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PURPOSE: The aim of the article is to present the role of the customer service and building safe relationships between the enterprise and suppliers in VUCA times., DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The research methods employed in this study were both qualitative and quantitative. The data for analysis was collected through a diagnostic survey method, utilizing a questionnaire technique. Specifically, the Computer-Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI) method was utilized to obtain opinions from respondents via telephonic communication. The survey data was collected during November to December 2021, while interviews of innovative enterprises were conducted during May and June 2022. The study not only used empirical research methods but also theoretical research methods, including the analytical-synthetic method to critically analyze literature on the subject. Abstraction was used to select the necessary elements for analysis. Survey data was compared with recommendations on building safe relationships between enterprises and suppliers by innovative economic units in Poland. The conclusions were formulated through generalization and inference., FINDINGS: The considerations contained in the article are the part of a broader research on the role of the customer service and building safe relationships between the enterprise and suppliers in VUCA times. It should be seen that incorporating quality suppliers into business can greatly enhance customer service and operational efficiency. Establishing secure and favorable relationships with suppliers can also lead to valuable business partnerships, providing fresh insights and opening new avenues for growth., PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: As the business world remains volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA), enterprises can seize a valuable opportunity through and building safe relationships with suppliers. By adopting this advanced approach to supplier management, organizations can foster robust, mutually beneficial relationships with all of their suppliers. Such a strategy is crucial for establishing genuine resilience and security in their supply chain., ORIGINALITY/VALUE: While articles on forging ties with suppliers abound, there remains a dearth of publications focused solely on building such relationships in innovative enterprises during volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) times. This gap in knowledge is especially pronounced in the context of Poland's NewConnect market., peer-reviewed

Purpose: The main goal of the study is to examine the impact of the implementation of the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system and Time Management (TM) tools on organizational effectiveness and performance (OEP). A literature review provides the background for presenting the results of own research performed for an e-commerce microenterprise. Design/Approach/Methodology: The empirical research involved a case study with the use of participant observation method and direct unstructured interview. The participant observation results were compared with the results of a direct interview with the CEO of the company and discussed against the background of the research results in the literature. Findings: The research has shown a significant impact of the CRM system on increasing the OEP. There were also differences in the perception of TM's impact on the OEP, the people who did not have TM tools in place used the CRM less and were not able to benefit from the CRM potential. It also became one of the reasons for the failure of the first CRM implementation in the company. In addition, the lack of knowledge of IT management support tools, training, as well as the non-intuitive nature of the CRM system resulted in barriers preventing a further use of the system. Practical Implications: The results indicate what TM functions of the CRM system can be useful to improve the work organization and to increase the OEP of a micro enterprise. Originality/Value: The impact of the simultaneous use of the CRM system and TM tools on OEP has not been described in the literature. The previous studies concerned mainly the impact of the CRM on organizational performance or the TM on the sales team's perfor-mance. No article was devoted to the application of CRM and/or TM in a micro¬enter¬prise. The value of the article results from pointing out the synergy effect from the com¬bination of CRM and TM tools., peer-reviewed

PURPOSE: This paper is devoted to the standardisation of customer service in the logistics services market. Its first part focuses on various aspects of defining and optimising buyer service. Next, the focus turns to the benefits and barriers of service standardisation, and at the end of the text, the focus turns to logistics buyer service, understood as the ability of a company's logistics system to meet customer expectations in such categories as lead time, certainty and security of transactions, communication with the customer, and efficiency and convenience of service. The authors have made a comprehensive analysis of customer service as a business process. They have focused on the ways in which customer service is perceived and the factors determining its level. They then evaluated the advantages of standardising logistics service, without ignoring the limitations of implementing this process., DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The paper uses the method of descriptive characteristics of market phenomena and processes. The professional literature on customer service standardisation was comprehensively searched., FINDINGS: The results of the analyses are of both cognitive and pragmatic value, especially in the context of undertaking work towards the development and implementation of a standardised logistics strategy for customer service., ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Standardisation of the customer service process allows for a quicker response to customer preferences, and also makes it possible to design the process in such a way that it has a positive impact on the company's operations and becomes a source of its competitive advantage. Among the many benefits of standardising logistics customer service are increased customer satisfaction, lower staff management costs and a systematic drive to improve the quality of customer service., This article is co-financed by the European Union under the Operational Programme Knowledge, Education, Development 2014-2020 within the realization of “The Integrated Programme of Poznan School of Logistics” (no. POWR.03.05.00-00-Z089/17)., peer-reviewed

PURPOSE: The aim of the paper is to present the concept and analyse the possibility of using the matrix of information needs as a tool improving the process of customer service. Moreover, the paper presents the procedure of its implementation and use on the example of a production company from the furniture industry operating in Poland., DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The paper uses the concept of case study. It presents the essence of the matrix of information needs as a tool to improve communication between departments in the company. The procedure of implementing this tool in a production company was also presented. Additionally, the paper is based on the analysis of literature concerning information needs and logistics customer service in companies., FINDINGS: The result of the work is an information needs matrix as a tool for improving the effectiveness of the customer service process in a company. The procedure of preparation and implementation of such a matrix was presented on the example of a production company operating on the furniture market in Poland. Other results include the identification of challenges and problems in the implementation process of the information needs matrix., ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The described matrix of information needs is a very important tool for improving the effectiveness of communication between departments involved in the customer service process. In this manner, the implementation of the matrix contributes to the improvement of the efficiency of the whole service process. The matrix should be based on a detailed analysis of the information needs of each participant in the process and take into account the specificity of the company., This article is co-financed by the European Union under the Operational Programme Knowledge, Education, Development 2014-2020 within the realization of “The Integrated Programme of Poznan School of Logistics” (no. POWR.03.05.00-00-Z089/17)., peer-reviewed

Nowadays, many businesses are resorting to data mining techniques on their data, to save costs and time, as well as to understand customers’ needs. Analysing such data can leader to higher profits and higher customer satisfaction. This paper presents a data mining study that is applied on millions of transactional records collected for a number of years, by a leading virtual credit card company based in Malta. In this study, 2 machine learning techniques, namely Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Gradient Boosting (GBM), are analysed to identify the best modelling framework that predicts the churning behaviour of this company’s customers. Apart from helping the marketing department of this firm by providing a model that predicts churning customers, we contribute to literature by identifying the minimum amount of customer activity needed to predict churn. In addition, we also analyse the “cold start” problem by performing a time-series experiment based on the few data available at the beginning of the customer purchase history., peer-reviewed

Purpose: Customer relationship management is not a project but is a strategy that every business aims to realize and manage the needs of current and potential customers of the company. This research aims to identify the factors that affect Customer Relationship Management, to provide a more detailed analysis of the importance of customer relationship management, how much businesses invest in meeting customer needs, whether they use the right methods to maintain customers., Findings: Through this research we have managed to identify several factors that affect the management of consumer behavior. Where intelligent customer management and care generates two main benefits for companies; reducing marketing costs and better penetration to customers., Research methodology: This paper contains theoretical and practical part including literature of various local and foreign authors and scientific publications. Also, the remarks and suggestions given by various local and international authors and organizations, relevant literature and reports, various research articles and other data are critically analyzed., Originality / value: The findings from this scientific research paper will be a good guide for the research of all researchers and a contribution to enrich the international scientific literature., peer-reviewed

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study is to identify customers’ approach to attempts to build lasting ties with them undertaken by various companies in different markets., DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The research method was a diagnostic survey with the use of a research tool – a questionnaire. The research questionnaire was distributed by a research agency. The application of the target-amount selection procedure was assumed. The structure of the sample, in terms of significant features, was the same as the structure of the surveyed population in Poland. The characteristics adopted in the study are gender, age, education, place of residence and income. It was planned to conduct the study on a group of 1,000 people., FINDINGS: The conclusions from the study indicate that customers are mostly open to building ties with a company, to a varying degree, depending on their gender and the specific nature of the relationship. It was also found that customers pay a lot of attention to the economic aspect of the relationship with a company, and that some aspects of building relationships are more important to them than others. The knowledge obtained can be used both for practical purposes and for further theoretical considerations., PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Global competition and the peculiarity of contemporary customer-company relationships have for years compelled companies to take actions to attract and retain customers for as long as possible. Thanks to the acquired knowledge obtained, various companies that want to build lasting and profitable relationships with customers will be able to design appropriate solutions for their situation., ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This article presents an analysis of customers’ approach to Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Customer Experience (CX) and Customer Care (CC) solutions. Knowledge on this subject so far has been rudimentary and has been based mainly on observations within organizations. Customers have not been asked directly how they perceive companies’ efforts to build long-term relationships with them., peer-reviewed