Microsoft Power Platform transforms engagement center process to deliver faster impact for animal health

Patterson’s Companion Animal Health Division, servicing veterinarians, represents nearly a third of the company. The division had multiple time-intensive, variable processes needing realignment to meet objectives. Microsoft Power Platform enabled the division, and sister divisions, to address these processes in a way that was foundational to a real evolution in Patterson’s call center operations, results, and culture. 

Automating enables process improvement and establishes foundation for transformation

Patterson Companion Animal Health Division provides everything a veterinarian needs to run their business and help their furry and non-furry patients. This includes sourcing specially requested items, which was a manual and inconsistent process. The process ultimately led to SKU proliferation, dead stock, and inflated inventory levels. Melody Alford, Vice President of Supply Chain Sourcing at Patterson, knew she needed to cut down the expenses generated by the process but not at the expense of customer service.

The customer service representatives (CSRs) at Patterson’s National Call Center received many of the new item requests, prompting Alford to turn to Oscar Dominguez, Director of National Call Center Operations at Patterson. Dominguez knew the issue would require reporting and consulted with Jeff Dominick, Manager of Process and Operations Improvement at Patterson.

Dominick pioneered the use of Microsoft Power BI at Patterson initially to track and highlight sales and telemetry stats. While Dominick had an interest and some experience in coding, he felt the time was right to expand exploration of Microsoft Power Platform and employ a Microsoft Power Apps low-code solution.

Dominguez, Dominick, and Alford mapped the new item process from end to end. They would have the opportunity not just to automate, not just to standardize, but to customize to Patterson’s exact specifications a process that was robust enough to accelerate cost controls. How?

Dominick utilized Power Apps to allow any rep to submit a request, have the request pre-approved by a branch or call center manager, and then forwarded to a primary review committee for a final decision if needed. Microsoft Power Automate generates emails throughout the process, proactively providing status, helpful details, and final decision. Mapping the process highlighted opportunities for improvement that were addressed and automated. For example, now a confirmed order is required before placing a special item request. This has reduced the number of items being set up unnecessarily—saving time and ongoing maintenance. Additionally, giving managers visibility of requests facilitates redirection to a like product already in stock—improving customer service and inventory turns.

The New Item request app was built in less than a month and provided instant value along the new item supply chain. “I was quite impressed how quickly Microsoft Power Platform tools can take concept to reality,” says Alford. “Now I can ‘unlock’ the data and make decisions for the business, promptly, when I need it. The app was intuitive for team members to pick up and utilize immediately.”

“The New Item app helps our purchasing and supply chain team to keep track of what’s going on,” adds Dominick. “Not only does it provide a more standardized way of submitting requests and tracking them, it also provides additional insight. By interoperating with Power BI, it’s possible to visualize what requests have been submitted, how successful those requests have been, and what the conversion rate is.” Patterson then uses this data to set or adjust parameters for new items. Dominick is a prolific user of Power BI and has utilized his Power BI Pro license to create the Special Order Requests dashboard in addition to other dashboards.

All were very pleased with the positive impact on the supply chain enabled by Power Apps. Little did they know just how much this app would impact their overall call center transformation.

Addressing the urgent need to reduce write-offs with a timely solution

Patterson’s Companion Division President tasked Dominguez with solving a huge issue—a large reduction in inventory write-offs within 12 months. While there was 12 months to achieve the goal, reduction solution needed to be in place in just two weeks.

Patterson’s call center return approvals process was email-centric, had layered decision points,  required varied authorization approvals, and contributed substantially to the write-offs issue. With their efficient call center mindset, Dominguez and Dominick recognized an opportunity to add utility and business value to the call center by streamlining and standardizing the process. And while process efficiency and structure were critical, a more pressing priority was at play—time.

By now, Dominick had built three apps, and the fourth need came with the tightest deadline and largest savings opportunities yet. “When return approvals came up, we knew we had to put it into a system, make it manageable, and give visibility,” states Dominick. “Microsoft Power Apps was the automatic solution.”

To identify and align to the critical path, Dominguez and Dominick worked with key stakeholders and those most impacted during the returns process. Dominick created a flow that begins when a CSR or salesperson submits a return request through Power Apps. Next, the request is routed for approval through Power Automate. As the request accelerates through a series of decision points, the CSR is notified of status along the way. If the return is approved, it moves to a production list where ownership of ensuring the submission in SAP transitions to the credits team.

The Returns Approval App enabled the team to decimate its original goal, with returns currently sitting at a whopping 87 percent reduction. “We now have these tools to literally transform the business in weeks,” says Dominguez.

Connecting people to powerful solutions

Over several years as different issues called for resolution, Dominick masterfully built a cohesive solution. Patterson Connects is a suite of four core apps built on Power Apps that provide access to 22 of the most common internal request and approval processes. Dominick created a desktop version for CSRs and a mobile version for salespeople. The user experience and productivity have been improved by having these functions in one place. Increased transparency in the status of requests coupled with the speed and reliability benefits of process automation through Power Automate benefits the CSRs, the salespeople, and the business.

These apps cover three areas: simple requests, tracking-enabled requests, and informational resources. For example, the previously mentioned Returns Approval App, a type of tracking-enabled request, allows viewing of current request progress, previously submitted requests, and requests submitted by others. It also generates emails through Power Automate so the submitter is aware of status. The Vendor Return Policies App meets an informational need in seconds that previously took precious time to track down. When on a call with a customer, a CSR or salesperson has easy access to multiple vendor return policies, enabling quicker decision making and resolution. When creating the Returns Approval App, the team found having easy access to returns policies could eliminate the need for some returns requests, thus streamlining the entire process and enhancing productivity.

Although many “request/response” processes that require approval hurdles seem simple, one wrinkle could hold up the process for weeks. Automating and documenting processes and revealing results through effective dashboards in Power BI have eliminated many issues.

These apps are supplemented by a variety of other apps commonly used by CSRs. The CSR Coaching App has increased the effectiveness of feedback sharing. The Patterson Reward Points App is a CSR favorite, providing an appreciated form of recognition and reward incentive.

In the call center, Patterson Connects has become a “must-have” application. Natasha Arboleda, Customer Service Manager at Patterson, shares, “We see a positive correlation of Patterson Connects apps and increased availability for our CSRs to help customers. They gain back easily an hour each day.” She adds, “I appreciate and love that it has helped us be consistent and identify improvements.” CSRs Michele Jenkins, Deana Knaresboro, and team leader Magan Kinzer support that finding. Patterson Connects helps them do their job better, gain visibility into specific customer needs, and reduce unnecessary stress.

Sales utilization of Patterson Connects is impressive. “It’s grown organically because we built a solution that worked, that people could access without pulling out their laptop while they’re trying to drive down the road to the next clinic,” explains Dominick.

“When we started these apps, all of these things were tribal or siloed knowledge on how to do it properly,” says Dominick. The company has elevated and embraced Patterson Connects, publicizing it at several meetings and trade shows.

Their strategy is working beautifully. “We’ve got 200-plus daily logins across the four primary apps. We’ve got over 1,300 users, and a tremendous amount of activity— over 105,000 transactions since June 2019. We've tracked 136,000+ logins,” says Dominick.

The impacts to productivity and employee support are large and measurable. The team has supported a 20 percent growth in sales while reallocating staff to manage net-new capabilities to further enhance customer service and sales. Dominguez sees Dominick and Microsoft Power Platform as strategic enablers for business process innovation and guiding Patterson’s call center operations from tactical generalists to a strategic sales support and customer service organization. “By leveraging Microsoft Power Apps, we have been able to transform clunky and outdated process flows to streamline and standardize how we manage our operations, resulting in better, more efficient, and well documented workflows,” states Dominguez.

What’s next?

Dominick is deploying a similar edition of Patterson Connects for Companion Animal’s sister division, which would extend reach to another third of the company. Additionally, Dominick continually helps leaders utilize Power BI reports to identify and address opportunities. He’s worked with Dawn Peacock, Marketing Analyst at Patterson, to enable the private label team to manage all sales and marketing reporting for over 3,700 private label SKUs through Power BI and will extend to other functions as opportunities arise.

Dominick’s impact has been recognized by Patterson Companies. While Dominick was creating Patterson Connects and the underlying process improvements, his official role was Business Operations Analyst. He has since been promoted to fully focus on process and operations improvements. Along with his desire and skills to enable Patterson Companies to continue to thrive, Dominick has Microsoft Power Platform resources to make visions come to life.

Dominguez sums it up: “The solution itself became the calling card for other people to say, ‘Well, if you can fix that, what can you do with this process?’ Like all organic development, it thrives because you add value to the welfare of the community.”