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Success Stories
NORAMPAC INC.
Industry: Manufacturing - Corrugated Paper
Profile: Owned by Cascades. Operates 32 divisions/plants in Canada, USA and France. Employ 4,700 people. Revenue of $ 1.2 Billion in 2003.
The Problem
This manufacturing company has a growing problem following the decentralization of information throughout the organization. Each division operates its own application for the management of sales and customer service. This is notwithstanding the difficulties in simultaneously managing customer files within various company divisions. To cope with these situations, each division was forced to extract manually customer information from its own IBM AS/400 system and forward it to a centralized department. The problem is compounded by the fact that the company produces customized products.
The Challenge
To provide an overall and coherent picture of customer and order information (orders, credit, etc.) to its sales and customer service personnel, thus allowing them to make better decisions while updating the systems.
The Business Solution
Installation of a business solution for the consolidation and update of the information required by the sales department and definition of the architecture enabling the sharing of this information among the divisions of the company. The AXON Plus integration and development platform is at the center of this architecture, which allows for the use of an Intranet to access the consolidated information via the Web.
The business solution implemented does not involve replacement of existing applications, processes, and data, but is instead juxtaposed to these applications into a new SOA-based solution. The local systems running on the divisions' AS/400 continue to co-exist with the new system which is operated centrally through the Web.
The Results
The new business solution responds to the project objectives, including:
· Preserving existing applications and systems
· Centralizing access to corporate information in real-time
· Enabling a central view of the sales department at Norampac
· Optimizing the management of customer information, while ensuring its accuracy and accelerating its transmission
· Improving Norampac customer satisfaction
Following the success of this first project, Norampac has decided to pursue the development of new Web applications based on the AXON Plus platform.
LAURENTIAN BANK OF CANADA
Industry: Banking and Financial Services
Profile: 7th Largest Bank in Canada
The Problem
In1999, the Laurentian Bank was the last Canadian bank without a transactional Website for its commercial and personal banking. The main reason which explained this situation was the significant number of systems - 21 heterogeneous systems had been identified - which had to be modified to support the basic transactions. The solutions evaluated up to that point required important interventions in each system, operating on IBM S390 and IBM AS/400 computers, as well as on the other technological environments at the Bank. The costs and risks of these operations were too high.
In1999, the Laurentian Bank was the last Canadian bank without a transactional Website for its commercial and personal banking. The main reason which explained this situation was the significant number of systems - 21 heterogeneous systems had been identified - which had to be modified to support the basic transactions. The solutions evaluated up to that point required important interventions in each system, operating on IBM S390 and IBM AS/400 computers, as well as on the other technological environments at the Bank. The costs and risks of these operations were too high.
To resolve this problem, the bank needed to design and implement an architecture capable of reaching the following objectives:
- Minimize changes to existing systems
- Provide a completely on-line transactional Web site
- Support several tens of thousands of users
- Minimize the number of costly software licenses
- Offer a very high reliability, close to bank ATM: i.e., 99.99%
- Be security certified by the bank and independent auditors
- Generate economies of scale by re-using the components of the “Personal Banking” and “Business Banking” sites.
The Business Solution
The AXON Plus architecture has been implemented, enabling full reusability of existing applications, including native banking transactions (4700, LU6.2, 3270, 5750). Our solution has been validated extensively and certified for its performance, security, and reliability.
The Results
After only a few weeks online, the Web site was used by more than 30,000 customers with peaks of more than 1,000 concurrent users. Modifications to existing systems were very limited and the "business" and "personal" banking functions were launched simultaneously. The Web site offers access to all customers' financial products and it is very user-friendly. It has been selected by Gomez Inc. as the third best banking Web site in Canada. The "Personal Banking" and "Business Banking" sites were deployed simultaneously due to the optimal re-use of the application's components.
After only a few weeks online, the Web site was used by more than 30,000 customers with peaks of more than 1,000 concurrent users. Modifications to existing systems were very limited and the "business" and "personal" banking functions were launched simultaneously. The Web site offers access to all customers' financial products and it is very user-friendly. It has been selected by Gomez Inc. as the third best banking Web site in Canada. The "Personal Banking" and "Business Banking" sites were deployed simultaneously due to the optimal re-use of the application's components.
VISA DESJARDINS
Industry: Financial Services
Profile: Subsidiary of Caisses Desjardins, licensed operator of Visa credit cards
The Problem
The customer service department of Visa Desjardins is responsible for activation and de-activation of credit cards, modification of credit limits, and answering customer requests. This department is a cost center and resources are only utilized at approximately 50% capacity since the personnel is fully busy only at peak times. Visa Desjardins wants to improve the quality and productivity of this department, and turn it into a revenue center.
The Challenge
To reach the project goals, the customer service agents must have access in real-time to complete customer information as well as data on their behavior within the telephone IVR system. Technologies in use do not permit this flexibility. Also, customer information must be extracted from different systems residing on heterogeneous systems: IBM mainframe, Meridian telephone switch, and Genesys software for Windows-based system.
The Business Solution
The AXON Plus platform is at the center of the implemented business solution. The new telephone convergence application connects the customer file information, Web site navigation behavior, and tracking in the RVI unit. The whole of this integrated information is tagged to the customer call and is transmitted to the agent in real-time, before a live-response to the call. When the agent takes the call, all the customer's information is available on a single screen, and any changes carried out are updated in real-time. The solution manages inbound service calls during peak time, as well as outbound sales calls which are automatically dialed during off-peak hours.
The Results
Within a few months, the customer service department has become a revenue center. Based on the AXON Plus platform, the Business Solution has resulted in a significant improvement in the service to customers and a sales success rate increase of 2% to 7%, an overall increase of 350%.
The staff productivity has increased from 50% to 85% in just a few months, largely due to the introduction of automatically generated outbound sales calls.
The use of resources in the customer service department changed from 50% to more than 85%, mainly due to the introduction of the new outbound call functions during idle periods.
Information gathering from the IVR system and Visa Desjardins Web site has enabled the customization of customer relations and improved quality of service, because the customer no longer needs to repeat himself from one agent to another.
LOOK COMMUNICATIONS
Industry: Telecommunications
Profile: Canada-wide organization
The Problem
Look Communications offers a complete range of telecommunication services: high-speed and dial-up Internet, Web-hosting, and digital TV. The company distinguishes itself from its competitors by delivering superior customer service to the commercial and residential markets throughout Canada. However, the corporation has little customer-behavior information at its disposal. For instance, the quantity of customer emails is clearly insufficient and personalized service is virtually non-existent.
Following many acquisitions, the IT environment is very heterogeneous and not integrated. Information on one customer can be found on different systems, under different account numbers. It is difficult and costly to communicate with customers and customize relations.
The Challenge
Look Communications has everything in hand to improve the profitability of each customer. To reach this goal, it must be able to uniquely identify each customer and customize the experience. The company's IT environment includes an IBM iSeries system (AS/400), Oracle and DB2 databases, Unix and Windows environments.
The Business Solution
The AXON Business Solution implemented has enabled unique customer identification, regardless of the services used. When a customer accesses the company Web site, an automated process analyses the customer profile and presents appropriate marketing offers, customized to his consumer profile. Other types of promotions could have been implemented, such as references from the customer's entourage who can benefit from the same promotions. The implemented business solution is based on the AXON Plus Integration and Development platform and provides transparent access to existing heterogeneous systems.
The Results
Unique customer identification has enabled growth in cross-sales. Postal costs have been reduced with an unified statement to customers. Targeted and customized offers have improved service quality and customer profitability by more than 20%. The solution is now at the center of a personalized customer experience and fuels the increased use of services.
The Challenge
