KM World Interviews Phillip Dale, Head of Commercial & Contract Management, Marks & Spencer

For the last five years, Phil Dale, Head of Commercial & Contract Management at Marks and Spencer, has led Support & Digital Enablement and Business Intelligence for the retail giant’s global contact centre operations. He recently spoke with LaShawn Fugate of KMWorld Magazine about why the company chose KMS Lighthouse when it came time to invest in automation.

A Game Changer For Hybrid Work Models

Marks & Spencer was already focusing on how it wanted to implement technology when the pandemic struck. An uncertain future nearly stopped the company in its tracks, as it needed to find new ways to serve its customers and adapt to the way customers were now contacting its call centres. With agents working remotely across two continents, the UK and South Africa, Dale needed to put practices in place that kept them galvanized while meeting changing customer needs.

Why KMS Lighthouse?

With customers shopping more online and a doubling in email channel growth, M&S needed a solution that could simultaneously manage low-complex contacts and free team members to handle more value-added queries.

“Innovation is a huge part of our business,” says Dale, “and it’s a huge part of what we look for in people who with us.” KSM Lighthouse’s knowledge management software ensured the retailer could add value and serve high-need customers, including those who had never before shopped online or who were suddenly forced to have their groceries home-delivered.

Dale found the innovation he was looking for with KMS, saying the knowledge management provider has a “genuine philosophy of never stopping, as there’s always lots of improvements that can be made.” Combined with their ability to merge commercial and customer value, the choice, he found, was easy.