Tasman Insulation Keeps Customers Cosy with SAP

Tasman Insulation Keeps Customers Cosy with SAP ePortal

SAP and Tango help eliminate customer pain points

New Zealand-based manufacturer of glass wool insulation and building laminates, Tasman Insulation New Zealand, has implemented an SAP ePortal as part of its strategy to deliver a great customer experience to customers and partners.

Customers will be able to use the ePortal to interact with Tasman Insulation on their own terms. Functionality will include the ability to place orders, check the status of their orders, check their invoices, credits and statements, run sales reports, request literature, log customer complaints, even read up on terms of trade.

The ePortal project came about as a response to a question posed by Tony Te Au, general manager, Tasman Insulation New Zealand, during the recession: “What do my customers need to make doing business with us a pleasure and add value to their business?”

Tasman Insulation New Zealand engaged with customers and others in the Fletcher Building Group to gain a better understanding of what customers liked and what they disliked about doing business with Tasman Insulation New Zealand and also to find out what effect the recession was having on the market.

The company identified a number of key strategies to better serve customers, the first of which was the ePortal. Peter Herbert, commercial manager at Tasman Insulation New Zealand, says that they looked to see what technology competitors and other leading New Zealand organisations were using and decided that SAP was the obvious choice.

“We already run SAP at Tasman Insulation New Zealand, so it was an easy option, but knowing what I know now we would still have selected SAP,” says Peter. “SAP partner Tango helped us to refine our design and articulate our goals to senior management. The team at Tango were very insightful.”

“SAP was wonderful to work with as well. And the buy-in from customers, staff, management and the wider group has been excellent.”

From conception to design took just a couple of months, and from day one to testing took only 15 days. The ePortal will roll out to customers’ head offices initially and then to store level by the end of the year.

“Overall the project has gone incredibly smoothly,” says Peter. “It wasn’t expensive, it was easy to do, and it has delivered in excess of our expectations. We anticipate we will see a return on our investment in six months. We won’t just be saving money, the business will be doing better. Already our Customer Service Manager has an extra three days per month that were previously taken up with responding to customer queries and complaints.”

Peter sums up the project by saying, “We now have the tools to meet our customers’ requirements.”

Tasman Insulation New Zealand is the first business within the Fletcher Building Group to create an ePortal and other IT managers in the group are looking on with interest.

Graeme Riley, managing director SAP New Zealand, says SAP portals are flexible and secure, enabling businesses to take full advantage of their information assets.

“In today’s competitive economic environment businesses gain advantage by giving customers the information they need on their own terms. Tasman Insulation New Zealand is giving its customers a single view that spans IT silos and organisational boundaries. It is a great example of deploying technology to meet a real business need and realising the benefits immediately.”

ENDS

© Scoop Media