The 4 Categories to Calculate ROI 3. Customer Support One of the main advantages of WMS software is the visibility it provides to all users of the system—including customers. Customers want to know inventory levels, information about orders and shipments, and confirmation of receipts with the push of a button. However, many warehouses have multiple employees reacting to requests and spending hours per day drafting emails or responding by phone. With 73% of 3PLs viewing new customer acquisition as the largest opportunity for business growth, chances are you are constantly striving to add more customers, so the amount of time spent on customer communications without a WMS will only continue to grow. Implementing a WMS platform is a crucial way to stay on top of customer support and communications; one company saw 50% increased productivity and saved time by streamlining customer communications through a WMS. When researching WMS solutions, you need to ask a few questions: What tools does the WMS offer to save time for customer support? Do they offer a support portal? Would your customers use a support portal or other self-service resources instead of directly communicating with your employees? Some WMS platforms offer customer portals where customers can view all the activity pertaining to their inventory with the click of a button. With customer portals, customers can also run their own reports, see orders and receipts, and perform basic system functions without consuming your employees’ time. WMS platforms often also include automated customer notifications, so the system will automatically send emails to customers when certain actions occur, including advance shipping notices (ASNs), confirming receipts into inventory, creating or updating items, shipping orders, and much more. Questions to ask: • How many hours a day/month are spent on customer communications? • How much time will the WMS tools realistically save you on customer support? • How many hours will customer communications take once implementing a WMS? extensiv.com | 833.983.6748 9