New customer portal and booking system for Alpha Trains
Digitisation has reshaped the way customers and companies interact, especially in a B2C context, and this is no different in the rail freight industry. The expectations of customers have increased in terms of speed of response, access to information and ease of doing business, which, in particular, can be considered a key differentiator.
Alpha Trains needed an integrated IT platform to enhance the interaction with its customers online, provide more transparency over its fleet availability and allow customers to reserve and book locomotives online at any time.
Digitisation has reshaped the way customers and companies interact, especially in a B2C context, and this is no different in the rail freight industry. The expectations of customers have increased in terms of speed of response, access to information and ease of doing business, which, in particular, can be considered a key differentiator.
So Alpha Trains wanted to enhance the customer experience with a personalized web-based customer portal - AlphaNOW. This important step towards digitisation would allow them to interact efficiently with customers, acting both as a tool for prospective clients to understand the leasing options, and a system for existing customers to have a transparent view of their leasing portfolio.
GoMeddo supported Alpha Trains by building this portal, which connects to an online booking tool built with the GoMeddo Salesforce integration. This allowed customers to view and reserve locomotives online within a simple user interface. A calendar was also built for Alpha Trains to better visualize the status of the entire fleet portfolio in the back end.
Alpha Trains already used Salesforce as their existing CRM tool for internal purposes, such as to follow up on leads, manage customer data, follow up on contractual milestones and manage fleet availability. GoMeddo allowed Alpha Trains to create a front-end, customer-facing interface connected to Salesforce allowing 360-degree visibility and connectivity to the CRM system.
GoMeddo specialises in managing complexities in the back end of Salesforce, while creating the simplest interface for the customer. The result of implementing GoMeddo with Alpha Trains’ Salesforce is a seamless customer experience. For the first time, customers have a clear view of availability, searching by specification - such as locomotive type, lease type, or pick-up location - and can very quickly and easily understand their options and prices. Empowering the customer in this way means Alpha Trains are saving valuable resources and time while increasing sales opportunities and providing a high level of customer service.
“We designed AlphaNOW to further enhance the relationship with our customers. The portal is an entry point that provides direct access to contractual information and the option to enquire about the availability of locomotives. AlphaNOW is an efficient tool that facilitates initial customer enquiries, thus freeing up time for personal contact between customers and their commercial contacts,” said Guus de Boer, Commercial Director at Alpha Trains Locomotives.
“GoMeddo work in partnership with our clients,” says Benjamin Woods, GoMeddo Senior Consultant for the project. “Alpha Trains’ drive was to improve customer experience and their team was really responsive to our suggestions, wanting to do everything right without cutting corners. They wanted to learn more and use the system to the best of their abilities. The result is a booking system that benefits their customers as much as it benefits them.”
“Working with GoMeddo was great. They have taken the right measures and contributed to an improvement in our processes. We particularly appreciate the high level of competence and reliability of GoMeddo, “ adds Guus de Boer.
