January 2022 - RSI Concepts - Top IT Solution Provider Company in Dubai, UAE

January 26, 2022February 26, 2022

What is custom software development?

The custom software development is designing and developing a software to cater the specific needs of a specific business or set of users. The major difference between the custom software solutions and the ready-made off-the-shelf software solutions is that the custom software are specifically designed to address very specific problems, and the custom software solutions are not meant for resell, they are unique and designed according to the unique requirements of a business. For example the Google Chrome or Microsoft Office are available for millions of users all around the world and are ready-to-use off-the-shelf software solutions which are same for everyone. However, if you ask a software development company like RSI Concepts [LINK] to design a document processing tool for your business, that would be unique, and only meant to be used in-house for a single user/business only. That same tool would have been designed to address certain problems and issues that you are facing in your document processing procedure. That is the difference between a ready-made and a customized software.

The problem with off-the-shelf or ready-made software solutions is that they are designed for general usage. It means they are designed to be fit in all kind of environment and requirements. One-fits-all doesn’t always work, when businesses use such tools they will have to adjust with the very limited options and sooner or later they realize that this solutions is not suitable for them or it is not a satisfactory solution. A tailor-made or customize software tool boost efficiency and fix problems. The customize software development offers greater scalability and the future expansion, modifications and changes are also not as that expensive. However, some off-the-shelf ready-made software solutions doesn’t allow more than a certain level of changes and even then those changes and customizations are very expensive comparing to a custom software solution. In this blog we will discuss the key steps of custom software development to provide our audience a better understanding on the subject.

Requirement Gathering and Identifying Challenges

Over the time business processes and operational mechanisms get complicated, it is hard for any business to change those mechanisms over the night just to adjust according to the demands of an off-the-shelf software solution. That is why business chose to develop a custom software that suits their requirements and help them enhance their efficiency by aiding their existing mechanisms and methodologies rather changing them. The best way to gather requirements is to start by enlisting all the challenges you are currently facing. Every business have unique business processes and mechanisms to tackle problems. Still there remains some problems and hurdle which are causing issues for certain processes or for certain group of people/departments, this doesn’t stop the operation but problems cost time and resource which effect overall business efficiency. Any particular business process could also impact others and mostly it does. That is why it is important to highlight such issues and problems and then decide what you need to solve those problems.

Once all the challenges are identified then decide which problems you want to address with this software. Then discuss the same with the management, team leaders and relevant employees and take their feedback. After getting the feedback finalize the idea and enlist the problems that you are aiming to resolve with this custom software development project. This phase is the very first page of custom software development and is also called discovery phase.

Hire a Good Custom Software Development Company

Hiring a good custom software development company is extremely important. A good software development company with enough experience and capabilities can literally transform your business and a low standard software development company can literally make your life extremely difficult. There are certain things that you should consider while looking up for a software development company in Dubai, UAE. First of all make a list of all available software development companies, such as start asking your friends and colleagues, then lookup in yellow pages or other online directories, the last but not least search in the Google. Short list the companies who are suggested by at least two sources. Then go to their websites and analyze the websites, go through their portfolio and look for the client testimonials or ratings. After carefully examining their website you will get an idea of their capabilities. A bad website means a low quality standards or less competence staff and vice versa.

Contact the short listed companies ask them to share their profiles and brochures. Analyze them and then ask them about their software development teams and programmers. If a software development company have off-shore teams then do not proceed with them. It is important that a business must have on-shore software programmers and developers. It is easier to meet and discuss your requirements with the team rather communicating via emails or online meetings. Other important things to consider is the development and project execution methodologies, costing and payment terms. Always ask for an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) to ensure your idea and proprietary rights before sharing the details and idea of your custom software.

Analyze Requirements and Define Scope of Work

At least short list three custom software development firms from the previous phase and then discuss your requirements with all of them. A good software development company will always help you and guide you with your discovery phase and analysis requirements. At this stage since the requirements are discussed, the software development company will ask you too many questions to further understand your requirements. A good company will also suggest you to improve the idea. As the software company have a lot of experience and they can more accurately predict the outcome. Here another thing to consider is to check the software development companies’ behavior. Check which company is more supportive and helpful. The software development company’s representatives will give you suggestion to improve your idea in terms of efficiency and cost as well. Then finalize the scope of the work, get the formal proposals and quotes and compare them on the bases of cost, delivery time, support and maintenance terms and licensing, etc. At this stage the business can easily get into an agreement with a customer software development company to kick start the project.

Wireframe and UI Designs

For any software the main objective is to support the users in their daily routine tasks or in a certain transactions or work. The human users can interact with the software through a UI or user interface. The user interface is a kind of control panel which can present information and take user’s command to run the pre-defined algorithms to produce a result the result might display information or it can further update various other systems and databases that are linked to the software. That is what we called a UI. The UI or user interface of any software tool is the key to its success. The software are used to boost the employee efficiency and to make their work easy. Which can only be achieved if the UI is user friendly and the users can easily perform the required task or function on it. The first step of any software or app development is to prepare the wireframes. The wireframes is a rough work flow or a presentation of the software or app. For a custom software the wireframes are important as it will provide the complete picture about how many steps or screens are involved in a particular functionality. Once the wireframes are finalized then the creating the UI is fairly simple. The graphic designers and UI designers can then design the UI which will be the actual software interface.

Custom Software Development Process

The custom software development process is the phase where the software development company works on the programming and develop algorithms. The development process should be smooth, flawless and efficient to ensure maximum quality and cost-effective product. The custom software development or any other project depends upon the performance and capabilities of the development team. And despite having a well-experienced team if the requirements are not clearly communicated to them they won’t be able to produce a good quality product. The custom software development phase is divided in smaller stages which can be taken as the project milestones. At each milestone the progress should be shared with the customer and any feedback or suggestion should be considered. It is the responsibility of the customer software development team to communicate right information so the customer don’t get confused. Any software development is a very complex process. It should be divided into various steps and the software development team should decide whether the progress should be shared with the customer or not. Once the development phase is complete the software team will do the debugging and the quality assurance team will ensure the flawless operation of the final product.

UAT and Security Testing

The UAT or user acceptance test and the security testing or penetration testing is the final stage of the customer software development project. Normally the security testing and penetration tests are carried out by a third party. But the depending upon the complexity of the software the customer software development company and the customer can decide the mechanism for the security testing. If a customer have in-house IT team with relevant experience they can conduct the security tests. The customer software development company should also do all the basic security testing to ensure the data protection and safety of the software. The UAT or user acceptance test is the pre-launch phase. For UAT the software is deployed in the live environment without making it accessible for the public/users. This is done to check the software’s behavior in the live environment. The UAT tests can include a small number of users from all user groups, the management, IT experts and relevant personals. These users will be the actual users in future that is why their opinion is also important. At this stage different business processes can be tested and the users can also request for some changes or tweaks, which can further improve the efficiency and user-friendliness of the customer software.

Launch

The customer software launch is a pretty much standard launch practice. It starts with a soft launch. During this stage the customer software application or tool is made available for all the users. All the data is transferred to the system and the user training sessions are also conducted at this stage. Once this is complete the final step is full launch or going live. From launch and onwards the staff will be only using the customer software for their relevant regular tasks and operations.

Post-Launch Activities

The post-launch activities are also very important. The most important thing is the maintenance contract and SLAs. The business should have maintenance contract, SLAs and warrantee of the custom software. Another important part of post-launch activity is the user feedback collection which is often neglected by most of the businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE. However, collecting user feedback is very important it help businesses to evaluate and assess the efficiency and productivity of their customer software tool and it also help them identify the areas of improvements. On later stages the business can improve the software and user experience on the bases of the feedback.

Conclusion

Any businesses needs some kind of digital solution. In the modern era of IT and digitalization, businesses are compelled to utilize various different tools and solutions to support their operations. Each business has its own unique way to tackling problems. Most of the time an off-the-shelf solutions or a ready-made software application doesn’t help with very unique and specific requirements. That is why businesses develop custom software tools and applications to fulfill their unique needs and requirements. The biggest advantage of a custom software development is that the business can mold it as per their need and requirement. It means they don’t have to make any change in their current business processes and business practices, as the software is already designed to boost the efficiency of the existing mechanisms and methodologies. This makes it extremely easy for the businesses to integrate a new system without disturbing anything. In this blog we have discussed key points to consider while developing a customized software application or tool.

RSI Concepts is a leading name in the custom software development and app building in Dubai, UAE. If you want our help with a new project or if you want to learn more about the topic, feel free to reach us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

Check out this blog: Importance of Custom Software Development in Dubai

January 26, 2022February 26, 2022

How to Develop Customized Supply Chain Software?

The efficient supply chain management is absolutely necessary for any business’s success. Businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE are using fully digitalized or partially digitalized software tools to manage their supply chain. Mostly businesses are adopting to a one-stop-solution for all their supply chain needs. Using multiple tools and manual management has become less efficient over the time and as much as the manual work is involved the risk of errors and miscalculations are higher. That is why businesses are proactively improving their supply chain management techniques and methodologies. Another most important aspect of supply chain management is that it streamlines the production process, from idea generation to creating or developing an actual product/service there are too many variables and moving parts. These all also impact the overall cost, quality and resultantly the profitability and revenue of the business. That is why it is extremely crucial that a business have an efficient supply chain software and tools to manage each and everything in their supply chain.

The supply chain management is a very complex and sophisticated process. It involves managing business processes from the idea generation to acquiring raw materials, producing the products, storing them and then tracking where they are going to drive the future strategies and sales. Similarly for the businesses who offers services the supply chain may involve different ingredients but it is still relevant and crucial for a long term success and sustainable growth. The supply chain software manages and track all relevant business processes, purchasing, acquiring services, outsourcing, internal manufacturing or development, information technology, suppliers, finance, dealers, wholesalers, resellers, and consumers or customers and all other relevant business processes. The purpose is to boost the operational efficiency of the business and reduce unnecessary resource consumption to increase profit and performance.

Why Businesses Need to Develop a Customized Supply Chain Software?

The supply chain management is a very crucial task, it involves several variables and the business’ success is heavily dependent on its supply chain management. When businesses are opting for an off-the-shelf or a ready-made supply chain software, it could pose a lot of limitation and it will also require making adjustments and iteration in existing business processes as well as the business tools which a business is currently using. The ready-made or off-the-shelf solution doesn’t offer much flexibility to let businesses configure it as per their existing business processes, and eventually businesses end up using multiple tools for several processes and mostly require synchronization either automatic or manual to be able to perform certain tasks. This complicates a lot of business processes and also put more strain on the employees and the management which reduce their performance.

However, a customized supply chain software doesn’t put any limitation and doesn’t require businesses to make any adjustment or changesto their existing business processes and practices. In fact it help them to boost the productivity and performance with least efforts made to alter any existing business process or methodology. The customized supply chain software doesn’t put any additional work load on the employees or the management instead it help them with their tasks and also enhance their performance by reducing their work load and streamlining all business processes. That is why a business needs to develop a customized supply chain software instead of going for an off-the-shelf solution.

Key Steps to Follow While Developing a Customized Supply Chain Software

Obviously going for a ready-made supply chain software is very easy and quick. Whereas developing a customized supply chain management software is lengthy process. That is one of the main reason why business go with an off-the-shelf supply chain software instead of a customized solution. However, when we compare the perks and the features of both solutions, the customized supply chain software is the best and it can prevent a lot of hustle and mismanagement or waste of resources in the longer run. That is why we are writing this blog to provide our readers with a step by step guideline to make the customization process simpler and easier. The very first step of any project should be planning and setting up goals.

Start with Settingup Goals and Identify Needs

Setting up goals and identifying needs for any customized system is critical. The business should start with analyzing the current supply chain tools and associated business process. Consulting with the employees who manages different supply chains and their relevant operations can provide a deeper insight to the current business processes. At this stage businesses should also engage the customized supply chain software development firm and ask them to assist them in gathering requirements and setting up goals and objectives for the project. The discovery stage of any project is very important, for supply chain software the discovery stage should involve all the concerned personals and departments along with the additional help from the software development firm. Also prepare a list of all the tools or features that you need in your supply chain software. If you are using multiple tools then it is a better idea to customize a single solution to have all those features, this could also save a lot of cost too.

The supply chain management heavily relies on the data collection from various steps and inputs of the supply chain. Sometimes it require integration with other systems and sometimes it require manual data. The automation is a best and very efficient method, but the customized supply chain software should be able to handle both the automated digital data synchronization via APIs or system integration and manual data inputs as well. Similarly there would be a lot many other very specific functionalities and business processes that you will be needing, enlist them all. After finalizing the list of features and functionalities, compare it with the goals, will you be able to achieve those goals or not? Add all missing features that could be helpful in achieving those goals. The consultancy or the software development firm can be a great help at this stage.

Requirement Gathering Stage

Once the needs are identified and new goals are set the next stage is to gather requirements. At requirement gathering stage usually the software development firm pull the strings and you need to be cooperative with them by providing them all the information they need. It will require a business to communicate with its existing partners and the vendors who are supplying or managing their existing IT infrastructure. The success of any IT project such as a software or business tools is very much dependent on its capabilities to absorb and distribute information. That is a very critical part and it require highly technical and experienced personals to make it right. Choosing a well reputed software development company such as RSI Concepts will save you a lot of hustle during the customized software development project and afterwards as well.

This stage involves meeting and discussions between the IT stakeholders and management teams with the supply chain software development firm. As all the needs are already identified and the goals are set so all stakeholders can contribute to find a solution for any problem. At this stage a detailed project plan can be prepared as well. A supply chain software is not just used to manage the suppliers, but it is used to manage the entire operation, from managing the suppliers, vendors, distributers, consumers and also help managing the customer relationship. So, it will cover pretty much everything. Here are some key features that a supply chain software can offer:

Procurement Management Tools
1. Digital Supplier Portals
2. Supplier Assessment and Qualification Matrices
3. Contracts and Agreements Creation Tools
4. Supplier Communication Tools
5. Supplier Performance and Rating Management
6. Purchasing Tools

Inventory Management Tools
1. Integrated and Automated Inventory Management
2. Retail and Bulk Inventory Management
3. Raw Materials Management
4. Products and Materials Identification Tools
5. Integration and APIs (Production Tools, Accounts, etc.)
6. Stock Updates, Reorder and Management Tools

Warehouse and Storage Facility Management Tools
1. Storage and Capacity Management
2. Orders Management (Dedicated Dashboard)
3. Shipment and Returns Management (Dedicated Dashboard)
4. Multi-locations Management
5. Real-time Data Synchronization and Remote Administration
6. Logistics and Transportation Management
7. Fleet Management

Data Gathering, Analytical and Reporting Tools
1. Automatically Collecting Business Intelligence Data
2. System Usage Stats, History and Logs
3. Activity Logs for each User and entire Work Flow
4. Customizable Reporting and Trend Reports
5. System and Employee KPIs
6. In-built Statistical and Analytical Tools

Having all-in-one solution saves cost, time and it is also one of the best method to boost efficiency, rather asking your employees to maintain separate dashboards for separate tasks, provide them a single dashboard which allow them to perform all tasks could save time and hustle and will also improve user experience which is a key component for improving quality of work.

Select Technologies and Understand Limitations

Technology have evolved a lot. However, we are still far away from the perfection. The one and most common limitation a business always face is the usage of different technologies. As a business keep growing they keep updating their IT and technology arsenals. That is why a business could be using several different technological platforms and several different IT tools. When it comes to developing a supply chain software or any other software there are certain technologies that we used. These technologies are built on different platforms with certain frameworks. This means there are certain limitations and protocols that we have to consider while developing a customized software application. As we have already set our goals and accordingly the features are determined, the selection of technology is relatively very easy. Majorly there are three basic technologies that are used for that kind of software applications. The most common is a web-based application which have a server and a web-based user interface. The second type is a desktop application which also have a server and the dashboard comes as a desktop app that can be installed on the computers. The third and relatively modern type is the cloud-based software. The cloud-based software allows the user to access the dashboard via a web-based application and the software or server is managed by the service provider.

For customized application the most cost-effective way is to go for a web-based application with a server which can be hosted online or in the local data center of the business. These days we can also host that server to cloud as well. The user dashboard is where the users interact with the system and the server or cloud is where all the logics are performed and algorithms are executed. Each technology has its own limitations. The most important thing to consider is the data integration and synchronization. It is better to engage the software development firm and ask them for their opinion and suggestion as well, then chose the best technology as per the cost and technical specifications.

Wireframe and Project Plan

The wireframe is a term of making the drafts or plan for the software application. At this stage the software development firm design simple drawings and flow charts to define the actual work flow of the entire supply chain software. All screens and functionalities will be defined at this stage and all steps and work flow is also defined. Pay special attentions to the wireframes and analyze them critically. At this stage the business should understand how each functionality will happen at the final supply chain software and how things will be working. At this stage the business should try to simplify their business processes and work flow to avoid unnecessary strain on the employees/users who will be using the system. If anything looks difficult or is not as the business wants it to be, it can be changed at this stage. Once the wireframes are finalized then the software development will move to the graphics and UI (user interface) designing phase.

Graphic Designing and Project Development

The graphic designing is basically the UI (user interface) designing. The businesses can have their own branding for the UI. The UI will be the actual layout or look and feel of the supply chain software. When the UI is prepared make sure it looks good, the readability and accessibility of the features, buttons, menus, tabs and links is easy. The fonts and the color scheme should help increasing the readability of the elements and texts. The UI designs will be the final look and feel of the software so it is important that it has good quality from both aesthetic and usability prospective. Once the designs are finalized the customized supply chain software project will enter into the development phase. Some software development companies only provide the complete software at the end of this stage. But it is better to ask them to divide the software development phase into smaller chunks and set milestones.

In this way the business can have a chance to analyze the features on the early stages and when they are completed so if any improvement or change is required it can be communicated with the development team. Smaller changes can be done without effecting the overall deadline however, bigger changes are not suggested at this stage. The project development stage is basically the programming and building the software. In the development phase all the integration and APIs configurations is also done. All the features, specifications, functionalities, and work flow are programmed and developed. At the end of this phase the customized supply chain software is completed only testing and launch is left.

Quality Assurance, Security and UAT

For any software the quality assurance and UAT (user acceptance test) is a very important part. With the designing and development phase the actual software development is done already. The testing is the final stage before going live or launch of the software. Since it is a customized supply chain software so the quality assurance and testing is a must. Mostly the quality assurance test is done by the software development company but at this stage the IT team from the business can also take part in the testing. The UAT or user acceptance test is done in the live environment. The UAT server is identical to the actual or primary server however it is not live and can only be accessed by limited users. The business can form teams from both technical and non-technical sides to do the testing of each and everything. The UAT is done by a sample of people taken from the actual user pool. So, they will be the end-users of the customized supply chain software hence they can provide the best feedback and suggestion about the functionalities and features of the software.

The security testing or penetration testing is also performed before going live. The security or penetration testing is usually done by the IT team at the business and a third-party security firm. This testing is very important as the customized supply chain software will going to hold the most critical and confidential data for the business so it is extremely important that the security of the data and the software itself is ensured. Once all these testing are done and the changes or iterations are made as per the results and feedbacks the customized supply chain software is ready to go live.

Training, Launch and Post-Launch Activities

Once the UAT and security testing is done and everything is complete. Now is the time for the soft-launch. In the soft-launch stage the software is made available for the users but is not operational yet. At this stage all the data has been uploaded and synchronized with the customized supply chain software. The software development company held training sessions for different users and departments. The user manuals, support and training material is handed over to the respective users. And the Service and Support mechanisms are developed. After that the launch is done and the software is made fully operational. All the users start operating the customized supply chain software at this point.

Usually for most of the businesses the post-launched activities are the training and support, however another most important part of post-launch activities is the user feedback and suggestions. The business should conduct internal surveys and feedback programs to learn more about user’s perception of the customized supply chain software and its features. The user feedback can be utilized to further improve the software or to customize its features and work flows in the coming future to ensure maximum efficiency and user satisfaction which leads to better performance.

Conclusion

Supply chain management is an extremely critical process. Businesses always try to improve their supply chain management and operational efficiency. For that supply chain software are used. Businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE often don’t go for the customized supply chain software due to the difficulty of the development process. That is why we compiled this step by step guide to let businesses understand the custom supply chain software development process and help them in managing the project. The customized supply chain software development can significantly boost the operational efficiency of the business by automation and improvements in various business processes. It also cover several processes from concept and acquiring raw materials to production and then distribution of the products/services. The customized supply chain software can also aid customer relationship processes and help businesses drive future growth and sales. RSI Concepts is a leading name in customized software development in Dubai, if you want to learn more about our customized supply chain software or if you have an enquiry, please feel free to reach us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

January 19, 2022February 26, 2022

Business Process Optimization Using Queue Management System Business Intelligence Data

Business process optimization is mainly done to improve customer journey. The customer journey and customer experience is crucial for customer centric businesses. In order to delight their customers businesses heavily rely on digital solutions. The queue management systems, CRMs, ERPs, Online Portals, Digital communication and smartphone apps are the most commonly used digital tools in Dubai and all around the UAE. Modern day queue management systems doesn’t only offer queuing solutions, in fact the most important aspect of a queue management system is its queue analytical data which is also referred to as business intelligence data. This data is vital for any business’s growth. Businesses use the business intelligence data gathered from queue management system and other systems to analyze and assess their business processes, strategies, practices and even the entire organizational culture. The primary objectives of collecting and utilizing business intelligence data is to boost operational capabilities, improve products/services, increase employee performance, and the most important is to enhance customer journey and experience to ensure ultimate customer satisfaction.

The customer satisfaction is what every business wants, because it leads to higher customer retention and it maximize customer loyalty. A loyal customer base is a foundation of long term success. Businesses need customer loyalty to expand and grow. If a business keep losing precious customers, no matter how many more they are adding to their sales funnel, eventually their growth will be halted and soon they will start getting decline in sales and revenue. It is due to the brand image and brand reputation. The loyal customers help improving brand reputation and add credibility to the brand name, however, the customer who are quitting with you are causing the reverse effect. It all depends on customer happiness and customer satisfaction and the customer satisfaction revolve around the customer journey and customer experience, which can be assessed effectively by a queue management system. In this blog we will cover all the details about collecting, analyzing and implementing business intelligence data from a queue management system to optimize relevant business processes.

Collect Data at Customer Sing-Up Step

The very first interaction of a customer is at the sign-up stage. The queue management systems allow various different options for sign-up. The modern day queue management systems also provide facility to sign-up remotely and also support mobile sign-ups. These all different channels can be utilized to collect use details and other relevant data. The RSI Queue Management System [LINK] is a data driven tool, and it allow businesses to add customize fields and enable them to collect various details at the sign-up process. Furthermore the businesses can also use different channels for different inputs. For example, the sign-up kiosk at the business’s premises is suitable to scan RFIDs, Smart Cards, EID Cards, and Passports and much more. However, if you are providing your customers with SMS sign-up facility, then they won’t be able to input that kind of data. The businesses have to be innovative and creative in order to collect the right data from the right channel.

Another important thing to consider is the customer experience. For example if a customer is signing-up from an interactive kiosk and there is a huge form to fill-in, then obviously this would bother them, in addition to that there could be mismanaged queues for the sign-up which is extremely bad for the customer experience. Taking some inputs at the check-in step is important it allow businesses to set-up certain work flows and logics which further help them to segregate customers easily and such data can also be used to route the customers to their dedicated lines, which significantly reduce their wait time. Furthermore businesses can utilize this data to understand which services the customers are using the most and it also help them to speed up the service delivery process by automatically pushing relevant information to the service agent’s dashboard.

Log Customer History to Improve their Service Experience

The customer experience is the ultimate goal for any business. Businesses invest huge amount or resources and money to improve customer experience. A queue management system collects and compile history logs for any customer. A business could be offering dozens of services with dozens of counters in a single branch while having hundreds of daily customers. It is extremely hard for the service staff and also for the customer to remember the details. However, a queue management system can keep and maintain the history of all of the customers and service agents such as, the list of all the services availed by the customer in the past along with the details of which service agents served them in past, etc. The queue management system can relay this information to the customer service agent’s dashboard as soon as a customer reached them. Especially the information about their last visit is important and would be very helpful to the service agent.

As the customers always expect from the business to treat them exclusively and give them importance, however it is impossible for the service agents to remember every customer’s history and past visits, that is why when a customer feels that the service agent knows all the details about their past visit and even previous history they feel better and feel that the service agent will be able to help them more effectively. This enhances their experience and also make it easy for the service agent to satisfy the customers and offer them a better solution to their problem. Furthermore the service agent can also check the entire details of their past visits such as their waiting time, the service agents, even their feedbacks and chats. Those details are very helpful in serving the customers and also leave a good impression on them. When the customer knows that the business keep record of everything and utilize it to improve the service quality they feel more connected to the brand. It also help improving brand reputation and customer loyalty which is a key to success.

Collect Branch Traffic Data to Improve Customer Journey

The branch traffic data is very important, most of the time businesses do not pay much attention to it. The branch traffic data monitor and log all the details about the customer traffic along with the time and various other details. This detail provide a clear picture of the busy hours, busy days and it also logs which service was availed the most and which counters were busier. Most of the time a business offers multiple services and it usually have different counters dedicated for different services, this is done for several reasons such as improving customer flow and service quality, dealing with different priority levels of the customers and sometimes certain staff is trained only in certain services. This is very common in businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE. So, if a queue management system can provide all those details then it is easier to understand the chock points and businesses can easily identify the flaws in their policy. With the branch traffic data businesses can easily rectify such issues and get their staff ready for any expected situation.

Moreover the businesses can also link this data to other tools and systems such as with their online appointment booking module or virtual sign-up channels to provide their customers with the details and expected scenarios for the time of their visit. Hence the customers can also plan less busy hours to ensure quicker service delivery and lesser wait time. The staff can also be prepare for the busy hours and the business can also utilize their resources more effectively to ensure a smoother customer journey.

Collect Customer Flow Stats to Improve Policies

Collecting customer flow stats and analyzing them is very important especially for the businesses who offer stepped services or who different priority levels for different customers or groups of visitors. Businesses have set policies and strategies to route customers according to their service type and their priority level. There could be different priority levels, such as VIP, Premium, and People with special needs and so on. Similarly for different service there are exclusive counters too. Some services are technical, some require non-technical assistance or any other such category is defined for the services. Along with all those variables there are certain scenarios too that require management and real-time decisions. A queue management system is capable enough to handle all those details by itself. All this is achieved with intelligent algorithms and AI (artificial intelligence) based software management tools. These tools are automated but require basic inputs from the administrators.

All those inputs are according to the policy of the business. For example, if a customer signed-up in a wrong queue and the customer service agent realized it only when the customer arrived at the counter. Some businesses allow them to shift the customer to the next available counter and get them the service immediately and some requires the customers to sign-up for the other counter again and wait in the respective queue. Similarly there are several other scenarios, all these scenarios are handled by the queue management system in real-time and all the decisions are made as per the pre-programmed company policy. A queue management collects all such details and make them available in the form of reports which a business can use to assess the effectiveness of their policy. Business can improve their policies and make changes in their operational processes to make sure the customers will get the best experience hence the customer journey can be improved drastically.

Measuring KPIs and Efficiency Metrics

The KPIs or Key Performance Indicators are crucial for businesses. A queue management system can provide deep insight into the individual employee performance as well as the performance of the departments, teams and branches. It provide quantifiable KPIs for all customer facing employees. The in-built analytical engine and statistical data formats allow the businesses to compile different reporting formats such as detailed reports, summary reports or even trend reports. Thus the businesses can easily analyze which employee’s performance is getting better and who is not performing well. Such data can be relayed to the HR department so adequate actions can be taken to help employees boost their performance. Business can also share KPIs data with the individual employees to boost up their morals and to encourage them to perform well.

The queue management system can also measure the service delivery time and various other details which provide businesses with the information about the efficiency of the interlinked departments and systems as well. This also give them a chance to accurately assess the performance and efficiency of the employees, systems and mechanisms that are involved in the customer journey. The queue management system can accurately measure the number of customers served by a particular agent, time spent on each customer and each service delivery, etc. This will help them allocating the bottlenecks and aid them in forming new policies and making changes in the business processes to improve overall efficiency. Such way businesses can utilize resources effectively and boost their operational capabilities and work efficiency without adding any strain on the expense or per service cost.

Collect Customer Feedback via Queue Management System

Collecting customer feedback and asking them about their opinion of suggestions has become very common in Dubai and all around the UAE. Businesses uses different mediums, channels and tools to collect customer feedback. The government itself is stressing a lot on the importance of customer happiness and customer satisfaction. There are several tools that allow you to collect customer feedback data and analyze it. However, these days all modern queue management systems comes with in-built customer feedback collection tools. This is due to the importance of the customer feedback data in the business intelligence data. When a business collects customer feedback data using a queue management system it provide them several advantages which are not possible with mostly off-the-shelf solutions. The customer feedback collection also help building trust and establishing good relationship with your customers. The customer feel the business seriously care about their feelings and is eager to know their opinion and feedbacks. This improve customer experience and increase their loyalty.

When a queue management system is used to collect customer feedback data, it not only simplify the process for the businesses but it also simplify it for the customers too. Which results in higher response rate and improved data quality. A queue management system can link the customer data and their ticket time and several other details to their feedback data, hence the customers are no longer required to input their basic information or identification details. All these details along with the service they have availed and the details of the service agents are already mapped to the customer feedback and made available in the system. This makes it easier for the businesses to analyze the data and also help them on later stages such as closing the customer feedback loop, etc. The businesses can also link the customer feedback data with other systems and the central information center which simplifies various business process that involved in analyzing the customer feedback and taking actions on it. The businesses can combined other performance and KPIs data along with the customer feedback data to further improve the accuracy and quality of the data. Which can help them to improve customer journey, customer experience and quality of the service.

Integrate Queue Management System Business Intelligence Data

The data integration is one of the basic feature of any modern day digital system. Whether it is a customer satisfaction solution or an operational process management tool the data integration with other systems and databases is must to ensure the maximum outcome. A queue management system can easily allow integration with other enterprise tools and organizational systems via APIs or secure web services. This data integration allow the management to improve several internal processes and work flows. For example the business intelligence data can be automatically relayed to the concerned department in real-time along with notifications and alerts for important events. This not only simplify the communication between several departments but also make it easier for the management to take quick actions if needed. The queue management system can also collect data and integrate it into its business intelligence data to further improve the quality and accuracy of the data. The integration is a two-way communication, it means that the queue management system can push data to other systems as well as it can pull data from them to ensure maximum operational efficiency and productivity of business processes.

Conclusion

Every business wants its customer to be satisfied and delighted by the service/product and interaction they have with the business. Businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE invest huge amount of their revenue in customer satisfaction whether it is improving customer service quality, product development or brand reputation, whatever can please your customer is important. A queue management system is a central point of managing customer journey which drives customer happiness and customer satisfaction. These days a queue management system not only used to manage queues and customer flow but it is also used to gather crucial business intelligence data. This data can help businesses understand the needs, demands and expectations of the customers as well as it provide a deeper insight to various business processes and also help highlighting areas of improvement.

That is why businesses need queue management system business intelligence data to improve their productivity, profitability and efficiency by improving various business processes. RSI Concepts is a leading brand of queue management system and we also provide customized solutions to meet the very specific needs of our clients. If you want to learn more about the topic or if you have an enquiry please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

Check out this blog: The Ultimate Guide to Queue Management

January 18, 2022February 26, 2022

Why Restaurants Should Follow McDonald’s Self-Service Queue Management Strategy?

The businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE are adopting self-service solutions to enhance their customers’ experience and to boost their productivity and efficiency. Earlier, restaurants and fast food services were not as that interested in adopting to such innovative solutions. When McDonald’s introduced self-service food ordering kiosk, everyone noticed, both the customers and the competitors as well. People started enjoying the experience of being able to order instantly without lining up in long queues. The other businesses should also learn from this example. In fact the self-service market had witnessed a huge growth all over the world. Businesses from all sectors are trying to implement self-service technologies to improve their customer experience and to reduce the service cost. The fast-food restaurants and food industry have reported a significant growth after deploying the self-service solutions. In this blog we will discuss why other restaurants should also follow the McDonald’s self-service kiosk and queue management solution to boost their sales, productivity, profitability and customer happiness.

Reduce Customer Wait Time and Customer Churn

The customer wait time is the single most destructive element of the customer journey and is considered to be responsible for almost 30% to up to 80% of the customer churn. The customer churn means a customer who is already willing to make a purchase or convert, leave without converting. In case of food and restaurant businesses this is due to long queues and crowd formation in the restaurant. Consider yourself in a hurry to have a meal at the lunch time or either a dinner. You have planned to go for a McDonald’s meal and as soon as you reached there, you saw too many people waiting in long lines, will you happily wait there or will you look up for other options? Of course almost 8 out of 10 people would at least consider looking up for other available options rather waiting in the long queues. And whoever will wait in the queues they will be unhappy with that. Resultantly the customer experience is ruined and the customer churn rate will also rise. However, when there is a self-service kiosk the customers don’t have to wait in the queues, they can simply place their order from the interactive touch screen food ordering self-service kiosk.

Improve Customer Experience and Gain Customer Loyalty

The McDonald’s self-service queue management strategy have many benefits. It provide a lot of chances to improve customer journey and customer interaction. For example, if a customer comes to a restaurant, he/she had to wait in the queue for let say 10 to 15 minutes or even more, at the end when they will reach at the counter, the customer service agent or cashier ask for their order, they immediately tell them what they need, then the cashier start up selling them without realizing that the customer is already anxious and stressed due to the waiting time he/she spend in the queue. This could further ruin the customer experience. However with a self-service queue management strategy the customer can simply place their order from the food ordering interactive kiosk. The restaurant can provide large and detailed menu on the bright large display screen, along with the suggestive items or promotional items that can successfully up sell without bothering the customer. As soon as the customer finalize their order they got signed up for the queue which significantly reduce their wait time.

The customer can also avail facility to pay with multiple different payment methods which is also very convenient for the customers. In addition to that another big advantage of the self-serving queue management strategy is that the customer always get the correct order, as they themselves are placing the order from the self-service food ordering kiosk, so there is no chance of cashier or sales agent mixing up their order with someone else or any such thing. This could significantly improve the customer experience and ensure higher levels of customer happiness and customer satisfaction. The customer happiness is a key to customer loyalty and the customer loyalty is a key to success for any business. The loyal customers stick with the brand, it is hard to switch them, they often neglect any bad experience and they tend to be a good brand advocate in real-world and in social media and online. This provide a great long term advantage and help improving brand image.

Enhance Communication and Increase Customer Engagement

Customer engagement is very important to add excitement to the customer business relationship. The interactive self-service kiosk comes with a medium sized bright touch screen display. Which could attract customers from far away. Sometimes it happens that we planned to buy something and went to the market or mall, suddenly a bright screen displaying a great offer that caught our eye and instead of going as per the plan we decide to first inspect what they are selling. Same is applicable for the restaurants and the fast-food businesses, especially the one who are located in a food court or in the area where other businesses from the same category are also located. Anyway, when a customer reaches to a digital kiosk either for information or to place an order, the restaurant can increase customer engagement by running promotions, providing information about latest offers, etc. Such communication strategies are great to increase customer engagement and also help improving the sales.

Improve Employee Efficiency and Quality of Service

The interactive self-service kiosks are not used to replace the employees. In fact the interactive self-service food ordering kiosks are used to divide the foot fall of the customers and reduce the work load of the employees. The balanced workload ensure highest work efficiency and better order accuracy. It also reduce the queues hence it also help the employees to provide better service and makes it easier for them to satisfy their customers. When the employees have too much workload and at the same time the customers have to wait for a long time in long queues, it is harder to deliver a satisfactory service. However, when the customers are divided between the self-service interactive food ordering kiosk and the counters then both the employees and the customers have less strain and it is easier to make them happy and satisfy.

Increase Sales and Revenue

The self-service food ordering kiosks have several benefits for the customers and the employees along with that it is great for generating more sales and revenue for the business. The interactive user interface allows the customers to easily navigate through the menu and it can also suggest products, add-ons, special offers, etc. Which makes upselling easier and more convenient. For example, if a customer is ordering for a regular meal, at the checkout step the kiosk can suggest them some add-on or soft-drink or fries or any sweet or any such thing, and most of the time the customers add them to their menu that is how the interactive self-service food ordering kiosks can help businesses in upselling. The self-service interactive kiosk doesn’t require any staff, it is fully automated and it can be a great alternate to adding more counters. In addition to that there is no regular or monthly expense of the self-service food ordering kiosk, it doesn’t require much maintenance, and the entire operation is fully automated. The interactive self-service kiosks technology have a longer lifecycle and can last for years without needing any upgrade or modification. This makes it a very cost-effective solution in long terms.

Easy Scalability – Aim for Future

The interactive self-service food ordering kiosks are built on a most widely used computer technology, which makes upgrades, expansion and modification in the system very convenient and cost effective. Usually the interactive touch screens comes with in-built computer. The computers runs on Windows or Android, both are the most widely used technologies. The restaurants can easily acquire a company to develop the required solution for them. The customization cost is also very less and the upgrade or modification is also cost-efficient. There are tons of peripherals and accessories available in the market that can be integrated with the interactive self-service kiosks to enhance its functionality and to improve the user experience. In addition to that the self-service queue management system is based on a centralized server, which allow the businesses to easily add more kiosks at any time and any place. The centralized information center also enables remote management and monitoring features and allow the businesses to manage the entire network from a central location (such as head office) or even from any remote location via internet. These features makes it a future ready tool and also help businesses to minimize their cost in upgrades and customization.

Business Intelligence Data Collection and Customer Feedback

The interactive self-service food ordering kiosk is a great tool for self-service queue management strategy. It also collect business intelligence data from various touch points in the customer journey and also help businesses understand the popularity of certain products and aid them in communication and marketing strategies. The system can provide in-depth system usage and statistical data with in-built analytical tools and various reporting mechanisms to compile actionable reports from the business intelligence data. Moreover the self-service interactive food ordering kiosk can also be used to collect customer feedback. The restaurants and businesses can conduct short customer feedback surveys and polls via the interactive kiosk. Which can provide further insight to the customer’s mind and let businesses understand the demand, needs and expectations of its customers. The restaurants and businesses can use the businesses intelligence and customer feedback data to identify the areas of improvement and then they can lay down their future strategies and make policies that suit best with their customers and business goals.

Conclusion

The McDonalds’ self-service queue management strategy was a great idea. It not only helped them to boost their operational efficiency but it also increases customer satisfaction and sales. There are several factors that can contribute to customer journey and customer experience. Bad customer experience and long queues are the major cause of customer churn which deprived the restaurants from valuable sales. However, by deploying an interactive self-service queue management strategy a restaurant can enjoy various advantages such as improved customer experience by reducing wait time and offering instant service via interactive self-service food ordering kiosks. Moreover the restaurants can easily increase customer engagements and improve their upselling as well. The interactive touch screen based digital menus attract more customers and also improve the size of each sale by suggestive marketing techniques and appealing promotional campaigns. The customers who are using the food ordering kiosks can easily explore the entire menu, hence there is no chance of error or mistake in the order.

The restaurant can also utilize the business intelligence data that is collected from the self-service food ordering kiosk and system which is very helpful in making improvements to ensure ultimate efficiency and customer satisfaction. The customer feedback collection is also a great tool to acquire first-hand business intelligence from the customers. RSI Concepts is a leading customer satisfaction provider specialized in interactive self-service solutions. If you want to learn more about the topic or if you have an enquiry please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

Check out this blog: Why Bank should Integrate Appointment Booking System with a Queue Management System?

January 5, 2022February 26, 2022

Why Bank should Integrate Appointment Booking System with a Queue Management System?

A queue management system and an appointment booking system, both are two different systems and most of us are quite familiar with them too. Both have their application and are used to facilitate the customers and to enhance their experience and interaction with the business. In case of banks the customer experience is always the top priority, especially the banks that are located in Dubai or anywhere else in the UAE. The customer experience and customer satisfaction is considered to be the key to success. The UAE is a very competitive market for the banks, there are too many options available for everyone, if a bank fails to satisfy the customers they will not going to think twice before switching to another bank. The market have changed since past few years, the digitalization on large scale, the COVID situation and multiple other factors have left profound effects on the market trends and customer behavior. Now a day’s people are more adoptive and comfortable with the technology, in fact people also expect from their favorite brand to offer some kind of digital interaction or a digital solution that can enhance their experience and interaction.

Banks all over the UAE are proactively seeking new methods and techniques to deal with the new trends and customer’s expectations. There are certain things that we already know can ruin the customer experience, such as unmanaged queues, long waiting time, poorly organized customer flow, low quality customer service, etc. Customers don’t want to wait, in fact studies have shown that in general a customer would like to wait for up to 10 to 13 minutes at maximum, any wait time more than that start affecting their experience. Customers and visitors are also more conscious about their safety and health, though the COVID situation in our country is under control but still the effects of that have changed our general behavior. A queue management system can be a great relief for the banks and the customers too, but everyone is doing that, there are certain things that can be added to the queue management system to further improve the customer experience, one of them is integrating an appointment booking system.

Here is how an appointment booking system can be integrated with a queue management system and how it could help transforming the customer experience and customer journey in the banks:

Introduction to Queue Management System

A queue management system is a technological solution that help banks to streamline their customer flow, improve their customer’s experience and customer journey to ensure the ultimate customer satisfaction. The customer satisfaction is the primary goal for any business whether it is a bank or any other business organization. The customer satisfaction means that when a customer leave your premises after availing a service, they left happy, satisfied and fulfilled. This will make them loyal to the brand and will also directly or indirectly improve various factors which are good for long term sustainable growth and profitability. The queue management system is a great tool to monitor and analyze the customer journey and various business process and it also monitor various employee KPIs. All the data is combined to generate valuable business intelligence which than can be further analyzed with in-built analytical tool to compile comprehensive and summary reports.

Banks can utilize a queue management system to improve their customer journey, operational capabilities and it will also help them to increase profitability. Satisfied customers are more loyal and play a vital role in long term growth.

Introduction to Appointment Booking System

An appointment booking system is a digital tool that allow the customers and visitors to book a spot to meet up with the customer service or sales agent or simply to get a service done from the business. Banks and other financial institutions in Dubai and all around the UAE are investing heavily in productivity solutions and systems. The banks are well aware of the importance of the digital solutions and also the human to human interaction. That is why the customers and visitors are always welcome at the banks. The human to human interaction is critical to build trust and to establish long term relationship with the customers. However, if a customer will have to wait for a very long time before they get a chance to meet the bank representative, it is extremely hard to deliver satisfactory service. That is why the appointment booking systems and tools are used.

The appointment booking system ensures that the customer get a schedule for meeting the right person at the most convenient time for them and they don’t have to wait, so they can peacefully interact with the staff and get the service done.

How Appointment Booking System can be integrated with a Queue Management System?

The Appointment booking system is a software program that allow the customers and visitors to sign-up or register and schedule an appointment. The appointment booking system can provide various information which are helpful for the appointment booking, for example, it can provide the list of bank relationship managers or customer service representative along with their availability, etc. Such information help the customers and visitors to book appropriate time as per their needs. Moreover the customer can book appointment by calling to the bank help center or through the mobile application. On the day of appointment the queue management system can issue a ticket and provide the customers with the estimated time of their turn. This results in very little wait time or no wait time at all. Which is excellent for customer experience and customer satisfaction.

All these functionalities and many more required data synchronization and integration in real-time. Both the appointment booking system and the queue management system pull and push data from each-other and also from various other systems. All this is achieved with secure web services or APIs. The APIs make it possible to link two separately managed databases and also connect the systems with the central information center of the bank.

The Benefits of Integrating Appointment Booking System with a Queue Management System

When an appointment booking system is integrated with a queue management system the bank can have several perks and it can also offer various innovative features to improve customer experience and customer satisfaction. Here are some benefits of integrating an appointment booking system with a queue management system could help banks to enhance its customer’s experience:

Offer freedom to book a time of service as per the customer’s convenience
Allow customers and visitors to sign-up for virtual queues and enable virtual queuing
Provide customers additional information about the branches
Allow customers to choose any service agent or the one which served them the last time
Prioritize the premium customers and segregate them to improve customer flow
Reduce the wait time to literally none
Improve customer journey and customer experience by optimizing various business processes
Help service agents and staff to improve their performance and efficiency
Collect customer feedback data and gather business intelligence
Integrate smartphone applications for appointment booking, queue management and feedback
Provide live queuing information to the customers via SMS, Online Portal or Mobile Apps
Improve overall operational capabilities and optimize the use of resources
Reduce per service cost and increase profitability
Reduce customer churn rate
Improve customer loyalty and brand reputation
Ensure long term success and growth

Enabling the virtual queuing, remote sign-ups and appointment booking can really enhance customer experience and customer journey. The appointment booking system allow the customers to get live information about the schedules, busiest hours, busiest branches, and much more. The smartphone application offer various innovative features to further improve customer journey. For example, the smartphone application can offer a branch locator which provide details about the branches their timings and other details that help the customers and visitors to schedule their visit. Once an appointment is booked the queue management system can issue them a virtual token for their queue. The queue management system can also provide live queuing data to the customers and visitors which help them to plan their visit. Several channels can be used for reminders, notifications and alerts to make sure the customers don’t miss their turn.

Moreover the queue management system can also collect customer feedback data, which can be added to the main business intelligence which is also being collected from each and every touch point of the customer journey along with various stats and employee KPIs. Such data is extremely helpful for the banks. The management can easily prepare actionable reports and make policies to make improvements wherever needed. The employee KPIs can also be provided for the HR usage.

Conclusion

Banks in Dubai and all around the UAE are working in a very competitive market. The customers also have high demands and market trends are also getting changed all the time. In such scenarios businesses often innovate new solutions or combined two available solutions to innovate the utility. That is why integrating an appointment booking system with a queue management system is such a wonderful idea. Both systems are used for customer happiness and customer satisfaction. When combined, the results could be astonishing. When integrated with a queue management system an appointment booking system takes the customer queuing to the next level, it added value to various business processes and it offer ultimate freedom and control to the customers. It also boost the agent’s performance and improve profitability. RSI Concepts is a leading customized software development company with having appointment booking system and queue management system as the two most popular products. If you are interested in improving your bank’s capabilities and to increase customer satisfaction, feel free to let us know. If you want to learn more about the topic, please free to leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

Check out this blog: World’s First WhatsApp Queue Management Solution

January 5, 2022February 26, 2022

Why Small and Local Businesses Need a Queue Management System?

Businesses use digital solutions to facilitate their customers and to boost their own productivity. These digital solutions can help businesses in many different ways, which could improve their operational capabilities and profitability. Big businesses are using queue management system for more than a decade now, it has become an absolute necessity for them. However small and local businesses haven’t embraced this technology yet. Although there are a lot many small and local businesses who are using a queue management system or any other kind of digital product to aid there queuing process, but the overall adaptation rate is not as that high as it is in large businesses such as banks, hospitals, government offices, educational institutions, telecom, etc. The small and local businesses in Dubai or in anywhere else in UAE have started to focus more on customer service, customer happiness and customer waiting experience.

Let us just admit it, no one likes to stand in long lines at a retail store. Most of the time when the queue is too long, people don’t even enter the store instead they move on to the next one. That is why it is extremely important for a business to provide excellent customer service and to prevent any congestion at the counters. Same is applicable for the small and local businesses, in fact they have to be more careful about their customer service. As small and local businesses usually have low budget and less employee so in order to ensure optimum balance between the expense/cost and the profit, they might be hesitant in investing in any digital system such as a queue management system. And due to the same reasons they might often feel overwhelmed with the load of the customers. Which not only results in poor customer experience but also increase customer churn rate.

The customer churn is simply the measurement of the number of customers who have entered into the business and wanted to purchase something but due to any reason they leave without making a purchase. Mostly the reason is the rush at the counters or very slow moving queues. In this blog we will discuss the basics of a queue management system and its benefits for small and local business to let them understand how important it is to have a digital queue management system at their store/business.

What is a Queue Management System?

A queue management system is a combination of software and hardware devices that help businesses to manage the queues and customer flow with more efficiency and also help them to enhance the customer experience and customer journey. The queue management system consists of the following essential parts and components:

Queue Management Server Application: This is the brain of the system, an intelligent software with advanced algorithms to operate and control everything in real-time. It resides on a server or cloud or online and is connected with each and every other component.
Customer/Visitor Dashboard: This is an interactive dashboard, which is usually available on an interactive kiosk machine. This dashboard allow the customers and visitors to sign-up for the queue and it also issue the tickets.
Agent Dashboard:This is an interactive dashboard for the agents/servers who can manage, control and monitor queues from their portal. Usually it is a web-based application which is available on the agent’s computer.
Administrative Dashboard: This dashboard is also a web-based application which is designed for the management to monitor the entire queuing process and to customize policies and perform all administrative functions.
Digital Signage: These are large display screens placed on strategic location where everyone in the waiting area can view them. These screens are used to display queuing information in real-time along with that the business can run multimedia content to increase customer engagements.
Announcement System: The announcement system is used for customer calling, it displays the ticket number of the digital signage as well as it also call the token number and its allocated counter in multi-lingual audio through the sound system installed all around the premises.
Counter Plates: The counter plates are available in three types, first one is an ordinary name plate, the second type is an LED based Dot Matrix Display and the most widely used is the small digital display screens which displays counter number, ticket number or any other additional information if needed.

These are just the basic components, there are several others that can be added to further improve the efficiency of the system. For example, virtual queuing is one of the most popular queuing method used by both large and small businesses. Another most popular form is QR Code based queuing. The queue management systems are usually customizable, so businesses can come up with their own ideas to innovate new features that could help them to reduce waiting time and improve customer experience.

Advantages of a Queue Management System for Small and Local Businesses

Small and local businesses need an efficient queue management system to improve their customer journey and to increase operational efficiency. As small and local businesses have limited budget and a limited number of employees so it is very crucial to utilize each resource efficiently to ensure maximum outcome. Unmanaged or poorly managed queues not only decrease customer satisfaction but also put strain on the staff which further results in poor employee performance and even poorer customer experience. Another major factor that could make things more difficult is the limited physical space, all small businesses have limited physical space and if it get crowded it will not only harm customer experience but it could have other negative effects too.

Here are some advantages of a queue management system for a small or a local business:

Queue Management System Reduce Wait Time

Simply be managing the queues, reducing the stress of the waiting customer and helping the employees to boost their performance a queue management system can significantly reduce wait time. This can be achieved in many ways, in fact for different businesses the queue management system works differently, let us discuss two most commonly found small businesses. For example a retail store such as clothing brand or just a general grocery store wants to improve its customer experience and customer satisfaction by improving their waiting experience. One thing is for sure, for any small or local businesses the customers must have to wait, it is inevitable. Especially during the rush hours, when the footfall is at its highest of the day, things could really get out of hands. A queue management system can offer mobile apps or SMS enabled sign-up process which help the shoppers to sign-up for the queue. The difference is they don’t have to wait in the line anymore, they can roam around the store and once their turn will come they will be notified by alerts and notifications either in-app or push notifications or simply SMS notifications. Hence the customers can go to their counter and get served immediately without any wait or very little wait time.

Similarly for other types of small and local businesses who are offering some kind of services instead of offering products. For example, there is a salon or small travel agent or a local real estate branch. The physical premises is small but during the busy hours it could be crowded. The queue management system can completely eliminate the problems that businesses might face on daily bases such as someone crossing the line or any dispute occurring among the staff or even with other customers, etc. Without a queue management system usually the staff is involved in solving such problems which deviates them from their primary task and also increase their workload. But with a queue management system this all could be avoided the staff could get more time to focus on their primary tasks, which expedite the service delivery process and the customers also remain calm as they know once their turn come only then they will be served. In addition to that in such small premises the digital signage could play vital role in further improving the customer experience by playing multimedia content and publishing queuing detailslive.

Read More: Queue & Waiting Time Management

Queue Management System Improves Employee Efficiency and Profitability

The small and local businesses usually manage their queues manually which not only reduce the customer happiness and customer satisfaction but also increase the workload of the staff which not only result in poor employee performance but it also results in poor customer experience as well. In fact such situations reduce the overall morale of the staff which directly impact on customer satisfaction and customer happiness. However, with the help of a queue management system when the queue are managed automatically and the employees have less work to do, the effects will be reversed, which means the employee will have a very balanced workload which will raise their morale and also improve their work efficiency. This reduce the overall per service cost and increase overall profitability. Once the employee start working on their full potential they will also cause reduction in the waiting time as the service delivery will be faster, which will also improve customer experience and increase their satisfaction. That is how a queue management system can boost the overall brand image and customer loyalty of a small or local business which is extremely important for a long term growth.

Queue Management System Increase Customer Loyalty and Ensures Long Term Growth

The customer loyalty and the long term growth are extremely important for a small or local business. As the competition in the market is very high, small and local businesses are also located nearby each other, usually concentrated in a certain area or sector of the city which means the customers have too many options available. In such scenarios losing a customer due to bad customer service or mismanaged queues could seriously harm the reputation of the business which could have dire consequences in long term. Hence it is extremely crucial that business ensures ultimate customer satisfaction to make them happy. A happy customer is tend to come back again which help building good relationship with them and increase their loyalty.

The loyal customers are tend to be a good brand advocate, they share their positive experience with their colleagues, friends and family and they recommend your brand to others. The loyal customers are more likely to defend the brand while talking to other people in real life or in online or social media platforms. Which help building a positive reputation of the business. A small or local business with positive reputation can attract more customers hence customer loyalty and customer satisfaction has long term effects on the growth and brand image.

Queue Management System can Gather Business Intelligence and Customer Feedback Data

A queue management system is not only used to manage the queues, but it is a very powerful tool that can monitor and capture data from each customer touch point. The system usage data and other stats are very helpful in identifying the areas of improvements and let the business management understand their customers more accurately. The queue management system can also measure and monitor various KPIs which can further help improving the employee efficiency. For example the queue management system can accurately measure the service delivery time each employee takes to serve a customer, it can also collect customer feedback data and various other types of stats which can be analyzed by its in-built analytical engine and the data can be extracted in reporting formats. Which help the management to take informed decisions and to draw strategies for the future.

Collecting the customer feedback data is one of the great feature of a modern day queue management system. The customer feedback collection not only provide a deeper insight to the customer’s mind but it also help improving customer to business relationship. When a business start collecting customer feedback the customer get a sense of importance and feel more connected to the business. They know that their favorite brand is interested in learning their opinions, views and taking their complaints which shows their seriousness to improve their customer’s experience. This also increase customer loyalty. The customer feedback data can also be extracted in various reporting formats which can be used to analyze various business process, quality of the products/services and also to analyze the behavior and capabilities of the customer service staff. Such data is very important for decision making and planning for the future and help businesses to improve in all aspects.

Conclusion

For any small or local business investing in a new solution could be a difficult decision. A queue management system is not as that expensive but still we have witnessed that small and local businesses in Dubai and also in other parts of UAE are a little bit hesitant in investing in it. A queue management system could be a game changer for a small or local business. It can help organizing the queues and improving employee efficiency along with that it also help improving customer experience by reducing the wait time and offer many features that can benefit the business to further reduce the wait time and help them boost their performance. These all factors result in higher customer satisfaction and improve customer loyalty. The loyal customers are important for a long term growth.

A queue management system also gather business intelligence data and customer feedback which provide a deeper understanding of relevant business processes and customer’s mindset. These all information improve the decision making capabilities of the business and ensure a positive growth with higher efficiency and profitability. RSI Concepts is a leading queue management system provider in Dubai, UAE. If you want to learn more about the topic or if you are interested in a quote, feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

Check out this blog: Manage Patient Appointment and Journey with Queue Management System