Client Overview
Our client was established in 1961 by the Department of Defense to consolidate disparate and redundant service inventory management and distribution operations. They have grown into the largest combat support agency in the Department of Defense by providing worldwide logistics support to the military services. Our client manages nearly 4.6 million items and is committed to establishing itself as the best value provider of logistics products and services to the military and authorized customers.
Project Description Summary
Our client initiated a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) project, which was a small piece to the overall Business Systems Modernization (BSM) project underway within the particular agency. The CRM project was initiated with an overall enterprise approach in mind, in which headquarters and all field activities were involved in the strategic planning phase, thus benefiting from the improvements to be made.
The driving forces as to our client is implementing an Enterprise CRM approach:
The need for increased logistics agility to support the war fighter in maneuver warfare
Poor customer perception
Competition
Buy arounds
Lack of closed loop sale opportunities process, in which every lead is documented and followed to conclusion
Weak penetration of civil federal market
Seen as reactive versus proactive – a need to understand the behaviors or customers in order to provide a higher level of customer service
Customer’s service expectations have increased – Service such as 24X7 support and multi-channel choices are common place in the commercial sector
Leadership sees it as critical to represent our client as a single enterprise in order to be successful in the future
Moving forward now with CRM helps position our client to be a “value added partner” versus a parts provider.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Strategy – Task I
Task I of the Customer Relationship Management Project consisted of several phases. At the onset, a strategic direction was decided upon and consisted of the following:
Determination of a strategic direction that leverages a CRM framework encompassing strategic, analytical, and operational CRM capabilities.
Several additional phases, including: Discovery, Refine Customer Knowledge, Development of Customer Strategy, Strategic Readiness Assessment (SRA), Enterprise Transition Plan (ETP)
Our client then went through the CRM Foundation Implementation of Task I. The scope of the work entailed building a foundation to support the implementation of a CRM solution via enhanced strategies and business processes. The CRM Foundation was further granulated into two distinct phases:
BPR Phase:
The BPR phase consists of performing a series of business process design and reengineering efforts to define and implement some manual CRM functionality and provide the basis of CRM understanding for future releases through the following workstreams:
Service Management (BPR)
Sales Management (BPR)
Marketing Management (BPR)
Customer Strategy
Technology Management
LPR Phase:
The LPR Phase built upon the foundation provided by the BPR phase. Additional business process re-engineering and the development of a technological base through the automation of sales, service, and marketing functionality.
Service Management (Automation)
Sales Management (Automation)
Marketing Management (Automation)
Customer Strategy (BPR)
Business Management (BPR)
Analytics (BPR)/li>
Technology Management
During the BPR and LPR phases of this project, additional tasks were performed by the client's Program Management Office, Requirements Management, Change Management, Validation/Testing, and Deployment workstreams.
MEBC Role and Approach
MEB Consulting, a sub-contractor to a major systems integrator, supplemented the systems integrator task force in developing the Customer Relationship Management Process Models to support the implementation of the SAP CRM Sales and Service Modules. Previous to this particular activity, MEBC personnel were a source of knowledge for developing requirements to be implemented by Sales, Service, and Marketing activities. In Task 1 of this project, MEBC assisted in leading the Discovery activities for several of our client's field distribution centers. Additionally, MEBC conducted Voice of the Customer (VOC) activities to understand the vital perceptions of our client's customers.
Discovery
During the Discovery activities of Task 1, MEBC formed a team with the client's personnel at various distribution centers to understand the current state of CRM activities and processes. The following activities were accomplished during Discovery:
Educational workshops were conducted at the field activities to uncover strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) to implementing a CRM program.
Conducted interviews of key CRM personnel to understand their role in interacting with the DoD Agency's customers and what processes they followed.
Identified and conducted onsite interviews to uncover customer perceptions of the DoD Agency in sales, service, and marketing activities
Assessed and validated a 3 level hierarchy approach to who the customer is; client, acquirer, consumer.
Obtained and consolidated feedback on importance and impact of high level requirements, for all field activities and HQ, to develop a strategic assessment model.
Developed an equation to rank the responses and prioritize the CRM Framework capabilities that would define the strategy going forward in Task II.
Task II
Requirements Management
Blended the the CRM Framework with ORD documents to create a working methodology of workstreams.
Worked and shared best practices with the DoD Agency participants in the Sales, Service and Marketing workstreams, to define a final list of Requirements to be implemented over the next 18 months.
Process Modeling for Sales and Services
Utilized sales, service best practices, and requirements as a foundation
Worked with client representatives from the field to develop process models
Defined the functional steps to execute Opportunity Management, Account Management, Virtual Contact Center, and the Resolution Management activities
Blue Printing for Sales and Service
Blueprint served as the basis for the functional specification for the SAP CRM implementation
Detailed the tasks for sales and service processes by expanding upon the process model steps
Defined the touch points with other workstreams, in addition to the inputs/outputs from the processes
Created strawman To-Be process models from best practices for sales and service activities for SAP CRM. Included in the model for both Sales & Services are:
CRM Roles
Descriptions
Process Flow
Assumptions
Process Interfaces (Sources, Inputs, Outputs, Customers)
ORD that the process fulfills
Client Business Scenario
The process models became the baseline for the blueprint processes that are underway. Blueprint and Implementation results for the client were automated processes within the SAP CRM product - deployed across the client's enterprise.
Implementation
Configured and programmed the SAP CRM product to meet both the blueprint and functional specifications
During the CRM roll-out, communicated the reasons for change to all the field activities
Created tools to help the client understand the SAP CRM Program impact.
Results / Accomplishments
Delivered a consolidated report to program management office, consisting of:
CRM As-Is Processes flows
Readiness for change
Customer Definition assessment
SWOT results
Targeted observations
Provided significant detail VOC information for rationalization and justification for Task II
Developed priority of CRM Framework capabilities to implement that would give the DoD Agency the most value for their effort. These priorities became the foundation for Task II activities.
