Got Teamwork? Focusing on the "Internal Customer"
Posted on Mon, Apr 26, 2010 @ 10:42 AM
Each of us within a company like ADS Logistics is at some point is a customer or will provide a service to a customer. It is imperative to the success of the company that the internal customers all work together to reach the company's specific goals. Employees within different departments need to mesh and communicate
through processes that in turn, will all result in servicing the needs of their external customers. It is those companies that do not understand this
strategy that could easily define its own demise.
Exactly who are the internal customers? They are you and me.... All employees within a company will interact in the customer process at some point;
whether it be the sales folks who visit a customer, a driver on customer property, a customer service agent handling the
customer calls, a warehouse person loading the customer product, the accounting folks who manage the behind the scenes paperwork and financials, safety, human resources, and our forever favorite department, payroll!
How do all of these departments affect the customer? Well, let me run you through this scenario.... A customer needs us to move product from one of our Roll & Hold or Western Intermodal Warehouses to another. Of course, Area Transportation has trucks for the job. Dispatch is contacted to arranged the delivery and prior to this, I am sure there was at least one sales call. Driver's show up at our warehouse, a crane person loads the product, and the driver
moves it "safely" to the destination. That is five different departments interacting with a customer because of this one simple request.
How do the other departments relate to this scenario? Let me continue .... the driver is safely moving the product;
therefore, our safety department is involved. Our accounting group makes sure that invoices are sent to the customer, with collections and payables
being performed as necessary, and creating and maintaining all the financial records and documentation. Last but definitely not least is Human
Resources and Payroll, who communicates our benefits and needs and of course, sends us our pay checks.
Short and sweet... if this process didn't
work, there would be no load to move, no invoice to the customer, no customer money for company application, and as a result, no pay check for the
internal customers and a loss of business....... Hhhmmm, just how happy would we internal customers be if that was the result?
Posted by Rose Cyphert: Manager of Billing and Collections- ADS Logistics Co, LLC