CHAPTER 4
Order Management and
Customer Service
Five Learning Objectives
 To understand how a firm processes
incoming orders
 To understand the importance of customer
service to a firm’s marketing activities
 To relate the role of logistics in the customer
service area
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 To examine why customer service standards
should be specific and measurable
 To describe how a customer service program
is established and maintained
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13 Key Terms
 Customer service
 Efficient Consumer
Response (ECR)
 Load planning(載運
規劃)
 Order cycle
 Order delivery(訂單運送)
 Order entry
 Order handling
 Order management
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 Order picking and
assembly（揀貨與
裝配）
 Order processing
 Order transmittal
 Quick Response
(QR)
 Replenishment
cycle（補貨週期）
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contents
 4.1 Order Management
 4.2 Customer Service
 4.3 Role of Logistics in Establishing Customer
Service Levels
 4.4 Measuring and Controlling Customer Service
 4.5 Meeting Customer Demands
 4.6 Customer Service Policy
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4.1 Order Management
 Order management is the activities that take place in
the period between the time a firm receives an order
and the time a warehouse is notified to ship the goods
to fill that order.
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 Order cycle defined by the seller: time from when an
order is received to when the goods arrive at the
customer’s dock(收貨區).
 Order cycle defined by the buyer: time from when an
order is placed to when the goods are received. (Also
called replenishment cycle);有四特性:




Getting shorter
More precise delivery times:因有電腦協助
Customer can track orders
Quality is important and is benchmarked(被其他人作為標竿)
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 訂單週期有五階段：





Order planning------connected to sales forecasting
Order transmittal
Order processing
Order picking and assembly
Order delivery………分述於後
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 Order planning
 Needs an efficient order handling system to prevent
bunching(高峰期=客戶在同樣時間下單)
 Methods to reduce bunching
 Use of field salespeople……客戶通常可待業代拜訪時才下單
 Use of phone salespeople…此法廣受歡迎
 Price discounts to customers placing regular orders……可平均工作量。
如雅芳
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 Order transmittal is the series of events that occur
between the time a customer places or sends an order
and the time the seller receives the order.
 Six methods of order transmittal
 Phone
 FAX
 Mail….Ex: Figure 4-1中間最上一欄(how to order)指出…you may
order by phone, fax, mail or on the internet
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Figure 4-1:
Mail-In Order
Form Used
by AW Direct
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 Scanning bar codes------electronic submission(電子訂購機：體積略
大於掌上型計算機)。如藥妝業
 POS registers…..如在系統中記錄銷貨移動總量、自動從零售點下單
補貨
 Internet……Ex: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston的線上購物
 http://www.mfashop.com/
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 Order processing includes






Checking for completeness and accuracy
A customer credit check
Order entry into the computer system
Marketing department credits(列入績效) salesperson
Accounting department records transaction
Inventory department locates nearest warehouse to
customer and advises them to pick the order
 Transportation department arranges for shipment
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在供應鏈中，買方通常會指定何時需要商品，delivery
window（交貨窗、亦即買方需收到貨之時間）有時甚至
不到一小時。此時賣方需先檢視訂單處理流程，適時將客
戶訂單加入現有訂單處理隊伍中
 出貨後，advance shipping notice（ASN, 預先出貨通知）
會透過EDI送給收貨人，商品便視為收貨人之存貨..如後
圖
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Figure 4-3: Flowchart of Order
Handling (Order Processing) System
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 If there is a stockout
 Notify the customer as soon as possible of stockout
 Notify when shipment will occur
 Give the customer the option of accepting in stock similar
products
 Export orders
 Need a letter of credit (信用狀)…可謂等同訂單
 international freight forwarders prepare documents and
arrange shipment
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 Order picking and assembly includes
 Notifying the warehouse to assemble a given order
 Providing an order picking list(揀貨清單), indicating
items and order of pick to a warehouse employee……有
時以電腦應用代替書面文件之倉庫運作方式稱為
paperless warehouse…Ex: E. J. Brach(糖果製造商:2007
被Farley’s & Sathers購併)
http://www.farleysandsathers.com/About/WhoWeAre.asp?
BrandID=9
Checking picked orders for accuracy
 Stockout information sent to order handling department
so that documents can be adjusted
 Packing list (裝箱單)enclosed with order including
employee initials (簽名)of person who packed order
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 Order delivery is the time from when a carrier
picks up the shipment until it is delivered to the
customer’s receiving dock.
 Load planning is the arrangement of goods within the
trailer or container.
 Carriers establish their own service standards……如
保證交期
 Some customers pick up their orders….即自行取貨，
如Sears.com
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 Importance of the order cycle
 Short cycle time used as a marketing and sales tool
 Monitoring the order cycle can increase firm efficiency
 Efficient Consumer Response (ECR)/Quick Response
(QR商業快速回應)
 Used in grocery industry and by mass merchandisers(量販
店)
 POS data used to trigger (啟動)order
 Keyed to more orderly, regular flow of product, smaller
inventory
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4.2 Customer Service
 Customer service is a collection of activities
performed in a way that keeps customers happy
and creates in the customer’s mind the perception
of an organization that is easy to do business with.
 Customer service is much more difficult for
competitors to imitate than price cuts or other
competitive strategies.
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 Value-added activities provided by customer service
 Placing bar code labels on cartons（包裝箱）
 Arranging a carton, pallet, or truck in the sequence the
customer would like to unload it
 Shrink-wrapping(收縮膜包裝)
 Inserting documents into cartons
 Blending (混合)products
 Adding price tags
 Adding graphics for export goods(外銷品)
 Assembling kits (組裝產品)
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 Establishing Objectives






Specific（具體）
Measurable
Achievable
Consistent with broader firm goals（目的:範圍較大）
Must consider competitor’s objectives（目標）
Provide guidance to operating personnel
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 Returned Products
 New flow of products are set up（建立）
 New infrastructure is required
 Goods and materials are returned for various reasons:
供應商出錯貨、運送時受損、客戶下錯訂單
 Grocery industry uses reclamation centers (回收中心)for
returns
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 收到退貨時，可將這些退貨以seconds（次級品）
處置、捐給慈善機構等
 某些製造商指出：零售商會濫用回收中心系統處理
其多訂購之商品
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4.3 Role of Logistics in Establishing
Customer Service Levels
 Advisor to marketing…物流人可幫忙想出送貨給
客戶之替選方案、計算成本
 Establishing a customer service program
 Ask the customer what is important to them.
 Investigate the service offered by competitors……瞭
解產品substitutability（可替代性）!
 Consider the cost of alternative service programs.
 Analyze the information and write the objectives.
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 Using the Internet to improve customer service
Dell Computers每週可收到超過十萬次客戶產品支
援問題
不肖份子也不擇手段地利用公司客戶服務網站來
詐騙
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4.4 Measuring and Controlling
Customer Service：兩法
 Performance model：根據問卷來決定達成目標
之次數百分比：可透過取樣方式達到！
 Audit credit memos(退款單據)：將退貨單據與
「零錯誤活動」相比
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4.5 Meeting Customer
Demands
 Control the process
 Firms demanding（要求） higher levels of customer
service：three reasons:
 With reliable service, the firm can maintain lower inventory
levels
 Resellers monitor vendor quality（供應商品質） looking for
those with unacceptable or acceptable quality levels
 Process is often dehumanized(不人性化); service can make
it more personal(客製化)
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4.6 Customer Service Policy
 Ex: Campbell Soup Company 每月收集並檢視有
關客服資料如損壞水準、backhaul（接續、回程）
運送排程等……持續監控績效
 亦即所謂C3計畫---Campbell’s Customer Care
（康寶客戶管理）:為一彩色手冊，討論客服議題
http://www.campbellsoupcompany.com/csr/nourish_
satisfaction.asp
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 客訴免費電話又常稱為「消費者熱線」consumer
hot line
 在美國物流管理學會年會中，美國最大企業之一的
物流經理說公司每週都會針對客訴電話資料加以分
析、並常於每週員工會議上提出
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Study question
 試討論客戶服務為何是外向物流管理之重要要素？
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