Automation of Customer Query Handling

Project Details

A leader in the business community, one of the services the client provides is the certification of origin of trade goods. In the process of certifying consignments, they establish country of origin and the credentials of the parties involved in order to assess the risk of fraud. 

The client has identified that many of their customers are unsure how the process works, nor what type of documentation is required. Consequently, the process is delayed due to the necessity for staff to follow up matters with customers. The client also receives a high volume of phone enquiries from customers regarding the status of their application. This also causes disruptions to the process and prevents the client from producing output in a timely manner. 

The client was concerned that the inefficiencies were impacting on job satisfaction, motivation and retention of staff and requested automation of the customer enquiry handling process to alleviate the problem.

Project Goals

The client’s key requirement was to reduce the manual burden of customer queries on staff. They also wanted to increase the quality of the documentation submitted by customers. 

To achieve these requirements, the client requested automation of the customer enquiry handling process which would complement operations and thus increase efficiency. 

The ideal system would be artificial intelligence (AI) based which would allow several desired components to be implemented and overall processing improved as a result.

Project Completion

The solution Neevista provided to the client was to allow AI enabled handling of customer enquiries relating to updates on the status of the application process. The application would include an AI-controlled chatbot which could handle enquiries through various medium (mobile, desktop). 

A comprehensive review of the existing application forms, and the creation of digital forms ensured the required information would be provided prior to the submission. Immediately after submission, the system would include an FAQ auto response to provide the customer with a list of the most frequent enquiries with the intention of reducing the high volume of phone queries. 
In conjunction with the Intelligent Process Automation (IPA) implementation, interactive voice response (IVR) was utilised to ensure the efficient handling of phone enquiries and reduce manual labour. 

By embedding these systems into the client’s processes, Neevista significantly improved efficiency and as a result heightened the client’s customer service capabilities.

Project Challenges

This project was deeply rooted in AI-based communication solutions and involved many touchpoints between customer-facing systems; phone calls, digital forms; chatbots and backend processing of data. 

Rollout of each improvement required intensive care and testing prior to launch along with close post-implementation monitoring. 

Project Results

The application framework was created with the aim of overcoming the burden of manual labour, thus improving the customer’s experience, raising staff morale and reducing overall handling times. 

The system enabled the client to provide their customers with a reliable source of easily-accessible information, to better educate them about the application process with the intent of expediting submissions. 

The system greatly reduced the manual workload required in the certification process and provided a consistent platform for customers to submit applications. 
Due to Neevista’s experience in providing the right digital solution for the client, the implementation of AI components into the process of online application greatly reduced the volume of phone interactions between the client and their customers, along with automating notifications regarding outstanding matters or delays in processing of application.