Oracle has developed a software solution that enables companies to implement Internet business flows - across marketing, sales and service disciplines - in 90 days or less.
According to Glenn Lottering, Oracle SA CRM business development manager, the Internet, and the globalisation phenomenon that has trailed it into the business environment, has had a profound affect on South African companies.
"Buying patterns are changing significantly and customer relationship management is gaining in importance," he says.
"Customers with access to the Internet are far better informed and are able to research their options before a purchase is made. They are aware of competitive offerings, pricing and even competitive retailers long before their first foray into the market place is undertaken.
"As a result, speed is important," stresses Lottering. "Companies realise that `being first` with an Internet business application is central to establishing a competitive-edge in the marketplace.
"The Oracle solution will allow companies to offer their customers access their online environment through a simple URL within 48 hours, with the complete system operational in 90 days or less," he says.
Oracle delivers nine key Internet business flows that can be implemented by Oracle and its business partners. They facilitate the tracking of a marketing campaign right from the first mouse click on a site all the way to the final order, following the trail of leads, opportunities and quotations in the process.
They are: Plan to Campaign, Campaign to Results, Click to Order, Call to Order, Opportunity to Forecast, Call to Resolution, Click to Resolution, Contract to Renewal and Contact to Resolution.
Previously, says Lottering, this process typically required software from five or more vendors and a number of consultants for integration and assembly.
"With Oracle`s new Internet business solution, not only does the software come integrated out-of-the-box, the `click-to-order` process is pre-configured to speed implementation."
The solution has been endorsed by Oracle business partner, KPMG Consulting in South Africa.
Says Ian Beaton, (partner for Oracle Practice): "A planned Internet business strategy, implemented with regular improvements, is the answer to maintaining existing business efficiency while improving the revenue stream through incremental Internet business.
"The focus on business processes, rather than product modules, allows entire business functions to adopt better, simpler, globally-oriented processes."
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Oracle delivers nine key CRM business flows that can be implemented in 90 days or sooner:
- . Plan to Campaign: Helps marketing departments plan, execute and measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.
- . Campaign to Results: Enables marketing departments to execute multi-channel campaigns to transact personalised business via a Web store and through the telephone with true performance measurement.
- . Click to Order: Enables companies to build an end-to-end e-commerce solution, for the selling and marketing of goods and services online.
- . Call to Order: Allows companies to build a complete call centre for telephone sales and telemarketing activities with accurate sales analysis.
- . Opportunity to Forecast: Allows a sales organisation to manage sales opportunities, forecast sales globally and increase visibility to close deals faster.
- . Call to Resolution: Enables a customer-service centre to efficiently track, manage and resolve customer service issues.
- . Click to Resolution: Provides companies a personalised, 24x7 customer self-service support offering for their clients with complete customer intelligence information.
- . Contract to Renewal: Enables organisations to author, renew and approve contracts, enabling increased revenue potential and reducing revenue leakage.
- . Contact to Resolution: Transforms the traditional customer care and customer support functions into a personalised, multi-channel, automated, intelligent and efficient way to provide customer service and build long-term relationships.
Internet business in 90 days - Oracle methodology
Oracle`s methodology for implementing Internet business in 90 days is based on a hosted implementation that takes companies through the entire process from installation to testing and deployment.
Because the implementation is hosted, customers can access their implementation environment through a simple URL within 48 hours.
This gives customers much earlier access to the software they purchased, allowing them to instantly familiarise themselves with the software, processes and work plan for the implementation.
Once the implementation is complete, the customer can choose to have the application hosted on Oracle.com, or move it in-house.
Hosted implementations dramatically reduce the initial hardware and IT resource investment as well as contributing to the rapid deployment of the Internet business flows.
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