This leading stairlift manufacturer provides first-class residential and commercial stairlifts across North America via their extensive dealer network, striving to provide those with mobility challenges with the independence they need. The cornerstones of their business are quality, reliability, and accountability.
Their primary goals? Make life easier for their customers and take care of customers from start to finish.
Overview
As the population ages, there are many people who face difficulties with their mobility. These include the elderly, the disabled, veterans, and others. A host of them prefer to “age in place” rather than leave their homes and move into assisted living. They need reliable solutions that allow them to enjoy independence and safety as they move about – inside and outside their homes.
Our customer is one of the leading providers of stairlifts in North America. Part of a global $350 million company operating in more than 40 countries, they have has 110 employees and approximately 150 dealers selling across North America. They are a rapidly expanding company, opening in many new regions and actively looking to scale for growth.
They offer quality stairlifts at competitive prices. The company strives to provide the kind of service and quality products that customers can count on. Their employees work to build long-term relationships with those they serve, ensuring that their stairlifts operate smoothly over the long term.
However, our customer discovered that there were aspects of their operations that were keeping them from reaching as many customers as they wanted to. They needed a modern digital solution that would help them evolve with the times and grow.
This case study explores how a leading stairlift manufacturer uses Zuper’s field service management platform to boost productivity and transform operations.
Challenges
The company had a number of challenges impeding their office and field operations as they stepped through their basic business cycle of sales, installations, service, and repair.
Outdated Systems
They were was still limited by numerous paper processes, from document sharing and contract management to billing. Their work order administration, scheduling, and dispatch were not sufficiently streamlined and sophisticated. Communication among office staff, field technicians, and customers was inadequate. All this meant operational inefficiencies that left them at risk of not keeping up with competitors.
Rising Costs and Concerns About Climate Change
The cost of doing business was going up, both around soft costs and labor and supply chain expenses. Additionally, the company was growing mindful of its impact on the environment. They needed new ways of achieving efficiencies and running the company sustainably – both economically and environmentally.
A Lack of Standardization
They were was unable to fully align its operations with those of the head offices in the United Kingdom, where protocols around safety and compliance were more evolved. The larger company lacked the organizational capacity to ensure the same standard across all their markets.
Apprehension About Tech Literacy
The company had concerns about making a change to their operations because their on-site technicians and customers were not particularly tech savvy. They had not yet encountered a foolproof solution that was easy to deploy and equally easy to use. They needed something that would transform their existing operations without disrupting them.
They wanted to overcome these hurdles so they would be managing the business rather than the business managing them. Head of Operations Josh M. launched a search for a new solution and ultimately chose the new enhanced Zuper platform to digitally transform their systems and processes. The company was one of the initial beta customers to use the new Zuper mobile application and enhanced desktop platform.
Solutions
With Zuper, the company was able to move beyond these inefficiencies and make scaling a reality.
Tools for a Superior Customer Experience
Their employees pride themselves on great customer service, and their commitment to fully supporting the customer post-sale is unique in the industry. Zuper’s new and improved user experience and interface give them just the tools they need. The dashboard allows the entire team to have the latest customer and job details at their fingertips. Robust work order management and intelligent scheduling and dispatch result in better responsiveness and accountability, from sales jobs to repair visits. Real-time and automated alerts and notifications mean effective and efficient communication.
Smooth App Integration
Zuper integrates seamlessly with the company’s chosen applications so they can continue day-to-day operations uninterrupted. HubSpot CRM integration allows for a 360-degree view of customer details, creating a responsive customer experience. Integration with ERP, accounting, collaboration, and communication apps streamlines end-to-end processes for optimal operational efficiency. Additionally, application alignment sets the company up for the possibility of a full company integration with the European branches in the future.
Real-time Accountability in the Field
The company loves the new mobile app. Its intuitive interface and comprehensive features increase technician productivity at job sites and give them job and customer details even if they are offline. Checklists and file uploads provide safety and compliance as well as quality control. Office and field staff enjoy instantaneous communication capabilities with one another and with customers.
Oversight That Advances Company Growth
Zuper provides their management with the data they need to improve operations and troubleshoot employee-related issues. The platform offers them a host of predefined and customizable reports and analytical tools to choose from. Comprehensive metrics about jobs and technician performance give them insight into how technicians are doing. They are better able to recognize those with high performance and support those who are not performing well.
Flexibility And Customizability
Zuper’s customizability allows the team to build a solution suited to meet their unique requirements. The staff chooses manual dispatching or AI-optimized dispatching based on technician skill, proximity, availability, and routes optimized for increased productivity and route efficiency. Features also include the ability to create parent and child jobs, drag and drop or automated scheduling, multiple dashboard views, and customized widgets.
Outstanding Transition and Technical Experience
The company found that adopting Zuper was extremely simple. The company describes the support from the Zuper team as “amazing” and “incredibly responsive to every request.” Additionally, they report that the solution is so easy to use that not a single technician has had a bad experience despite their not being tech savvy.
