In today’s complex business environment, many manufacturers and retailers are seeking to increase sales, heighten customer and partner relationships and stretch resources at every stage of the supply chain. The challenge is how to innovate faster and implement change better than the competition. PointBridge helps manufacturers and retailers apply the Microsoft technologies they already own to innovate their way to greater profitability. The PointBridge Manufacturing and Retail solutions are a certain and cost-effective way to:
ACCELERATE INNOVATION
When speed is of the essence, your employees need the tools to help them work smarter and collaborate better to complete projects faster. For global, large-scale firms, it becomes increasingly difficult for employees to quickly access the collective knowledge of the organization. The solutions we’ve developed that help organizations increase the quality of new ideas and get new products and services to market faster include:
• Knowledge management solutions to capture and encourage the reuse of intellectual capital to speed new product and process innovation
• Corporate social networks that make it easy for employees to quickly locate expertise, generate new ideas and open new sources of innovation from across your organization
• Mobile workforce solutions that reduce travel and allow the right employees to participate and collaborate regardless of location
• Collaboration solutions that include team and project intranet sites to improve information access, document management, work product creation, sales presentations and overall project coordination
OPTIMIZE SUPPLY AND VALUE CHAINS
The best way to improve supply and value chains is to increase the accuracy and flow of actionable information. Better communication at the shop-floor or empowering route drivers with real-time business data can reduce the time it takes to resolve issues, reducing cost. Accurate information about distribution can result in better product placement. And timely sales data can lead to early trend spotting to capitalize on revenue opportunities. Work with us to implement:
• Shop-floor and driver communication solutions that speed event response and streamline problem resolution
• Embedded communication solutions that expand the capabilities of your manufacturing software – placing real-time instant messaging or phone access directly in the CAD system, for example
• Dashboards and analytics that help monitor, analyze and improve business operations by enabling data-driven decision making throughout all levels of the organization
ENHANCE THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
The competition for mind and market share is fierce. Buyers are faced with an overabundance of choices. Therefore, it’s more important than ever that retailers and manufacturers target their offers, stock the right mix of product, educate the workforce and staff locations to provide an optimal buyer experience. PointBridge has helped retailers and manufacturers become more successful with:
• Customer analysis tools that provide managers with the processes and information to make proactive decisions about product mix and pricing – improving customer insight
• Intranets and portals that enable workers to quickly search for, find and access the information they need to answer customer questions, check inventory, place orders and make sales
• Online training that reduces training and travel costs and provides education opportunities to more members of the workforce
• Labor analytics delivered via customized scorecards and dashboards that provides actionable insight into store traffic patterns to optimally staff various locations
• Online request management that automates and improves management of common customer requests for things such as manuals, catalogs, free trials and coupons
• Social networking sites that capture the enthusiasm and insights of customer evangelists and can quickly disseminate new product news with loyal customers
All of the solutions described above can be created with Microsoft technologies, such as SharePoint and Office Communications Server. If your workforce is familiar with the Microsoft Office suite, there’s virtually no learning curve. We’ll help you use the technologies you already own to overcome market pressures with innovation that puts you solidly ahead of your competition.
To learn which Manufacturing and Retail solutions would benefit your organization the most, contact PointBridge today.