Agile Customer Interface for Better Mining Outcomes

Mining operates in an environment that is dynamic and challenging. As an economic activity, it is impacted by cost inflation, vagaries of economic growth, geopolitical risks and commodity price vacillations. Mining entities face pressure to contain costs and keep their businesses profitable at the same time. And, to achieve the convergence of competitiveness and profitability, the mining companies incessantly try to improve efficiencies across processes, products and people. At the crux of mining efficiency and productivity is sound customer management. Managing the life cycle of customers is one of the valued tools for enhancing productivity. The more automated and seamless your solution, the greater is the ease with which you can meet customer demand and expectations. Integrated Customer Management Systems that organize mine operations across verticals deliver win-win outcomes.

The Need… For an Integrated Customer Interface

Having a centralized and consolidated database of customers helps every business to grow. And, mining is no exception. It allows mining companies to monitor, track and analyze every aspect concerning their customers. A confluence of strategies, practices and procedures enables mining entities to strengthen their customer interface and deliver immersive, value-rich experience. An integrated customer management system offers seamless customer onboarding and real time sync with dispatch of minerals on the field. It taps niche technologies to overcome the shortcomings in legacy ERP and IT systems. A connected customer management solution goes a long way in achieving the vision of ‘Ease of Doing Business’ and engineering ‘digital transformation’ of enterprises.

Redefining Customer Management with our CIMS solution

CSM Technologies has designed a seamless solution- Customer Information Management Service (CIMS) for Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC), a gold category PSU engaged in raising and commercial trade of bulk minerals like iron ore, chromite and bauxite. As OMC steps into a higher growth trajectory with enhanced production of mineral ores, its customers are expected to grow manifold. CIMS propels OMC into the higher growth curve where it can manage customers of all stripes without ado. With CIMS, OMC’s customers get a new dashboard where they can access mineral wise dispatch history, region wise total sales, check order status and evaluate order and stocks. CIMS is a huge improvement on OMC’s ERP system (SAP) where feeding data was a bit cumbersome. Also, CIMS gives OMC’s customers access to paperless transactions and access to real time ore lifting data. The CIMS application can be seamlessly integrated with OMC’s SAP, Integrated Mines and Minerals Management System (i3MS) - the end-to-end ore accounting system and MSTC’s portal that hosts e-auctions.

CIMS supports multiple communication devices such as web and mobile, enabling users to access data anytime and anywhere. The portal automates the entire process and helps the customers as well as OMC to make optimum use of time and money. Also, it monitors and optimizes customer on-boarding and order processing to help them make informed and timely decisions. To make the ordering process simple and easier, the CIMS application integrates a user-friendly interface where applicants can send order requests for a large volume of minerals and ores to OMC without any interference. The CIMS dashboard contains three different drop-downs for smooth customer On-boarding, Order Processing and Grievance appraisal. Other components are also embedded into the system like workflow approval process, sale order generation, delivery order request process, material lifting and invoice generation.

Solutions like CIMS are designed to offer a single view of contact and business information. Their strength rests on their adaptability and scalability without the need for extensive reconfiguration.

AUTHOR:

Jayajit Dash

Senior Manager- Corporate Communications (Marketing)