Sharper Reflexes Thanks to Automation

When consumers are unsure how to use an electronic product or fix a faulty home appliance, the first port of call is usually customer service – an integral part of any business, especially those dealing with complex consumer products.

Customer service became even more pressing during the COVID-19 pandemic, when people were mostly confined to their homes and unable to schedule servicing or repairs for their appliances. Naturally, the volume of customer service calls went up, even for Sharp Electronics Indonesia.

The company understood the urgency and wanted to help its customers in their time of need. So, it took the opportunity to implement automation with several aims in mind:

• Improving the speed and quality of customer care and service.

• Increasing customer satisfaction to enhance customer trust.

• Improving accuracy and efficiency in customer management.

UiPath was chosen as an automation vendor through a benchmarking process involving consulting companies and proof of concept (POC) testing. Through this exercise, UiPath performed 50% better than other competitors.

How Automation Enhances Customer Service

Through automation, customers who call for assistance can be identified even before the conversation begins, allowing helpline employees to gather the necessary information in advance.

This slashed the average handle time for customers by 63% from 3 minutes to 1 minute , and improved the overall experience for both parties.

There are many manual processes in customer care and service that result in slower response to customers. With UiPath's automation solution, our customers are enjoying better satisfaction and service, which also results in better sales performance.

Arie A Noya · Customer Service Planning and Technical Center Manager, Sharp Electronics Indonesia

Faster Processes and Less Stress

On a typical day, Sharp Electronics Indonesia receives an average of 1,000 customer enquiries. The overwhelming volume of calls used to take employees up to 33 man-hours for information input alone.

Through the integration of automation, the time required has been reduced by 40% to 20 hours. The automated information input is also accurate, eliminating the risk of human error. The overall productivity also went up by 60%.

More importantly, the time savings allow employees to work more efficiently, create a less taxing work environment and send the message that their employer values them. This was especially pertinent during the pandemic, which saw the blurring of work-life boundaries as employees were forced to work from home.

Happy Customers Drive More Sales

Of course, the integration of automation benefits customers, who receive better service as the process is speed up and their issues are resolved more quickly. This boosts customer satisfaction, leading to higher brand image.

Apart from giving the organization a competitive edge, automation has also boosted its branding. In the eyes of consumers, an electronics company that keeps up with technology internally should also be rolling out cutting-edge products.

Seamless Collaboration Between Partners

Sharp Electronics Indonesia had worked to prepare environment and resource data early in order to speed up the implementation process.

Thanks to the open communication and collaboration between Sharp Electronics Indonesia, their partner PT Berca Hardayaperkasa and UiPath, things went off without a hitch.

The key success factor was the joint responsibility and timeline management between three parties to achieve the goal together.

Habib Allaily · Project Manager, Berca Hardayaperkasa

Customer service staff also appreciated the internal support and help from Sharp management in ensuring a smooth roll-out.

Rita, a Customer Care Center Manager at Sharp Electronics Indonesia, said: “It was strong support and guidance from management that allowed us to succeed in this automation project.”

Sharp Electronics Indonesia is now looking to implement UiPath automation in other departments.