Trudon, publisher of the Yellow Pages, has developed a new customer engagement model in line with its emergence into the new media world, based on Xerox's DocuShare document management system, and leverages Trudon's existing investment in Xerox ColorQube multifunction printers.
Trudon recently broadened its portfolio through a range of online and digital new media products and services.
“In tune with our new market offering, we have automated some of our back-end processes,” says Adriaan van Vuuren, general manager information technology at Trudon. “We migrated our sales environment from a print-based operation to a new media process by reducing the administration load for our salespeople, removed process bottlenecks, and improved response times to our customers.
“We have a single repository for all of our customer touch points. From e-mail to paper, to digital contracts and proofs, and any other customer information that our call centre and salespeople may require.”
“As the document and information process in organisations becomes more complex, so the need for document management systems is becoming increasingly critical,” says Mari Powell, national sales manager at Bytes Document Solutions, distributor of Xerox to 27 African countries and wholly owned by JSE-listed Altron. “Information that lies in many disparate systems and in many formats makes trying to ensure optimal information management a challenge. By automating the processes and driving document policies, companies like Trudon can ensure that the relevant information is available to the relevant people at the right time.”
Trudon's expanded new media portfolio that delivered it into the commercial search world consists of online, digital and fully searchable copies of its White and Yellow Pages, online maps and directions, a Web-hosted B2B offering that allows businesses to present information on themselves and their products and services, and the 10-11-8 voice enquiries service.
Prior to acquiring the new DocuShare-based system, Trudon's 200 salespeople would interrogate several information sources to discover what they and the customer needed to know. It was both a frustration and time-consuming exercise, says Van Vuuren, as it was not the image of a new media operation the business is keen to portray.
“Now when our salespeople interact with customers they can immediately and digitally view all the necessary information to service the customer through one Web interface,” says Van Vuuren. “It's an important consideration that lends credibility to our new operations for both customers and salespeople.”
The new back-end process does away with what was a largely paper-based system and consolidates information into a single repository.
Trudon has six sales branches across the country and a branch in Namibia, and currently adds between 40 000 and 50 000 physical documents a day to the DocuShare library and 18 000 to 25 000 digital contracts per day.
“We store all our sales information, be they successful sales or not. Being able to do so automatically through the digital system means our salespeople can now focus on making the next call and not search for information that can be available immediately,” says Van Vuuren.
Trudon is rolling out a national user acceptance programme that includes training to grow uptake of the system. The first phase sees classroom training delivered to employees, while further phases will be completed through e-learning modules.
“All technology projects require a user acceptance programme to ensure a smooth transition from the previous system, be it manual or automated,” says Mark McMullin, senior account manager at XBC. “The classroom and e-learning training that Trudon is delivering helps users understand their role in the broader context and then hone in on their responsibilities, duties, and how the new system helps them to perform them better.”
Trudon began its sales automation programme when it bought Xerox ColorQube printers from XBC last year. The 15 ColorQube 9203 Series machines underpin the DocuShare component of the programme as they are used for scanning sales documents, besides performing their traditional printing role throughout the business.
“That component of the project, although it supports the larger sales automation programme, was also a cost-saving exercise and a corporate social investment (CSI) exercise because it makes our business more environmentally friendly,” says Van Vuuren, “since we save paper, ink, and energy using the ColorQubes.”
Trudon cut document costs by 30% deploying the ColorQubes, which are the world's first A3, high-speed, solid ink, multifunction printers.
Nine Xerox ColorQube 9200 Series multifunction printers were installed at Trudon's head office, and one in each of its branches in Cape Town, Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein and Pretoria. The machines replaced a total of four different copier and printer brands that were previously used throughout the organisation.
“Trudon prints a fairly large number of colour documents, with low colour coverage on the documents,” says Van Vuuren. “With its hybrid maintenance plan and a colour output of 85 pages per minute, the ColorQube has provided us with a cost-effective billing system that is based on the colour we use as well as increased productivity in all departments.”
“The ColorQube hybrid maintenance plan consists of a three-tier billing system,” says McMullin. “Each device allocates printed documents to the appropriate billing level, based on the number of colour pixels per page. This means the client is billed for the amount of colour used instead of being charged a fixed rate for every document printed in colour. Rates start at 8.8 cents per page and go up to 50 cents for a full-colour page, which indicates how much can be saved by using the ColorQube. The rates include all maintenance and consumables for the devices.”
McMullin says the ColorQube multifunction printer brings Xerox's proven solid ink technology to the heart of the highly competitive office market. “Central to ColorQube is a print head that increases ink flow 400% by packing in 880 nozzles - at twice the number per linear inch compared to prior print heads. It's the perfect combination of colour and affordability.”
The ink, solid at room temperature, melts inside the printer and is loaded into the print head in liquid form. This simple, highly reliable process does not use cartridges, reduces supplies waste by 90% compared to competitive office laser-based products, and delivers the environmental benefits that many companies seek.
Trudon aims to extend its programme of automation in the future with the next step being to equip roaming salespeople with laptops and 3G Internet connectivity that will enable them to get digital contracts directly to the DocuShare system from the customer's premises.
“Now that we have put the back-end automation in place we can begin to focus our energies on the point of contact with the customer,” says Van Vuuren.
He adds that Trudon is busy investigating methods for collecting and processing digital signatures so that a sales representative's entire process can be addressed at the customer premises to further and more fully embrace the new media concept.
Adriaan van Vuuren, Trudon (011) 677 6000,Vanvuurena@trudon.co.za
Mark Mc Mullin, XBC, (011) 315 8085, markm@xbc.co.za
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