i.e. group builds its future on multimedia customer interaction with Rockwell Transcend

Size is no longer an obstacle to performance in the call centre. Smaller centres can benefit from all the functionality of a world-class customer contact platform thanks to Rockwell Transcend - the technology behind a company running one of the most innovative, web-enabled smaller customer contact centres today.

UK-based SEC plc, previously a trader in securitised endowment contracts, has reinvented itself through the development of a web-enabled call centre and been re-named i.e. group. Its goal is to become the leading provider of independent financial services, by taking the saying `put the customer first` to a new level. To achieve this, it has invested in the latest customer-facing technology, allowing Customer Relationship Managers to deal with customer enquiries by telephone, email, fax, letter or through the group`s web site.

i.e. group has created a series of virtual companies from IFA network, a subsidiary that was Britain`s third largest independent financial adviser. It now consists of i.e. Stockbroking, i.e. Insurances, i.e. Tax Guard, i.e. Mortgages i.e. Health and i.e. Direct. The company was designed and built around a communications infrastructure linking a group of new virtual companies with existing businesses, to support its overall Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategy.

With a need for each business to operate independently as well as interact successfully, there were complex requirements and considerations for the customer interaction centre design. Merchants Technology Solutions, a specialist in turnkey solutions for customer contact management and electronic business, helped to select and implement the technology. With a relatively small call centre operation employing 15 agents, cost and risk constraints inevitably needed to be taken into account.

UK-based Merchants Technology Solutions recommended that Rockwell Transcend - a software-based, multichannel customer interaction platform - was the most advanced solution available in the market-place. It would allow i.e. group to cost-effectively build an end-to-end multimedia communications solution, with the same level of functionality previously available only to much larger organisations.

Rockwell Transcend`s flexibility and open architecture provided an important advantage, allowing Merchants Technology Solutions to build a turnkey solution, which could interact with i.e. group`s legacy systems. The product`s Windows NT Server and CT Media-based architecture separates application, switching and call handling functions for easy integration with existing IT infrastructures.

Barry Parsons, Group Infrastructure Director at i.e. group, said: "The group`s strategy was fundamentally dependent on having the right infrastructure and the timing of the release of Rockwell Transcend couldn`t have been better. We were looking for a call centre platform that was cost effective and yet provided maximum functionality, allowing us to grow. Rockwell`s Transcend gives us a world-class ACD platform for the same cost as a basic switch and, what`s more, it`s future-proof."

i.e. group transformed a green field site to a 15 agent, live customer contact centre in under six months to meet the deadline for its launch in March 1999. The Rockwell Transcend product is at the heart of an open communications server environment. It is supported by agent technology from Edify that accesses a central Microsoft SQL Served 7.0 database, which integrates legacy and external systems.

While the telephone remains the preferred contact medium, customers can contact the call centre while they are browsing on the web site - using a "call me now" or "call me later" button on the web page. This sends an alert to the call centre that indicates an outbound call to a second telephone line - within seconds or at a pre-scheduled time specified by the customer.

The web-enabled call centre also allows i.e. group to respond to specific client needs using a single customer knowledge base, to support the company`s full CRM programme. All the Customer Relationship Managers (CRMs) have browser software on their workstations, which allows them to access the Internet and view the same web page as the adviser.

The CRMs are working permanently on the Web browser, which provides constant access to relevant product information, throughout every call. At different times during a call, this banner will scroll relevant prompts relating to information they should be requesting or additional services, which may be of interest to the customer. At any point, CRMs can hit hot buttons, which provide hyperlinks to the information they need. They can also log customer interest in different services thereby maximising cross-selling opportunities for the future.

Unlike similar organisations, i.e. group does not see the Internet as a low-cost stand-alone delivery channel. It sees the Internet as a CRM enhancer, offering the customer choice and availability that the phone can`t always provide particularly in today`s 24 x 365 service environment. Barry Parsons explains:

"We see the Internet as a tool for communicating with our customers. It`s not a self-service medium, but a reason to re-intermediate by responding to customers` needs in a way that suits them. The Internet is fully integrated alongside other channels to ensure our clients receive the same high level of service, no matter what route to communication or fulfillment they choose."

In the first year, Barry Parsons anticipates a 100 per cent growth rate in the interaction centre: "We are ahead of what our customers currently require and, even anticipating major advances in technology, i.e. group believes it can deliver exceptional customer centric services based on Rockwell`s ability to shoehorn functionality into Transcend."