Summary:
The manufacturing industry is facing a labor shortage, and everyone is looking for ways to get support where they need it. Working with a partner to provide contact center services can be exactly the help that’s needed.
Manufacturers want to modernize and integrate emerging technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) into their network architectures. But these architectures are often aging rapidly, and it’s challenging to mesh the new with the old.
The integration difficulties have a ripple effect across the company and can impact a manufacturer’s contact center that relies on these aging legacy systems. Manufacturers are quickly discovering the disadvantages of operating without the modern cloud tools that empower agents to provide customers with frictionless, meaningful and memorable interactions. If manufacturers don’t pivot their contact center technology, they could soon face high customer abandonment rates and lost sales.
The effects of labor shortages and cybersecurity issues on manufacturing contact centers
Every manufacturer wants a contact center that has scalability, resiliency and security. But achieving this trifecta is increasingly difficult as the industry faces a decrease in labor and an increase in cyberthreats that challenge already problematic legacy systems and open manufacturers up to vulnerabilities to their business reputation and customer satisfaction.
The manufacturing industry is experiencing a significant labor shortage, with around 750,000 unfilled jobs in the manufacturing sector despite historically low unemployment rates. According to the National Association of Manufacturers Outlook Survey, almost three-quarters (74.4%) of manufacturing leaders in the U.S. consider attracting and retaining a quality workforce to be the number one business challenge, and this issue carries over to contact centers where agent churn is an ongoing predicament.
The news isn’t much better when it comes to cybersecurity. Cyberthreats continue to escalate as manufacturers try to protect their valuable data and ensure compliance. Manufacturing was the most targeted sector for ransomware cyberattacks and the most extorted industry in 2022 – the second consecutive year the manufacturing sector held the top spot in IBM Security’s 2023 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index.
Facing this difficult labor environment, some business leaders in the manufacturing industry have been exploring various forms of outsourcing. IT managed services has become increasingly popular in the manufacturing space, seeing companies partnering with service providers to cover some or all of an IT department’s functions. This solution provides flexibility at a time when it’s critically needed—and fortunately there’s a similar offering businesses can consider when it comes to their call centers.
The CCaaS advantage for manufacturing contact centers
There is a solution for manufacturers trying to combat labor shortages and cyber threats while moving away from the traditional, voice-only call centers on their legacy phone systems.
Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) is a framework that combines contact center hosting principles and cloud-based contact center infrastructure. Omnichannel contact centers go beyond voice to support multiple communication methods like email, SMS, video, chat and social media.
According to the 2023 Gartner Critical Capabilities for Contact Center as a Service report, CCaaS is now the preferred option for contact center investment. That’s because it reduces the burden of platform management by replacing manufacturers’ outdated legacy call center technology with a cloud-enabled solution that can expand or contract with the company’s needs. CCaaS allows manufacturers to service more customers more efficiently with a secure and easy-to-use platform.
Why manufacturers rely on Windstream Enterprise CCaaS
Manufacturers looking to implement CCaaS should consider a platform that will improve the quality of customer interactions and safeguard them from cyberthreats and contact center turnover.
With Windstream Enterprise Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) powered by Talkdesk, manufacturers can create an intuitive contact center workspace for their agents. AI-powered tools like Virtual Agent and Agent Assist reduce mundane, time-consuming tasks and free agents up to tackle more fulfilling interactions that boost job satisfaction. The CCaaS solution integrates with over 70 industry-leading applications, including Salesforce and Zendesk, so manufacturers can easily tailor the platform to their agent’s specific needs.
Windstream Enterprise CCaaS defends manufacturers’ contact center capabilities against cyberthreats with more than 30 compliance certifications, including SOC 2 Type II and PCI-DSS, to protect critical customer data. The Talkdesk Identity feature securely connects customers with agents using self-service, real-time authentication with voice biometrics. It verifies caller identity based on unique vocal characteristics to help prevent fraud and identity theft.
By shifting to a CCaaS solution, manufacturers can minimize their reliance on legacy systems and start to maximize the full potential of their transformed contact centers.
