OPTIMISING ORDER MANAGEMENT FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF CUSTOMER SERVICE

CHALLENGES

Inefficient order management impacting team productivity & customer satisfaction

Aliaxis is a global leader in the manufacturing and distribution of piping systems to transport fluids and energy. Prior to Esker, Aliaxis Latin America (LATAM) relied on an order management process where employees had to manually enter order data into SAP®, all while managing 460,000 different types of orders annually.

For Regional Business Process Owner Marcela Castillo Ugalde, the process created pain points for almost everyone involved. “The amount of time it took for a team member to enter a purchase order caused frustration not only for our customers but for our team who had to invest time in updating, correcting and entering orders in our ERP,” he said. “The process became even more tedious when orders were received with many lines of different materials and quantities.”

Aliaxis LATAM was motivated to find a digital solution that would expedite the order management process while helping Ugalde and her team improve the evaluation and quality of the order data within SAP.

"Thanks to Esker, our customer service personnel have more time to closely monitor orders and provide timely responses to our customers."
Marcela Castillo Ugalde | Regional Business Process Owner, Aliaxis LATAM

SOLUTION

Streamlining & centralising order management in one easy-to-use cloud interface

With Esker, Aliaxis LATAM found the digital order management solution it was looking for; specifically, one that could seamlessly integrate into its existing SAP environment and automate the entry of customer orders so that the rest of the process (order entry, data tracking, communication, etc.) was optimised.

“Esker has become our primary order entry tool because of how it streamlines our process,” said Ugalde. Powered by AI technologies, Esker’s solution optimises data recognition and verification of incoming orders so that bottlenecks like manual data entry (and the associated errors) are eliminated. Ugalde added: “Accelerating order entry has allowed more time for order follow-up activities, which provide real value to customers and more fulfillment for our team.”

One of the most impactful features of Esker’s Order Management solution was the visibility it offers through customisable dashboards and analytics. “Esker gives us the necessary alerts so that orders aren’t duplicated or processed with an unusual quantity,” said Ugalde. “We also get reports that provide data on our team’s performance.”

"We are at a ‘first-level’ improvement with Esker because we can still get a lot more out of the tool — there is a lot of potential for future benefits."
Marcela Castillo Ugalde | Regional Business Process Owner, Aliaxis LATAM

RESULTS

Benefiting from a digital environment of "positive-sum" growth

While many digital solutions can only offer onedimensional benefits (e.g., faster processing, reduced costs, etc.), Esker’s Order Management solution has enabled Aliaxis LATAM to create an environment of true “positive-sum” growth — that is, where benefits extend to virtually every stakeholder without coming at the expense of another. In this case, implementing Esker resulted in a positive impact for Aliaxis LATAM as a business, for its customer service team and for its customer base.

“Esker has truly transformed our work environment and has helped us live up to the title of ‘customer service,’” said Ugalde. “For our staff, it’s been very exciting to see the gains they’ve made and how they challenge themselves to continue improving with the help of Esker’s tool.”

Once all the 10 countries in LATAM are fully up and using automated order management, Aliaxis LATAM has plans to expand its use of the solution to include EDI capabilities as well.

"One of the keys to our project’s success has been due to the great support of the Esker team throughout … their advice, guidance and availability."
Marcela Castillo Ugalde | Regional Business Process Owner, Aliaxis LATAM