Indo Rama Synthetics (India) Ltd has engaged consultancy firm Accenture (earlier known as Andersen Consulting) to help put in place a customer relationship management (CRM) system. "CRM is a cross-functional process and Accenture is helping us in that," Indo Rama president (polyester) A K Chadha said.
The system is expected to be in place in another two months. CRM is defined as the process of identifying, attracting and retaining the best-fit customers and seamless profitable interactions with these customers with a view to optimising customer relationships and profitability.
Once the best-fit customers are identified, Indo Rama will identify internal processes, people and technological improvements required to build capabilities critical for customer service. These capabilities will then be discussed across all departments of Indo Rama to bring about a synergestic customer-centric approach to facilitate complete customer satisfaction.
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At the moment, Indo Rama has identified its target customer base with the help of customer interactions across various segments, employee feedback and CRM case studies across various sectors.
Task forces are in place to identify critical superior quality attributes of the company's products which can be used to improve customer productivity. In addition, the task forces are also evaluating critical improvements required for matching best practices in the industry.
According to company officials, Indo Rama has been continuously garnering customer feedback on the quality of its products and customers' preferences. The company advises the customers on the selection of machinery and cost-effective adaptation of the right product mix.
Commenting on the appointment of Accenture, a company functionary said: "In today's changing dynamics in the polyester industry, it is crucial for Indo Rama to build a permanent relationship -- a relationship based on the compatibility of customer needs and Indo Rama's capability to service these needs."
In a turnaround performance, Indo Rama reported a net profit of Rs 18.74 crore for 2000-01 as against a loss of Rs 7.65 crore for 1999-2000.
During the period, sales improved 13 per cent from Rs 1,751.36 crore to Rs 1,986.03 crore. The accumulated losses on the company's books stand at Rs 167 crore.
As a result, the company has not declared any dividend for the year. Exports for the year stood at Rs 603 crore, up 46 per cent from last year's Rs 413 crore.