Comparex Africa has strengthened its nationwide competencies by integrating Customer Oriented Applications (COA), its specialist business intelligence, information delivery and customer contact division, in Cape Town and Durban.
The move unites the coastal regions in their combined service offerings to coastal clients, and raises the bar on service delivery in the regions. Cape Town and Durban teams will work together on sales and marketing efforts in their respective regions, share support and consulting resources and co-operate at all levels of service fulfilment.
Margie Pascoe, Durban`s COA team and Internet Business Solutions manager, says there has traditionally been a strong working relationship between the two centres, and the combined efforts to market the coastal region in a unified fashion will be of significance to the divisions` credit bureau, retail and manufacturing clients.
"We`re a small, focused team in Durban, with an established track record with some of KwaZulu-Natal`s largest companies in their respective industries, including CredCor, Rainbow Farms and Relyant," says Pascoe. "This will be a direct complement to the division`s existing national client base in these industries, giving us a chance to extend our expertise in industries we haven`t focused on individually until now.
"We`ll also be looking to raise the profile of key products in KwaZulu-Natal that haven`t been widely implemented in the province, including Actuate`s information delivery tools," she adds.
The bulk of COA`s product portfolio, incorporating Cognos`s enterprise business intelligence tools, Verity`s business portal software, WhiteLight Systems` analytic applications and Peregrine/Remedy`s IT service management and CRM solutions, already have a solid base in Durban. "Our smaller size in relation to Cape Town is also our strength," says Pascoe.
"Ideally Cape Town will be the R&D centre, with core competencies providing the Durban office with training and skills, and resourcing up for large projects. This will allow us to retain a small, fully utilised and competent team.
"In this way we retain the regional knowledge of our clients, with the scope of an international strength company`s ability to deploy. It sets us up well for our projected 50% regional growth over the next year."
COA managing executive Rodney Hood agrees: "KwaZulu-Natal is key to our strategy in becoming the leading customer-oriented applications company in the country. The Cape Town-Durban axis, allied to our well established presence in Johannesburg, ensures we can provide skills in depth across the country.
"We have developed a network of national branches over five years, and the largest consulting team of its kind, with the skills and resources to deliver in their respective regions. Moving forward, we`ll be able to extend those services by drawing on the strengths of the various regions for the benefit of our customers, irrespective of location."
Share
Editorial contacts