Call Management

You can register and handle calls for products. You receive alerts about existing calls on the selected business partner at the time of registration. A central call center with several local call centers in various time zones can be supported. The registered calls can be assigned to any support center or support engineer. When assigned to a specific support engineer, the call is routed to that individual’s queue for processing. Calls can also be assigned to a business partner (subcontractor). You can use email to transfer the call. This email has an attachment that contains all relevant call information.

  • Call handling

    The call handling process steps include registering the call, assigning the call, processing the call, solving the call, and delivering the solution.

  • Escalated and deferred calls

    Escalated calls refer to all calls that must be processed to avoid escalation. Deferred calls are calls that must be handled. The status of deferred calls does not change within the specified period.

  • Call diagnostics

    If you register a call, you can enter the problem and the item details. You can then initiate the diagnostic tree specific to the equipment. You can select a potential problem and solution with the help of a diagnostic tree.

  • Diagnostic tree construction

    A diagnostic tree in Call Management is an information structure that contains a set of questions, along with their expected answers, that is used to help you solve problems. You can attach the expected problem and solution to an answer. A follow-up question can also be attached, which is used to elicit more details before providing a solution. You can also specify an item related to the answer, which enables you to switch to the diagnostic tree of the related item, and search the diagnostic tree's path for a solution.

  • Priorities

    Call priorities are used to rank calls for call handling purposes. A call has two priorities:

    • Initial priority: When the call is registered, LN calculates the amount of time left to call solution and, based on this value allocates an initial priority.
    • Actual priority: When call processing is initiated and the call timer starts, the actual time left to call solution (start or finish) is determined by LN. Based on this value, an actual priority is allocated to the call by LN.

  • Response time

    The response time is the time period between the registration of the call and the response. Response times are used to calculate the initial and actual priorities of a call and planned dates.

  • Transfer a call to a service order

    If a call cannot be solved by the support engineer within the normal service requirements, the call can (with the appropriate authorization) be transferred to a service order.

  • Call invoicing

    You can use Central Invoicing to invoice the business partner for the service calls that you handle. Before you invoice a call, you must first set the following invoicing parameters in the Call Parameters (tsclm0100m000) session:

    • Invoice after Call
    • Time Interval
    • Cost Component
    • Coverage Type
    • Path for Labor Rate

  • Statistics - problems and solutions

    You can maintain call statistics. The statistics data is used in the probability analysis, when a call is solved or a service order activity is completed.

  • Service resolution - probability analysis

    The service resolution - probability analysis is updated if:

    • A call is solved, and the associated details are added.
    • A service order activity is created either from a call or manually. This history data is updated when the activity is updated.