The digital integration of supply chains that historically have relied on manual processes is key to integrating modern-day business functions, both within the organization and externally with customers, suppliers, and partners.

Digital integration delivers a superior customer experience for products as well as for services. But achieving it is a complex challenge. Businesses must automate the entire supply chain network, embracing people and multi-generational technologies such as back-end systems, middleware, application interfaces and cloud storage. A current example is innovations in the processing of healthcare claims, drawing on electronic medical records and a patient portal.

Following are three steps toward architecting and achieving digital integration of the supply chain.

Start with engagement. Take an omnichannel approach to customer engagement. Include all channels, such as the web, social media, messaging, voice-direct and voice response. Together they make up an effective customer-experience platform that can be used for tasks such as communicating the status of medical claims, identifying feature preferences for products or services, accepting product or service orders, and updating delivery or order status. Coupled with a customer relationship management (CRM) application, omnichannel interaction can be a highly effective tool for customer touch, digital marketing and customer acquisition.

Proceed to operations. At this stage, information on product or service requirements is transmitted digitally. If, for example, the customer requests a physician appointment, automatic scheduling and confirmation is a must. The process will also include additional physician office workflows, medical records and proof of insurance eligibility. Another example is the auto-routing of product orders for delivery. In discrete and assembled manufacturing, gaps occur when order-receipt and management systems lack full visibility of the supply chain. As a result, a due date may be given with minimal or no information on actual supplier stock. A third example involves the seamless transmission of due dates to manufacturing for digital product design.

It’s vital to integrate the customer, service provider, manufacturer and supplier under a single ecosystem, with connected information shared via application programming interfaces (APIs). This is similar to the electronic data interchange and initial graphics exchange specification formats that are commonplace in design and manufacturing processes.

When it comes to product fulfillment, the distribution segment is critical for ensuring the optimal customer experience. Considerations include fleet management, warehouse availability and delivery scheduling. Here, the partner ecosystem can be designed to provide necessary information in a digital fashion, for fast and efficient delivery of goods.

A similar approach can be taken for service delivery, with all partners integrated within a common system. In the home healthcare sector, mobile care givers are equipped with necessary information for attending to patient needs and the care environment.

Delight the customer. This is the final stage of digital integration. Beyond integrating returns, service centers and call centers, this is also the time to revisit and review the interaction. What worked, which improvements are needed, and how good was the customer's experience are some of the questions that need to be asked. Required digital capabilities include intelligent incident management, large-scale analytics for response or experience management, and a 360-degree feedback loop integrating front-end customer management with provisioning and fulfillment.

Full digital integration of the supply chain can be complex and time consuming, but it results in a superior customer experience, setting the stage for long-term business growth. Considering the dramatic progress of digital technologies today, companies have no choice but to embrace them.

Shubho Chatterjee is chief operating officer, North America, at Worxpertise.com.

The digital integration of supply chains that historically have relied on manual processes is key to integrating modern-day business functions, both within the organization and externally with customers, suppliers, and partners.

Digital integration delivers a superior customer experience for products as well as for services. But achieving it is a complex challenge. Businesses must automate the entire supply chain network, embracing people and multi-generational technologies such as back-end systems, middleware, application interfaces and cloud storage. A current example is innovations in the processing of healthcare claims, drawing on electronic medical records and a patient portal.

Following are three steps toward architecting and achieving digital integration of the supply chain.

Start with engagement. Take an omnichannel approach to customer engagement. Include all channels, such as the web, social media, messaging, voice-direct and voice response. Together they make up an effective customer-experience platform that can be used for tasks such as communicating the status of medical claims, identifying feature preferences for products or services, accepting product or service orders, and updating delivery or order status. Coupled with a customer relationship management (CRM) application, omnichannel interaction can be a highly effective tool for customer touch, digital marketing and customer acquisition.

Proceed to operations. At this stage, information on product or service requirements is transmitted digitally. If, for example, the customer requests a physician appointment, automatic scheduling and confirmation is a must. The process will also include additional physician office workflows, medical records and proof of insurance eligibility. Another example is the auto-routing of product orders for delivery. In discrete and assembled manufacturing, gaps occur when order-receipt and management systems lack full visibility of the supply chain. As a result, a due date may be given with minimal or no information on actual supplier stock. A third example involves the seamless transmission of due dates to manufacturing for digital product design.

It’s vital to integrate the customer, service provider, manufacturer and supplier under a single ecosystem, with connected information shared via application programming interfaces (APIs). This is similar to the electronic data interchange and initial graphics exchange specification formats that are commonplace in design and manufacturing processes.

When it comes to product fulfillment, the distribution segment is critical for ensuring the optimal customer experience. Considerations include fleet management, warehouse availability and delivery scheduling. Here, the partner ecosystem can be designed to provide necessary information in a digital fashion, for fast and efficient delivery of goods.

A similar approach can be taken for service delivery, with all partners integrated within a common system. In the home healthcare sector, mobile care givers are equipped with necessary information for attending to patient needs and the care environment.

Delight the customer. This is the final stage of digital integration. Beyond integrating returns, service centers and call centers, this is also the time to revisit and review the interaction. What worked, which improvements are needed, and how good was the customer's experience are some of the questions that need to be asked. Required digital capabilities include intelligent incident management, large-scale analytics for response or experience management, and a 360-degree feedback loop integrating front-end customer management with provisioning and fulfillment.

Full digital integration of the supply chain can be complex and time consuming, but it results in a superior customer experience, setting the stage for long-term business growth. Considering the dramatic progress of digital technologies today, companies have no choice but to embrace them.

Shubho Chatterjee is chief operating officer, North America, at Worxpertise.com.