In a deal worth R500 000 initially, the Professional Provident Society (PPS) has turned to leading business solution provider 3fifteen, to help smooth its transition from a mutual society to a long-term insurance company.
As an added benefit, the provider of insurance services to professional South Africans will experience boosted productivity and effectiveness in the management of its sales force.
According to Hannes Ferreira, Provincial Manager at PPS coordinating the project, the operational demands resulting from the change which takes effect on 1 October 2001, coupled with the new Policyholders Protection Rules promulgated earlier this year, threatened to place unprecedented pressure on PPS`s existing IT systems.
"We have to closely manage the sales activities of our teams in six provinces and ensure compliance with the new laws. Our existing systems could not provide us with the level of control we`ll require in the future," he explains.
In addition, the new solution system provides critical administration features including the ability to `drill down` and track relevant performance statistics, determine the individual sales and commissions of each member of the sales team, effect monthly payments and manage marketer licensing.
Within two weeks of PPS and 3fifteen working closely together, a solution that would meet PPS`s exacting requirements was planned and designed. This was followed by a further two weeks of implementation and integration with the company`s existing systems, giving PPS the ability to administer its sales force more efficiently.
The system will also continually interact with PPS`s insurance products` authorisation system - where policy applications are validated - and payment scheme in order to provide synchronous operation across the entire organisation.
And giving the solution another dimension will be the planned implementation by 3fifteen of a business intelligence backbone. This will provide marketers and their managers with extensive reporting and strategic planning capabilities.
"3fifteen performed an amazing feat to transform what started out as an idea on a whiteboard into a working solution in just over a month, ensuring we obtain rapid returns on our investment. Even more impressive was the fact that the new system had to be customised and integrated with different technologies and platforms," Ferreira adds.
Morne Wiggins, account manager at 3fifteen, says the new solution developed for PPS involved extensive customisation of Interact Commerce Corporation`s SalesLogix sales force automation offering.
Microsoft BizTalk server 2000 was utilised to facilitate the seamless integration of SalesLogix and PPS`s existing, disparate operational systems quickly and cost-effectively.
"3fifteen is now Web-enabling the entire solution, to make it available to PPS consultants and marketers on an anytime, anywhere basis, thereby boosting their productivity and effectiveness as a sales force.
"While building the first phase, we were already planning the second phase. This will help us maintain momentum, and ensure the continued rapid deployment of features and enhancements to the solution," Wiggins concludes.
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