Generates Productivity & Customer Service Improvement for 3M

3M Company employs about 80,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 65 countries.  3M has engaged in improving the operational efficiency of its order entry processes via the deployment of ecmarket’s innovative CONEXIOM™ solution since 2005.

CONEXIOM captures purchase orders from customers that previously were faxed and emailed and transforms and delivers them to 3M as structured electronic orders which can be processed automatically, thus solving the problem of dual entry (an order manually entered in one system that is subsequently re-keyed in another system). The CONEXIOM solution is complementary to 3M’s Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and web-based ordering platform in helping 3M better serve its customers.

As Ian Hardgrove, 3M’s Executive Vice-President of Sales and Marketing states “We chose ecmarket's CONEXIOM solution because it eliminates duplicated effort and makes us easier to do business with.  By eliminating manual order entry we can reduce errors, expedite order processing and at the same time improve our service levels and Customer satisfaction.”

CONEXIOM allows 3M to seamlessly transform orders that are currently e-mailed or faxed by customers into electronic orders that are processed automatically.  CONEXIOM does not require process changes, specialized IT infrastructure, expertise or support on the part of 3M’s customers.  Because CONEXIOM does not rely on Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology for capturing order data, 3M is able to have high confidence in accuracy of CONEXIOM orders.

As Ian MacTavish, 3M’s IT Manager and Global eBusiness Leader states: "The CONEXIOM solution allows us to quickly and reliably help our customers convert to electronic ordering.  After evaluating other technology solutions to meet this need, including Optical Character Recognition (OCR), we chose CONEXIOM.  CONEXIOM's 100% order accuracy and ease of adoption has allowed us to achieve a high rate of success in converting customers to electronic ordering.”

 

The benefits 3M has gained from the CONEXIOM solution include order accuracy, faster order processing, and improved productivity associated with processing orders. In the initial phase, 3M implemented the CONEXIOM solution in Canada and then subsequently expanded its use into the United States.  Since 2009 3M has been expanding the use of CONEXIOM outside of North America and is now rolling out in countries around the world.  As MacTavish explains: “Both our business units and our customers have expressed high levels of satisfaction with the solution, which has given us the confidence to engage in the roll out of CONEXIOM to thousands of our customers worldwide.”

3M’s CHALLENGE

Introduce a solution for inbound order processing that will better serve customers who do not have the resources to implement EDI, and will not require any process changes, specialized IT infrastructure, expertise or support.

SOLUTION

BENEFITS

• Order accuracy
• Faster order processing
• Improved productivity associated with processing orders
• Greater customer satisfaction regarding cycle time and customer service
• Enhanced order status

“We set a goal of becoming easier to do business with.  Working with CONEXIOM has enhanced our ability to achieve this goal by eliminating data entry, improving our productivity and adding a new level of flexibility that differentiates us from our competitors.”

Dave Pawson
Director of Customer Operations 3M Canada