LG Enhances Customer Service Support Through IT

In order to improve customer support and to remain competitive in the present scenario, LG Electronics India has been taking some serious IT initiatives. Daya Prakash, IT Head, LG Electronics India, talks to Biztech2.0 about the same.

How different is the IT scenario for a consumer electronics company like LGEIL (LG Electronics India Limited)?

For any consumer electronics company operating in the present scenario, there is high pressure on IT as companies need to come up with new products equipped with the latest technologies. When it comes to helping business growth or streamlining processes and ensuring the quick adoption of technology while passing on the benefits of the same to consumers, it is definitely competitive.

If you consider LG in particular, we have 8-10 types of products in our kitty. Introduction of new products or handling product life cycle management (PLM) happens in a restricted time frame in the consumer electronics industry. Bringing 30 to 40 categories of variations in different product ranges in a year is quite challenging. Business is very highly dependent on IT.

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Which are the IT applications running at LGEIL?

Typically, if you talk about our IT set up we have deployed ERP and Oracle eBusiness suite. Almost all of our processes are automated. ERP is helping us to connect and integrate each and every department within LG India. We have a homegrown solution running at the R&D department, called a PDM (Product Design and Development Management) system, which takes care of PLM. The supply chain department is running a global SCM system. We have our operations across the world. At LG India, we import raw materials and convert them to finished goods. End-to-end integration of the supply chain happens through this SCM solution. Our manufacturing department is running a manufacturing execution system, which makes sure that we achieve the targeted productivity for each product line. Bar code and RFID scanners are also in place at the organisation. We have deployed some applications on the service and human resource management side also.

What are some of the challenges that you face in your day-to-day operations?

There are quite a few challenges from the business side. Most business operations are dependent on IT. The key challenges are related to three areas. The responsibility of the company towards the customer is an important challenge area for us. To meet the expectations of the consumer is a great challenge. On the productivity front also, we are facing challenges. Business process optimisation is also a key challenge. In order to be competitive in the market, you have to offer unique products. There is a huge pressure on top line, which flows down to the bottom line. We at LG follow a philosophy of continuous improvement. All our employees follow practices like Six Sigma and TDR (Tear Down and Re-engineering of every process). Under this, all processes are looked at in a critical manner in order to optimise them. Thus, there is high visibility and awareness in terms of introducing innovations.

How is the Oracle eBusiness Suite implementation helping LG Electronics?

It is very important for an MNC to follow the same global practices in each and every country. To that extent, this deployment has helped us a lot. We did a ‘need analysis’ in every department within the organisation before the deployment. We contacted each HOD for the need analysis. The time for procurement of raw materials has reduced tremendously. The other benefits realised include improvement in JIT concept, complete integration of finance department, integration of key business partners, reduction in the inventory and improved time to market.

In terms of enhancing customer service, LG has done a tremendous job. How has IT helped this endeavour?

In today’s competitive business scenario, it is very essential to win customer mindset. This can be achieved by a proper service support. We have taken lots of steps towards improving customer satisfaction. We have started a concept called ‘211’ which means if a customer has a complaint about any LG product and calls us then we get the information within two hours. After getting an intimation about the complaint, a service engineer will call the customer and will ask for a one-hour slot from the customer and then visit him/her and solve the problem. Our senior management is also involved in this ‘Voice Call’ system to get feedback from the customer after the service. Everything is integrated into the ERP system. We have certain efficiency-based solutions like SMS facilities, which are also integrated into the ERP solution. These steps have helped us to improve our customer service and thus, our business. Our internal IT team has done a commendable job in introducing these services.

Your views about outsourcing data centre management…

We primarily follow a philosophy of outsourcing at LG. We strongly believe in outsourcing everything except those solutions in which we have our core competency. We have a very limited captive staff. We have a sister company called LG CNS Global, which helps us on the applications side. There are also other business partners, who are helping us with e-mail, networking and data centre management. HCL is managing our network infrastructure, facility management while the hardware is being managed by IBM and CCS. Our data centre management is also completely outsourced to our partners.