[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/11\/06\/cx-for-manufacturers\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/11\/06\/cx-for-manufacturers\/","headline":"CX for manufacturers: 3 phases of the customer experience journey","name":"CX for manufacturers: 3 phases of the customer experience journey","description":"Digital transformation has forced the B2B customer journey to evolve, making CX for manufacturers a crucial topic for all industries.","datePublished":"2019-11-06","dateModified":"2022-10-31","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/sam-bayer\/#Person","name":"Sam Bayer","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/sam-bayer\/","identifier":386,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9b1643b5da5c926cd2ae917391d6655f0a681c6ec75e8f27c16023ab049c478d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9b1643b5da5c926cd2ae917391d6655f0a681c6ec75e8f27c16023ab049c478d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/thumbnail-ee287b316590db393209b1c8af6497ae.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/thumbnail-ee287b316590db393209b1c8af6497ae.jpeg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/11\/06\/cx-for-manufacturers\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/b2b\/","name":"B2B Commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/B2B_e-commerce"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/customer-experience\/","name":"Customer Experience","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_experience","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q984142"]},"Customer Journey"],"wordCount":1367,"keywords":["Manufacturing","Manufacturing and Distribution"],"articleBody":"Is every global manufacturer thinking about CX for manufacturers? Are they ready to roll out the ultimate, enterprise-wide B2B CX solution?Not just e-commerce, not just a CRM, but an all-inclusive solution that touches every high-level department across the enterprise\u2014marketing, sales, customer service, IT, and finance?Let\u2019s be honest, not every manufacturer today is ready for that. But it\u2019s no excuse for a lackluster customer experience. Manufacturers must recognize where they\u2019re at in the B2B CX journey (and what it means for their customer interactions).Let’s talk CX for manufacturers and the B2B customer experience journey in three phases:Phase I:\u00a0The e-commerce starter kitPhase II:\u00a0The global, integrated, single-line-of-business solutionPhase III:\u00a0The enterprise-wide solutionSince the requirements and goals of each phase vary, it\u2019s essential that a manufacturer choose the right partner in each phase. For example, you don’t want a marketing-driven platform or service provider to lead you through a Phase II project, which has a larger requirement to integrate with back-office systems.We\u2019ve seen companies adopt solutions at all three stages. Here\u2019s what each phase looks like\u2014and how to know if it\u2019s time to move to the next phase.CX for manufacturers: The 3 phasesPhase I: The e-commerce starter kitWe often see this when a manufacturer launches a standalone proof-of-concept for e-commerce. This could be any kind of attractive, low-cost e-commerce solution from a marketing-oriented partner. The goal is usually to demonstrate to leadership that customers will buy from the company online, helping to solicit further investments in the digital journey.Since this solution is usually driven by marketing, it meets their needs, but leaves out other key stakeholders:This kind of solution is easy to stand up, particularly because it\u2019s not integrated to the ERP. Because this solution looks great on the screen, but doesn\u2019t deliver automated backend workflows, you could call it an \u201ce-Facade.\u201dThe e-Facade might hold up for $1 million\/year in revenue. Maybe $3 million.But it won\u2019t hold up for all use cases and business processes that a manufacturer encounters.Without full ERP integration capabilities, the e-Facade may accept orders for the wrong products, at the wrong price, in a disallowed quantity.What happens to these order errors when you\u2019re scaling up to $10M in e-commerce revenue? What happens at $100M?Now CSRs (Customer Service Reps) aren\u2019t just rekeying orders. As they call customers to correct orders, your cost of order fulfillment will scale up alongside e-commerce revenue.This scenario negatively impacts customer satisfaction. Customers expect that the orders they place on the web will be fulfilled as placed. Friction in the ordering process leads to companies not wanting to drive more traffic to the e-Facade.This is when the e-Facade crumbles.Now IT must help. They\u2019ll have to listen to the voice of the frustrated CSR to understand how to replace the e-Facade with an ERP-integrated solution.When you reach this point, it\u2019s time to transition to Phase II.Phase II: The global, integrated, single-line-of-business solutionAt this point in the journey of CX for manufacturers, it might be tempting to pursue an enterprise-wide digital transformation (what we call a Phase III solution). However, this path won\u2019t be right for every global manufacturer. As McKinsey & Company reports, \u201c70 percent of complex, large-scale change programs don\u2019t reach their stated goals.”A smart Phase II transformation won\u2019t bite off more than it can chew. It\u2019ll take the specific customer experience issues you\u2019ve encountered in Phase I and address them.In other words, you\u2019ve entered Phase II when you\u2019ve made a commitment to hands-free, error-free e-commerce.To make good on that commitment, you\u2019ll need a partner who understands the scope of the problem in Phase II. That partner should offer a solution that gives B2B users everything they need to place hands-free, error-free orders:Real-time e-commerce integration with ERP business rulesAccurate, customer-specific pricingAccurate, real-time inventory\/ATPAccurate, real-time order & shipment statusAccurate, real-time credit status and open invoicesSelf-service online payments in the customer portalSuddenly, e-commerce can\u2019t be a one-department system. Marketing can\u2019t own it anymore, and realistically, neither can service. You need real-time data integration with the ERP system, which means IT has to sponsor the project.When they do, taking into account the needs of marketing and customer service, the solution will cover the needs and concerns of those 3 departments:The Phase II solution provides e-commerce to one line of business within the global conglomerate. It satisfies the needs of the 3 stakeholders involved\u2014without requiring wholesale reengineering of the entire enterprise:Marketing gets the power to control brand, digital assets, and UXCustomer service doesn\u2019t have to deal with routine order errors\u2014they can focus on value-add activitiesThe IT department gets the data integrity they need via ERP integrationThe fact that this digital transformation only touches three departments is a huge asset. As Forbes reports, multinational conglomerates aren\u2019t always ready for enterprise-wide transformation.Companies in this situation do best when they launch a Phase II solution, rather than jumping straight into Phase III. Phase II allows companies to transform with technologies that are aligned to the needs of specific divisions.Plus, with the right scalable e-commerce architecture, your Phase II solution can provide powerful economies of scale that allow every brand or geography within that line of business to stand up e-commerce stores without reinventing the wheel.This is a great route to maturity for manufacturers. If your entire organization isn\u2019t ready for Phase III, Phase II gives the organization experience with e-commerce and digital CX. By forcing each division or region to define their target markets and manage their digital assets, it creates iterative learning scenarios without disrupting the whole corporation.When you\u2019re ready, with buy-in from all stakeholders across the global corporation, you can move to Phase III.Phase III: The enterprise-wide solutionIn Phase III, an organization adopts an enterprise-wide solution for commerce and CX, in which every department in the organization is working together.Here, the organization needs to find a partner that understands the enterprise-wide scope. A partner like this will offer a solution that meets the needs of all high-level departments:Phase III creates a far more balanced solution, as opposed to the distorted solutions in Phase I and II, which lead to fiefdoms and sub-optimized systems within organizations.So what does the enterprise-wide solution look like? How do you know when you\u2019ve found it?This intelligent enterprise solution allows each department to play to their strengths:It empowers marketing to generate more traffic and leads.It empowers sales to launch new products, upsell, and increase AOV (average order value).It empowers customer service to focus on value-add customer interactions while the solution provides hands-free, error-free orders.It empowers corporate IT to control the infrastructure as a whole, while also allowing the individual business units to retain control of the things which they need to own.It empowers finance to reduce days sales outstanding, embrace any payment type around the world, dictate how credit limits are managed, and ensure that the entire organization is PCI-compliant.The takeaway: Pursue incremental improvementEvery organization will move from 0 to 60, from Phase I to III, at a different pace. The key is to recognize where you are in the journey of CX for manufacturers.Ask yourself these questions:What\u2019s working today? What isn\u2019t working?If we were to transition to the next phase, what would that look like? Who would we need to partner with across the organization?When it comes to CX, what do our customers most desperately need right now? How can we deliver the highest value items quickly, while saving the \u201cnice-to-haves\u201d for future phases?Wherever you\u2019re at in the in the journey, use these questions and the three phases to figure out your next step.  Every digital moment matters.Are you making the most of them?1,000 business leaders dish on how to stand out from the crowd with a great CX. Get the details\u00a0HERE.\u00a0"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2019","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"11","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/\/11\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"06","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/\/11\/\/06\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"CX for manufacturers: 3 phases of the customer experience journey","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/11\/06\/cx-for-manufacturers\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]