SA`s second largest corporate bank, FNB Corporate - a division of FirstRand - is rolling out a tailored customer information system to provide strategic insight on the bank`s client information to its key executives.
Nearly 300 users comprising client portfolio executives (CPEs), management and back-up personnel have access to "Project Merlin", jointly developed by FNB Corporate staff and Dimension Data.
Chris Kotze, director of knowledge management at the bank, says three years ago the bank recognised that to go forward, customer information was key. The FNB Corporate customer base is made up of companies with a turnover of more than R5 million annually.
"We realised that if we had a sound understanding of customer requirements, we could offer more comprehensive value propositions, thereby enhancing our competitive-edge. As a result, we established a Knowledge Management Unit designed to help the organisation`s key staff with access to strategic insight on our clients," says Kotze.
The organisation worked with systems integrator Dimension Data due to the group`s skills within the customer relationship management (CRM) arena, its expertise in implementing e-business CRM solutions and its ability to provide value-add in areas such as training and knowledge transfer.
"Our new system is designed to provide our sales force - who have one-to-one relationships with their clients - with strategic customer information.
"Through Project Merlin, the users have access to customer information that enables them to truly understand the customers` needs in order to structure sound business plans. Each time they return from a client meeting, for example, they bring back additional information which can be analysed by product specialists to bring into play new strategies and ideas." Kotze likens the information at hand to a dashboard that is easily read and acted upon.
In the past, this information was carried in the heads of CPEs and lost to the organisation in their absence. With Project Merlin, updated information is entered into the system and automatically collaborated thus making it accessible to authorised personnel.
Kotze says that while the Siebel system, which is being implemented here, offers templates for industry specific niche markets such as corporate banking, Dimension Data`s value added expertise made it possible to reconfigure it to FNB Corporate`s specific needs.
"Dimension Data assisted us with the implementation including building the database, configuring the system, training staff and assisting with a great deal of knowledge transfer," he says, adding that the project has been on time and within budget.
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Dimension Data Holdings plc (LSE: DDT), is a leading global technology company that represents a new category of systems integrator providing network and multi-channel e-business solutions to deliver the complex integration and connectivity requirements of global corporations.
Founded in 1983 as a specialist supplier of technology and services, Dimension Data`s strategy has evolved with the emergence of the intelligent network as the most important enabler in business today. Dimension Data`s global presence combined with its expertise and extensive skills base in network infrastructure and e-business solutions environments enables its customers to ascend into the global marketplace through 100% connectivity and integration.
Listed on the London Stock Exchange, Dimension Data is a member of the FTSE 250 index, employs over 12 000 people and operates in over 30 countries on six continents. Dimension Data 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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