Technological Aspects of Complaint Management

With regard to the use of complaint management software, the following issues are of particular relevance: the conditions under which the application of a software solution is required, the decision on whether to use a special complaint-management software or an integrated CRM solution, core functionalities of complaint-management software systems and the integration of Internet, intranet and e-mail communication. The use of complaint management software is particularly necessary in the case of a high volume of complaints, complex processing procedures, an extensive product range, different types of problems and when there are high demands on complaint evaluation and controlling. The decision on whether to use a special complaint management software or an integrated CRM system depends in particular on the desired functional depth and the possibility to map special complaint management functionalities in CRM systems. The in-house development of complaint management software usually proves to be an inefficient alternative when realistic estimates are made of implementation costs and development time. The core functionalities of complaint management software are the complete, structured and efficient recording of complaint information, the gapless documentation of the internal complaint handling, the detailed and flexible analysis of the recorded complaint information, as well as the automatic generation of key figures for subjective and objective task controlling. The possibilities of the Internet and the intranet should be used effectively within the framework of software support for complaint management processes.