4.3 Indirect ERP-system benefits
4.3.2 Standardisation of business processes
The ERP system provides the basis for uniform, consistent, standardised and visible business processes coupled with multi-channel access for enhanced accessibility (Interviewee 1, 2012). Standardisation of key business processes was a result of utilisation of a set of ―best practices‖ prescribed by the ERP system. Only a single updated version of the information about a specific citizen is available throughout the Municipality. The citizens can now access the Municipality for services through other standard multi-channels such as cell phones and e-mails. The findings attested to this argument, as portrayed by the following interview excerpt:
16 Some informants referred to residents as citizens; thus, the two terms were used interchangeably.
97
“The following lines of communication with the citizens are available. Free call line from both landlines and cell phones, with or without airtime in a cell phone. Citizens can now write emails or log on to our websites and log a complaint or request for a service. They can still come to our offices and request for services” (Interviewee 6, 2012).
Levelling the digital divide
The multi-channels that link to the same business process through different technologies are of particular importance, given that not all citizens can access a single channel such as the web-portal. This means that poor citizens can still access the City through traditional and ordinary channels, such as telephones and cash halls.
This improved communication between the citizens and the City. However, the promotion of multi-channels further perpetuates the digital divide instead of incorporating all citizens into the ERP system utilisation benefits. For example, the poor will mostly use the telephonic communication while the rich will access the services through the portal, which is more user- friendly. Nevertheless, all these channels will link to the same business process as per the configuration of the business processes concerned. Another manager who emphasised the reduction of costs by reducing duplication, not only of data storage but also of service requests, said:
“Anything that a customer requests is recorded and with no duplication. It saves a lot of money and helps determine where to spend money by providing accurate updated and integrated reports of needy areas. Shorter turn-around time is enabled in most business processes because all customer details are on the system especially when the customer is online, you no longer need not ask too many questions. We are also able to avoid requests duplication” (Interviewee 4, 2012).
Multiple accesses to services and service requests
Regardless of the way you access the City whether by phone, electronic mail, short message service or even online access, the same standardised service request process, that is traceable, follows. This functionality is not important to private organisations that contrarily emphasise differentiation of customers. Most of the channels such as the call access provide a ‗self-help‘17 option. The functionality of ‗self-help‘ ensures efficiency by reducing queues and enabling those citizens who can access some services through other channels. Figure
17 ―Self-help‖ function refers to the service that allows the citizen to interact with the system to request or receive a service without human intervention. This occurs, for example, when citizens punch in the water meter to get a bill.
98
4.6 below portrays an example of a service request form available on the website as one of the channels of communication open to residents enabled by the ERP system:
Figure 4.6: Service request form (Source: City of Cape Town, 2013)
Standardised service request
The important aspect of these channels is that they link to the same process that is standardised as it connects through a standard configured system. All the channels are linked to the same system and lead to the same process after every request. However, it is not clear as to how the efficiency of service delivery is linked, especially considering that these requests may accumulate and lead to the same waiting time as in a service kiosk visit.
99 Traceability of request progress
A further important issue is that all the transactions that the citizens execute through the ERP systems can be tracked. Citizens are now assured that there is no longer confusion with the City arguing about whether they requested a specific service or not. Furthermore, the citizens can now trace the progress of their service requests. This is possible, irrespective of whether the service was digitally accessed, i.e. through the portal, e-mail, etc., or non-digitally, i.e.
through old and ordinary channels such as the cash-hall. The following extract from the interview with the Head of Customer Relationship Management also shows that citizens can now trace the progress of their service request:
“The volume of calls that are enabled by the ERP system is awesome. Imagine! We are able to talk to five and half thousand customers per day. We have details of all the customers, employees who log complaints, e.g. drain cover stolen, or branches, and can be traced through the service request and its status at any time. We can now keep a track of which roads need more attention…” (Interviewee 3, 2012);
The traceability of service requests and logs give the managers confidence in the system and hence in the whole organisation. This benefit is crucial to residents, especially when you take into consideration critical service requests such as urgent ambulance calling or water pipe bursts. These services always cause confusion and arguments when different stakeholders blame one another for delay or non-delivery of a service. The ERP system is able to pinpoint the exact bottleneck in any business process.