOTE COMMISSIONING
The coronavirus made many companies
rethink their data strategy. Digitization and
the abundant presence of the Internet of
Things delivers huge promise for customer
service. As Thomas mentions, 'The challenge
of delivering technical support quickly and
ensuring accuracy and consistency is
becoming more and more critical and the
pandemic is proof of this.' But the real
challenge is to put the data into practice and
create something tangible from scratch. Our
colleagues in Australia recently made history
by building the automated storage, handling,
and picking solution at a new distribution
center for Jaycar Electronics in Eastern Creek,
NSW - all delivered remotely. 'I could see the
effort the team was putting in, and I knew it
would deliver results for our valued customer.
Additionally, our local team now has a
roadmap for future remote commissioning
projects that may become increasingly
common as a result of COVID,' said Swisslog
Australia Managing Director, Francis Meier.
Remote commissioning has validated
confidence in our own expertise. We made our
experts accessible by creating new channels
CUSTOMER SERVICE:
EMPOWERING
WAREHOUSES THROUGH
CHALLENGING TIMES