Asia PacificParts enquiries from distributors now reach the right exporter automatically
Staff at the regional HQ had to route every distributor parts enquiry to the right exporter by hand, and forward those that reached the wrong person. We built a portal on Zendesk and AWS that looks up routing in the regional HQ's data warehouse and assigns each ticket to the right exporter group and person in charge. We have kept improving it since go-live, with seven production releases between June 2025 and May 2026.
buyer codes routed automatically to 3 exporter groups
Production releases between June 2025 and May 2026
- Client
- Aftersales parts function at the regional HQ of a Japanese automotive OEM
- Users
- Distributor buyers (6 accounts, 37 buyer codes) and 15 exporter staff in 3 exporter groups
- Scope
- Requirements · Zendesk set-up and custom apps · AWS routing API · Testing · Go-live · Kaizen
- Timeline
- Kick-off Nov 2024 → go-live Jun 2025 → Kaizen release Mar 2026
- Team
- Project manager, business analyst, solution architect, back-end engineer, tester
Enquiry types on one form: ETD, parts information, logistics quality problem reports and others
Exporter groups, each with its own view of tickets and permissions
Part numbers per ETD enquiry in a single Excel upload
Every enquiry depended on someone reading it and deciding who should answer
Distributors send the regional HQ a steady stream of parts enquiries: when an order will ship (ETD), whether a part number is correct, and logistics quality problems such as short shipments or damaged cases. Each enquiry belongs to one of three exporter groups, depending on the part number, order number or invoice number and on which distributor is asking.
In the first phase of the portal, distributors could submit enquiries online, but the exporters' staff still checked routing information by hand, assigned tickets themselves and forwarded emails when a ticket had reached the wrong person.
Manual routing
Staff looked up who should answer each enquiry and forwarded it if it had reached the wrong person.
Enquiries spanning several exporters
An ETD enquiry could list many part numbers handled by different exporter groups, and the answers had to be combined into one reply.
Little visibility
There was no consistent way to see which tickets were waiting for a first reply or had been open too long.
Use the routing data the regional HQ already holds, and keep the portal close to how people work
Zendesk provides the distributor help centre, the enquiry form and the exporters' workspace. When a distributor submits an enquiry, a serverless API in the regional HQ's own AWS account calls the data-warehouse routing API, which is built and run by another partner. It then assigns the ticket to the right exporter group and person in charge, based on each exporter's skills in Zendesk. Invalid part numbers or missing attachments cancel the ticket with an email that explains why, so the distributor can resubmit straight away.
For multi-part ETD enquiries, the system splits the distributor's Excel file by exporter, attaches each part to the ticket for the exporter concerned, and the regional HQ team combines the answers into one reply.
Requirements and design
- Kick-off on 25 November 2024 with a week of daily workshops on roles, ticket statuses, the enquiry form, SOP, routing API, email domains, agent views and KPIs
- AWS architecture designed to the regional HQ's security and network guidelines
- API connectivity test with the data-warehouse partner in January 2025
Build and test
- Single-part enquiry flow first, then the multi-part Excel flow
- System and user acceptance testing with exporters and distributor buyers
- Performance test in May 2025 with 50 to 125 part numbers per enquiry, which set the limit at 75
Go-live in waves
- Releases on 6 June, 14 July and 6 August 2025
- Routing for the third exporter group and clearer error messages added after launch
- Issue review in August 2025 that traced unexpected routing responses back to the data-warehouse side
Kaizen
- New buyer and email-domain rules in September and October 2025
- Kaizen release on 26 March 2026: reminders and auto-close, a custom CSV export app, CC notifications, new Explore charts, an updated routing matrix and exporter skills
- Further release in May 2026 and regular meetings with the regional HQ team
Enquiries arrive with the right person, and the regional HQ can see where each one stands
The routing data already existed in the data warehouse. Our job was to use it when the distributor presses submit, so the enquiry goes straight to the person who can answer it, and then keep improving the portal based on what the people using it asked for.
Small, regular improvements
The portal is now in a steady cycle of small Kaizen releases agreed in regular meetings with the regional HQ team.
How we can help with a similar problem
Customer Success Platforms
Portals, help centres and automatic routing on platforms such as Zendesk, so every enquiry from distributors and customers reaches the right team.
ExploreAnalytics & Dashboards
Dashboards that show operations, service and effort to the people who decide, built quickly from the data you already have.
ExploreManaged Services
SLA-based operation, monitoring and modernisation, so the platforms your region depends on keep delivering long after go-live.
ExploreRelated work
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