EDS Africa has made an investment in the future of CRM in SA with the launch of its Leveraged Customer Interaction Centre (LCIC). "The LCIC is more than just a call centre," says EDS BPM (Business Process Management) Client Delivery Executive, Michel Eldoh. "It is capable of handling inbound and outbound calls as well as providing back office processing support and Management Information Systems (MIS)."
There is no limit on the size of the centre although present technology provides for up to 200 consultants. "As long as there is a need we will fill it," says Eldoh. "EDS benefits, our customers benefit and the economy benefits. We are committed to this project and fully intend to give all businesses the opportunity to draw on our global experience. Through this venture we are furthering EDS` global vision of ensuring clients achieve superior value in the digital economy."
Growing market
"We have taken the risk of building the centre in the firm belief that our customer base will grow substantially in the next few months," says Eldoh. "There are a great many SA companies who are in need of CRM solutions but have been prohibited either by high entry costs, or by a weak economy. Any company that wants to survive must have the best possible understanding of its customers` needs - and that is the gap we intend to fill."
The centre, situated at the EDS Africa`s head office in Sunninghill, signed its first customer within a week of the concept being born. "They were so eager to begin that we had to expedite our initial building and technical plans to accommodate their start date," says Eldoh. This initiative - while not new to EDS internationally, or to South Africa - is unique in some key ways. "We will not cross train any agents to service more than one customer," Eldoh asserts. "Customer service is a personalised business and while it may save costs to have consultants servicing a variety of different customers it destroys the concept of CRM," he explains.
Global experience
Through the LCIC EDS is putting its international expertise and skill at the disposal of South African Businesses seeking to improve customer service levels and develop an understanding of customer needs and expectations. "Ideally, we would like to provide previously disadvantaged businesses and small to medium enterprises with call centre and CRM functionality without the risk and cost of building their own infrastructure," says Eldoh. "But we can accommodate businesses of any size, and if necessary could use the LCIC as a pilot to perfect a given company`s solution and then migrate that business onto its own call centre infrastructure at its own premises."
"EDS will use the centre to provide staff with new skills and to build competencies useful to the country as a whole. We are also creating jobs for South Africans and contributing to the economy in this way," says Eldoh. "Our company has offices in 55 countries, and views South Africa as a strategic and growing market. We would like to ensure our growth in the region but would also like to make a positive contribution to the country. By employing consultants, managers and technical personnel we can help in skilling the population up in IT and customer service skills. EDS has worked with governments all over the world and is renowned for skills transfer expertise."
No capital outlay
There is no capital investment required when plugging into this CRM-on-demand service, as EDS has set up the entire infrastructure at its own cost. The LCIC charges customers on a per call basis, and provides fully trained consultants to ensure that customers receive value for their money. Eldoh explains: "We will negotiate any price dependent on volumes. We will source new consultants through our preferred suppliers and train them ourselves. We have access to trainers through our European offices and use them extensively, while also employing our own new trainers and leveraging global experience to build local skills. The centre uses the best available telephony and customer management technology available, and our staff have developed and customised a software application that is ideal for this type of environment."
More than a call centre
"Customers receive far more than just a call centre. This is about CRM - and most CRM strategies that fail do so because companies think a call centre equals CRM. What makes LCIC different? Firstly, our people. We are a people company and as a result our people ensure that quality is maintained. We also analyse and interpret customer information for our clients and provide them with strategic business information. We want our customers to be able to use the data we provide to grow their businesses and to improve customer service levels in their organisations. We will also provide consulting and where necessary can leverage off expertise in other EDS areas of expertise, such as e-business and information solutions. Included in the per call rate is the expertise and assistance of EDS` businesses analysts, managers and trainers."
Michel Eldoh is a Frenchman who has worked extensively in the CRM business throughout Europe. He was sent to South Africa by EDS BPM in order to extend the company`s local offerings and to share his wealth of knowledge and expertise.
EDS, the leading pure-play global IT services company, provides strategy, implementation and hosting for clients managing the complexities of the digital economy. EDS brings together the world`s best technologies to address critical client business imperatives. It helps clients eliminate boundaries, collaborate in new ways, establish their customers` trust and continuously seek improvement. EDS serves the world`s leading companies and governments in about 55 countries. EDS reported revenues of $18.5 billion in 1999. The company`s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: EDS) and the London Stock Exchange. Learn more at eds.com.
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