PRESENTACIÓN DE LOS RESULTADOS

Knowing who is buying and what they want, the next question to answer is: How far do we go with this consumer focus? My answer is as far as you can stretch your imagination and resources. The consumer is in charge of where business is going. Satisfying your consumers becomes the newest challenge and the secret to the future. Once your supply chain is in order and you are working effectively with network partners, you must turn your attention and your strategy toward consumers. That means going to the nth degree to satisfy the ones most important to the future of your network.

Consider how far home furnishing retailer IKEA North America went when it decided to carve out a significant share of the furniture and specialties market in the United States. Working with a subset of the company’s con- sumers to develop prototypes of new products, IKEA consumers were asked to dream up their ideal product or service — or to shift themselves into a

86  The Supply Chain Manager’s Problem-Solver

‘wish mode,’ reports Jason Magidson, who helped create the customer design process for the Chicago IKEA store.

The benefits of using this approach are demonstrated in the design of that store. Magidson further relates, “At the time, IKEA was aiming to grow in North America by creating stronger bonds with its customers, in part through the creation of a more compelling shopping experience. So it assembled nine groups of roughly a dozen customers each to get their ideas about the new store’s design” (Magidson, 2001, p. 27). To ensure the groups would focus on creating an ideal store with an improved version of the company’s existing stores, they were given the following initial instructions: Assume that all IKEA stores were destroyed last night and new ones will be designed from scratch.

Against that backdrop, group members were asked to create a list of specifications for the ideal IKEA shopping experience. Eliciting such ideal specifications requires some guidance and coaxing. Members were encour- aged to focus on what they want instead of what they do not want. IKEA’s customers were asked to come up with a design for the Chicago store that fulfilled their wish list. To help these customers, IKEA created a three-story octagonal-shaped building with a central atrium that serves as the shopper’s home base (Magidson, 2001, p. 27).

What did they come up with? From the central atrium, customers can easily locate the eight departments on each floor. Related products are grouped together; near sofas, for instance, are lamps, pillows, curtains, and CD holders. A restaurant serving Swedish food on the top floor contributes to the store’s pleasant ambience. To speed the checkout process, IKEA increased the number of large items shoppers can retrieve from a self-service warehouse. Were the customers satisfied with their design? A survey reported that 85% of people coming to the store rated the shopping experience excel- lent or very good. None rated it poor or even fair. “Return visits to the Chicago store are higher and shoppers spend an average of one hour longer than they do at other IKEA stores” (Magidson, 2001, p. 28).

From another aspect of going as far as possible, paying salespeople for getting the sale secures their effort and keeps the focus on the consumer. When a new consumer places an order with CDW Computer Center Inc., for example, one of the company’s 1200 salespeople will pocket a commis- sion, despite having done no work to win the sale. When the Internet was being interpreted as a system that could displace the Vernon Hills, Illinois- based company’s telephone sales representatives, a decision was made to not abandon their call centers. “I don’t want one blind order,” said John Edward- son, CDW’s chief executive. “I want a relationship between the customer and an account manager” (Kaiser, 2001, p. 1).

Mistake 6: Not Focusing on the Consumer  87

The journey for this firm has led to a model showing how to merge the Internet with an existing sales force. “Through policies such as giving account managers equal commissions whether orders are won via extensive schmooz- ing over the phone or just bubble up from the Internet, CDW is saving money without alienating its customers or account managers,” says Chicago Tribune staff reporter Rob Kaiser. “Today, the company reports that 15 percent of its revenue comes from direct Web sales, where customers themselves click and key orders into CDW’s site,” Kaiser adds. “The appeal of such sales is obvious: Companies spend an average of $30 completing a phone sale, but that figure shrinks to $1 or $2 for Internet transactions” (Kaiser, 2001, p. 3).

CDW has developed what could be considered a unique Web model, using Internet transactions with phone support. Following an emerging pattern in which Web surfing and personal contact are combined before the final sale, the CDW account managers often consult with customers before orders are placed online and follow up after the sales are finished. The sales people also keep track of accounts as they approve all orders, even those arriving online. “If a company that always gets Toshiba laptops suddenly orders IBM Think- Pads, the salesperson will call the company to inquire if an error was made or if a new project is underway, which eventually could yield more sales. Having more customers entering orders themselves allows the account man- agers to dig deeper into what technology products their clients will need” (Kaiser, 2001, p. 4).

In a further step to maintain an element of customer intimacy, when a consumer signs on, a picture of the assigned CDW sales person appears on the screen, as well as whether the person is in the office or temporarily out. The account managers’ identification badges trigger these messages as they enter or leave their offices.