The use of unified communication solutions by manufacturers has become increasingly important in their day-to-day operations. Unified Communications platforms have allowed manufacturers to interact with customers directly, offering personalized attention in real-time and allowing them to provide after-sales customer service in an easy and accessible manner.
Unified communications, as well as Unified Communications as a Service, have been a decisive factor of progress inside the manufacturing sector, undoubtedly, but how do they work?
What is UC?
Unified communications convey multiple enterprise communication tools, such as instant messaging, voice calling, file sharing, video conferencing, and more into a single friendly interface with the goal of increasing productivity and enhancing user experience.
UC allows end-users to smoothly switch from one communication tool to another, all within the same session, regardless of the device they work with. It could be a laptop, smartphone, desktop computer or even a tablet.
Many UC solutions contain – or even rely on – team collaboration capabilities with messaging-centric processes and collaborative features like real-time file sharing and annotation. These advanced US systems receive the name of Unified Communication and collaboration systems (UCC).
What is UCaaS?
Now that the concept of unified communications is clear, understanding the term unified communications as a service will be much easier. In short, UCaaS consists of taking all these capabilities, video sharing, instant messaging, video conferencing, and hosting them on a single platform in the cloud, allowing users to use it not only from any device but also from any location.
Because of its little upfront cost and cloud-based nature, UCaaS is an excellent choice for a wide spectrum of businesses, large and small.
How can UCaaS benefit manufacturers?
There are multiple ways in which UCaaS can be of benefit to any manufacturing facility. Below, we focus on how it can help streamline areas like supply chain management, research and development, and customer service.
Supply Chain Management
It certainly is one of the most complex aspects to manage inside the manufacturing industry. A lot of moving pieces make part of the supply chain, and it is a complex operation to manage all of them. Trucks are on their way, inventory is being loaded and stacked inside the warehouse, the orders are being sent out, new orders are coming in.
Thanks to UCaaS, workers in the warehouse, factory, and in transportation may check the status of components or final products at any point in the supply chain and communicate in real-time using instant messaging. Thus, making workflow more efficient.
Research and Development
Manufacturers stay ahead of the competition by creating new and innovative products.
To track trends and design new goods, the research and development team has the data and technological know-how. Customer service representatives, on the other hand, have vital information about customers’ preferences and purchasing history.
Workers from around the company can share ideas and cooperate to build new products or business processes using file-sharing features and web conferencing. New goods can be brought to market faster when members of a project team can share knowledge more rapidly and efficiently.
Customer Service Optimization
The customer service department is the section of a manufacturing organization that is most reliant on telecommunications. Customer service agents benefit from VoIP because it provides them with cost-effective, dependable, and high-quality telecommunications services.
With VoIP channels, the connection is clear and jitter-free. Representatives do not have to be concerned about a call being dropped or having static interference.
VoIP also allows the contact center to work seamlessly with agents in many locations and time zones while keeping a uniform customer service strategy.
Conclusion
UCaaS along with ERP systems has proven to be one of the best solutions available to help manufacturers streamline their processes. The topics touched on in this article are just a hint of all the goals any company can achieve with the help of UCaaS. Interested in empowering your business with unified communications? Contact us for a 15 min consultation.
