Rand Water, the largest single provider of water in the world, has taken a major step in adopting a more customer-oriented approach with the implementation of a leading-edge pilot call centre designed to boost the utility`s customer service and communication levels.
The R2.5 million project involved one of the world`s first integrations of Siebel customer relationship management (CRM) software and Interactive Intelligence`s award-winning Customer Interaction Centre (CIC) platform.
The project was designed and managed jointly by Rand Water and Accenture. Manchu Consulting, one of SA`s longest established and most respected black-owned e-solutions, process and CRM consulting firms in partnership with Dimension Data, which represents Siebel and Interactive Intelligence in SA, co-ordinated the implementation of the hardware and software.
According to Mick Lines, Rand Water`s customer service centre manager, Rand Water identified CRM as an essential component of its drive to boost service levels to its current and future customers, as well as to internal departments such as marketing and distribution.
"At present, Rand Water is perceived as a focused bulk water supplier to municipalities, mines and industry but, as part of our commercialisation process, we are moving into other areas such as reticulation and sewerage.
"We are entering into management contracts with local authorities for the reticulation of water to their residents - which means households and smaller businesses will also be looking to Rand Water for service and support in the future. Indeed, we already handle water reticulation in Harrismith," he adds.
As one of the most technologically advanced convergence tools on the market, CIC brings all voice and data communications, like phones, voice mail, e-mail, faxes and the Internet together in one scalable, unified architecture running on a Windows NT or Windows 2000 server.
Rand Water`s new call centre is designed to provide a single point of contact into the organisation, regardless of the method of communication used or the purpose of the communication.
The call centre has been integrated with Rand Water`s knowledge management system which incorporates an enormous database of generic water-related information.
Call centre agents can quickly access this database through the Siebel MidMarket edition software which presents answers in an easy-to-understand format.
"This means consumers with problems relating to anything from leaks to billing enquires or even questions on health issues like cholera or fluoride can now phone a central number - 0860101060 - for information and advice. They can also fax or e-mail Rand Water and receive a consistent response. And from next year, the call centre will be linked to our Web site as well.
"In the past, because of Rand Water`s `silo` structure, customers - or children looking for help with school projects - would have had to know which department to contract to receive the information they required," Lines explains.
Jan Potgieter, district manager at Dimension Data, says the integration of Siebel and CIC posed a major technology challenge for Dimension Data and Manchu Consulting.
"But it was worth the effort because it significantly enhances the productivity of agents working in the call centre.
"We have also incorporated a sophisticated workflow feature so that problems which cannot be dealt with by the call centre agent can be quickly escalated to the appropriate department," he adds.
Joe Manchu, MD of Manchu Consulting, says as this was the first major project in which Manchu and Dimension Data had worked together, it has laid a foundation for increased co-operation between the two companies.
"Manchu gained valuable experience on the Siebel platform which will be of enormous benefit to the company in the future," he concludes.
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Dimension Data Holdings plc is a leading global network services and i-Commerce solutions provider, focused on enabling enterprises, telecommunications service providers and new economy companies to communicate and transact effectively in an e-enabled environment.
Listed on the London Stock Exchange, Dimension Data is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. The Group operates in over 30 countries on six continents. It has achieved a three-year compound annual growth rate in US dollars of 73% in revenue and 36% in basic earnings per share. For more information, please go to www.didata.com.
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