Disputes – complaints – often lead to late payment of invoices. Or worse, they are not paid at all. Disputes, therefore, negatively impact cash flow, which is one of the reasons you need solid dispute management. It leads to:
- A shorter turnaround time.
- More insight and in time fewer disputes.
- Better cash flow.
And not unimportantly, higher customer happiness.
There are several ways to do this, and can be supported by MA!N.
Dispute management workflow
The dispute management process starts with making sure you can register a dispute.
If you work with MA!N, you record one flow:
- The customer (and invoice) to which the dispute relates.
- The reason for the dispute.
- Who within the organization should resolve the dispute.
MA!N starts the correct workflow based on the entered data.
Workflow and communication
That workflow usually starts with communication. Both externally and internally.
Internal
Often the person who registers the dispute is someone other than the one who will resolve the dispute. You, therefore, send an e-mail to the action taker. This person will resolve the dispute, and you will pass on the information you have registered with the dispute. When you send all the data, the other person can start immediately.
MA!N supports this in several ways. The three most commonly used methods are:
- MA!N sends an e-mail to the action taker. It picks up on the action and provides feedback via e-mail.
- The action taker uses MA!N for resolving assigned disputes. MA!N monitors progress and further workflow.
- MA!N creates a task in Outlook for the action taker and handles the dispute there administratively.
MA!N also monitors whether a dispute is resolved in a timely manner. If it takes longer than expected, it creates a reminder action or sends a reminder by e-mail.
For customer
Customers want to know what happens with their complaint. Sending a confirmation of the complaint gives the feeling that you are working on a solution. MA!N can do that in the background, just like sending the email to the action taker.
Analysis and improvement
You collect data about the process by managing your disputes with MA!N. Data that provides information about causes and lead times so that you can analyze where there’s room for improvement.
With MA!N, all data is collected on the fly. This ranges from causes to frequency and from lead times to business units. It lets you convert data into information you can use to improve the organization. This leads to happier customers, lower costs, and improved cash flow.