FORT BELVOIR, Va. –
A customer service management summit focused on advancing the Defense Logistics Agency’s customer support capabilities Jan, 27-29.
Hosted by the DLA Logistics Operations Customer Support division, the summit brought together 65 customer service agents from all three levels of case management to discuss new and upcoming tools designed to standardize processes and enhance customer experience.
A common thread among the attendees was their commitment to supporting the warfighter. John Sarnosky, the Customer Support program manager, noted how passionate the attendees were about providing great customer support.
“Every level wants to provide honest answers to customers, even if it’s not good news," he said.
This dedication reflects DLA’s mission to provide efficient and transparent support to its customers, including military personnel and other stakeholders, Sarnosky added. By investing in new technologies and training its employees, DLA is demonstrating a commitment to delivering a more streamlined and effective customer experience.
The summit highlighted several tools and initiatives. One of the initiatives was the electronic standard operating procedure, which aims to standardize case management across the agency. This tool ensures CSAs follow consistent guidelines, resulting in a more reliable and efficient support process. Another tool was the analytics dashboard, which visually represents data to help customers understand evolving trends. The dashboard is designed to capture a clear picture of how DLA supports its customers, accurately measure customer satisfaction, and automate generating actionable insights for improved decision-making.
The upcoming launch of the DLA Customer Experience Office was announced at the summit. The office, known as CXO, will be a centralized resource to gather and analyze customer feedback. The CXO will provide tools and analysis to measure customer experience through surveys, promoting continuous improvement and data-driven decisions. The Customer Support Division will design and administer surveys, analyze data and deliver actionable insights to identify customer priorities and pain points. Future plans include integrating real-time feedback and predictive analytics with enterprise data for deeper insights.
The summit also focused on the ongoing development of the External Customer Portal, which is envisioned as a one-stop shop for all customer inquiries. Once completed, the ECP will empower customers with self-service options, including real-time dashboards, a virtual agent for inquiries and access to training materials. The ECP will allow customers to view the status of their orders in one centralized location. This eliminates the need to check multiple systems to answer the common question, “Where’s my stuff?” The ECP is also being designed with a secure authentication process to ensure that only authorized users can access the site.
While challenges remain in its development, Sarnosky acknowledged these obstacles and expressed optimism about the portal’s future benefits. Once operational, the ECP is expected to reduce calls to the Customer Interaction Center, improve resolution times, enhance data collection and increase overall customer satisfaction.