Industri-Matematik Awarded Worldwide Call Center Contract to Supply Volvo Action Service with a Customer Relationship Management Solution
MARLTON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 8, 1999--
Industri-Matematik and Ericsson Team to Create Industry's First
Global, Multi-Channel Customer Relationship Management Solution
Industri-Matematik International Corp. (NASDAQ:IMIC) today
announced it signed an important contract with Volvo IT to supply a
CRM solution to Volvo Action Service, the call center arm of Volvo
Parts, which supports Volvo truck, bus and marine equipment.
Industri-Matematik will implement a CRM Contact Center solution that
will provide a unifying view of Volvo Parts' customers 1) globally, 2)
among multiple service channels, and 3) across the complete lifecycle
of the customer. The solution will be based on Industri-Matematik's
VIVALDI(TM) CRM software, which supports the entire lifecycle of
customer interactions and encompasses all of the functions and
departments that work with customers. Volvo Action Service has 24 hour
a day call center operations in North America, and Europe. Combined,
the four call centers handle an average of 70,000 customer calls every
week.
Volvo Action Service already has an Ericsson PBX, and
Industri-Matematik will partner with Ericsson Enterprise Solutions to
provide a total CRM Contact Center solution. Ericsson has already
supplied Next Call Center equipped with Ericsson's Open Application
Server (OAS), which provides the Computer-Telephony Integration (CTI).
Industri-Matematik and Ericsson have integrated their products,
eliminating the need for costly, complex middleware.
Industri-Matematik and Ericsson were selected after an evaluation by
Volvo Action Service of major CRM vendors.
According to Joost de Vries, Vice President of Volvo Action
Service, "To the best of my knowledge, we are the first enterprise
call center operation to try to achieve this vision of a global,
multi-channel CRM solution and Industri-Matematik was the vendor who
had a solution that could help us achieve this vision. We couldn't
find or build anything with such rich functionality that is also so
easy to customize for our requirements."
de Vries also stated the Industri-Matematik/Ericsson partnership
was key because, "the deep CTI integration they provide eliminates the
middleware. This is not only important because it gives us a more
stable product and fewer vendors to deal with, it also eliminates the
problem of not being able to take advantage of new capabilities in the
PBX or CRM software because the middleware is a release or two behind
those products."
"Like most customer contact centers, Volvo Action Service
historically was focused on responding to customers. Now they are
putting together a solution which will give them the ability to reach
out to their customers," said Peter Desmet, Global Account Manager,
Ericsson NV. "Through Ericsson, Volvo Action Service already has a
platform they can use globally and Industri-Matematik's solution is so
flexible that Volvo Action Service can adapt quickly to the growth and
opportunities that have characterized their business to date. It is
the perfect partnership to achieve Volvo Action Service's wonderful
vision."
About the Project
Volvo Action Service has three major production channels for
handling customer calls, including Break Down/Emergency Repairs, Parts
Order Office and Technical Support. Today, each group has limited case
management tools for capturing and analyzing customer interactions and
behaviors over time and the groups have no ability to share
information with each other about customer interactions. The new
solution, based on VIVALDI CRM and the already present Ericsson
switches, will deliver great benefits to Volvo Action Service and its
customers.
The system will be implemented in North America and Europe and
the plans are that they will be fully operational by mid-2000.
About Industri-Matematik
Industri-Matematik International Corp. (www.im.se) provides
high-performance fulfillment and customer service software solutions
for e-commerce. Its VIVALDI software suite enables companies to move
to a Zero Inventory/100 Percent Visibility business model by replacing
inventory with information to speed the movement of goods through the
supply chain. In January 1999, Industri-Matematik acquired the Abalon
CRM capabilities, which provide the sales, marketing, service and call
center operations components of VIVALDI. The company has implemented
enterprise applications worldwide at market-leading organizations such
as British Airways, Campbell Soup, Canadian Tire, Canon, Carlton &
United Breweries, Hartz Mountain, Kellogg, Starbucks and
Warner/Elektra/Atlantic.
Editors: For Industri-Matematik company and product information,
and press releases, access the Industri-Matematik site on the World
Wide Web at im.se. VIVALDI is a trademark of
Industri-Matematik International Corp.
CONTACT:
Industri-Matematik Copithorne & Bellows
Tim Walsh Albie Jarvis or Kate Castle
(856) 797-4438 (617) 450-4300
tiwa@im.se kate.castle@cbpr.com |
