Lucent`s Workflow implementation wins top award for South Africa`s premier parcel service

A pioneering e-commerce workflow implementation from Lucent Technologies, which has revolutionised parcel services in South Africa, today won top honours at this year`s prestigious Giga Awards for Workflow Excellence in Action in Brussels. The award was presented to Eghshaan Khan, senior IT & services manager at Fast Forward, South Africa`s premier parcel and container services company.

Last year, reseller Global Technologies supplied Fast Forward with Lucent Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Solutions` ViewStar workflow product. Fast Forward used it to develop a fully automated web-enabled proof of delivery (POD) system for processing and tracking parcels throughout its national distribution network.

The system enables Fast Forward to accurately account for up to 15 million transactions per annum. As a result it has increased customer satisfaction and loyalty and managed to win back some key corporate customers. Today, customers can quickly and easily find out the status of a consignment at any stage in its journey by calling Fast Forward`s national call centre in Johannesburg or by simply entering their account details on the company`s web site and accessing the information electronically. "The biggest challenge in implementing a successful workflow solution of any kind in South Africa, lies not only in the technological solution but in the successful re-moulding of the organisational culture to compliment and accept the solution. With over 3.5 million consignments, 74 national branches and over 3000 employees we had to find an innovative way to collect, manage and disseminate information across the enterprise. Through workflow technology using the web we set out to redefine our national parcel and container services," said Eghshaan Khan. "Today`s award is testimony to our commitment to improve efficiency and quality of customer service and shows just how far we have come in a relatively short space of time. An award such as this was only possible through a world class product, such as Viewstar by Lucent Technologies, and the selection of the right partner, in Global Technologies, the people behind the product".

"What makes this achievement so remarkable is the context of legacy technology and dependence on manual processes that have, until recently, existed within many businesses in South Africa," said Pat Whelan managing director EMEA, Lucent CRM Solutions. "By implementing an e-commerce solution using ViewStar, South Africa now has a national parcel and container service to rival its counterparts in some of the most technologically advanced countries in the world.

The Giga Global Excellence Awards are given annually to honour innovative use of technology. Entries are judged on their dramatic impact on a business`s operational efficiency, competitive positioning and/or revenue generation through improved business practices.

Lucent Technologies` Customer Relationship Management Solutions comprise a broad array of systems, software and professional services to help companies deliver on their commitments to customers. They include multimedia customer care and computer telephony applications, customer relationship management software, predictive dialling solutions and interactive voice response products. For more information on Lucent CRM Solutions, visit its web site at http://www.lucent.com/crm.