Customer Service Week, celebrated from October 7-11, 2024, is a global event that highlights the significance of customer service and honors those who assist and support customers daily.
At Mauser Packaging Solutions, our Customer Service teams are crucial in fostering strong relationships between the Company and our customers. They skillfully juggle processing orders, managing expectations, monitoring for delays, and resolving any issues that arise.
Building strong customer relationships is essential for stabilizing our business and making Mauser a preferred partner for our clients. In recent years, Mauser has invested in our Customer Service teams to enhance their efficiency and improve their ability to foster these vital relationships.
Standardization of Training
Investing in standardized training resources enhances the consistency of training for Customer Service Representatives across all facilities within each segment (business unit). Each segment follows an onboarding training plan for new hires, which outlines a timeline for mastering specific tasks.
“In North America, we have been working to improve our hiring and onboarding processes to ensure we have the right people in our customer service roles, and we are equipping them for success. Beyond training for specific job tasks, we are making sure our new hires build relationships with their partners in other areas of the business, such as sales and planning, to help with collaboration across the organization,” commented Amanda Smith, Customer Service Director, NASP.
While current training across all segments primarily targets new hires, our online platforms in NAIP and MIPS ensure that training resources are accessible to any customer service representative seeking to review or learn new skills. These electronic resources are available on CONNECT – Mauser University (NAIP) and the MIPS Process Platform. The next iteration of training will focus on evaluating and addressing the specific needs of longer-tenured employees in customer service roles.
Consistency in training across each business unit ensures that customers receive uniform service regardless of the facility. It also enables Customer Service Representatives to support responsibilities at other locations as needed.
Process Improvements Through Automation
Process improvements and the implementation of automation enables customer service representatives to spend more time cultivating relationships with customers and less time on data entry and paperwork.
Over the past year, NAIP and NASP have implemented paperless purchase order management system that significantly reduced the time required to find order information and the cost of printing and storing physical versions. Paperless processing makes order information accessible from any location and utilize platforms already used within the company (SharePoint used by NAIP, SAP used by NASP). The paperless process mirrors the MIPS system (D3 Archiving System) and should be expanded to all North America facilities by the end of the year.
Additionally, MIPS has invested in QAD improvements to streamline processes, including the implementation of automatic order entry for intercompany orders to reduce duplicate entries across multiple domains.
“We have a range of exciting projects in progress, set to be completed within the next six months. Following their successful implementation, our customer service teams will be able to dedicate even more time to build strong customer relationships. Customer service plays a valuable role in our organization, because it fosters customer loyalty, enhances brand reputation, and directly impacts customer retention”, said Janine Beysiegel, Head of Commercial Operations.
Key Account Team for NAIP
NAIP formed a Key Account Team to improve service for several key customers. This team operates similarly to key account managers in sales, providing a central point of contact for customers purchasing multiple Mauser products and services. Centralized management of these accounts enables better utilization of Mauser’s capabilities across various divisions and facilities to meet customer needs. The Key Account Team conducts daily reviews and oversight, while also identifying potential organizational improvements to better serve key accounts.
“Since implementation 2-3 years ago, we have become light years better at supporting these accounts which are important to the stability of our business,” commented Neil Pellicci, Customer Service Director, NAIP.
Investments in our Customer Service teams are a reflection on the importance this role plays in our organization and our commitment to making Mauser the preferred vendor for customers.
“We want the experience for our customers to be consistent and easy regardless of the product or service provided. Our Customer Service Representatives are vital in helping facilitate a ‘One Mauser’ experience for customers,” said Victor Rente, Vice President of Customer Service and Transportation.
In celebration of National Customer Service Week, we extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone in a customer service role at Mauser Packaging Solutions. Your hard work and dedication to our Company and our customers are truly appreciated