SEBLGemplus Standardizes on Siebel eBusiness Applications
World's Leading Provider of Plastic and Smart Cards Will Improve Customer Acquisition, Service and Retention
SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 12, 2000--Siebel Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:SEBL - news), the world's leading supplier of eBusiness application software, today announced that Gemplus, the world's leading provider of plastic and smart card-based solutions, will standardize its customer-facing operations worldwide on Siebel eBusiness Applications. Siebel Systems' solution will enable Gemplus sales, service and marketing professionals to work seamlessly across geographic locations and multiple communications channels to continually improve customer acquisition efforts, as well as to better understand and respond to the needs of existing and prospective customers, for greater customer satisfaction.
Gemplus is the world's largest provider of plastic- and smart card-based solutions for mobile telephony, banking, corporate security and electronic tags, as well as diverse applications such as pay-per-view television smart cards and loyalty cards. Supplying the world's leading hardware manufacturers, communications device and service providers, banking firms, and individuals who may shop online for smart cards and more, Gemplus maintains 17 manufacturing facilities, seven research and development centers, and 44 sales and marketing offices in more than 37 countries. According to research firm Frost & Sullivan, the smart card market will reach $5 billion by 2003.
Gemplus' sales, marketing and service representatives have maintained customer information in disparate systems and have segmented those records by product type. In the absence of a single repository for customer information, sales representatives have kept disparate records of leads and requirements that have been assigned manually from many sources, such as trade promotions, partner activities, and Gemplus' Web site, and from multiple channels, such as in-person meetings, phone calls and email inquiries. Even as Gemplus developed products to facilitate mobile Internet transactions based on emerging standards such as Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), the card leader recognized its own customers needed to be able to choose the channel they most preferred to communicate with Gemplus sales and service representatives.
Siebel eBusiness Applications will create a single, comprehensive multichannel customer information management system that will enable 1,000 Gemplus sales professionals throughout Europe to capture prospective customers' information and work with them across multiple communications channels -- whether by phone, email, or through the wired or wireless Web. Sales professionals will receive comprehensive lead information to better prepare for meetings, prioritize activity, assess risks, and forecast demand; furthermore, Siebel eBusiness Applications will enable them to capture vital data from their interactions. Service representatives will be able to access and update customer records to ensure faster, informed responses to requests. And marketing teams will be able to profile customers and extrapolate future needs, to develop targeted promotions: For example, Gemplus will be able to monitor corporate customers' Web store purchases, to ensure that sales, service and marketing outreach is relevant and is not duplicated. Ultimately, corporate and individual customers will have the flexibility to communicate with Gemplus according to preference, with the confidence that Gemplus will reflect their needs and progress toward customer satisfaction.
``As a global leader and a driving force behind eCommerce, Gemplus sought to make optimal use of all communications channels, but particularly the Internet. Only Siebel Systems showed an understanding that successful eBusiness requires more than the capability for Internet-enabled transactions -- it requires flexibility for the customer to use the Internet or whichever mode is preferred at any given time,'' said Georges Lesieur, Marketing Director, Gemplus.
``Gemplus was doubly impressed by Siebel Systems' worldwide reputation for 100 percent customer satisfaction, particularly among communications industry leaders, as well as the fact that Siebel Systems customers achieve a 15 percent increase in productivity on average, within the first ten months of deployment,'' said Lesieur. ``The striking connection between productivity and customer satisfaction certainly influenced Gemplus' selection of Siebel eBusiness Applications. Given the robustness and the scalability of the underlying technology, we expect to see Gemplus sales representatives working more effectively, we expect to be able to expand our online store to better serve our corporate customers, and we anticipate that ultimately, our prospects and customers will be pleased to choose the way to do business with us.''
About Siebel Systems
Siebel Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:SEBL - news) is the world's leading provider of eBusiness applications software. Siebel Systems provides an integrated family of eBusiness application software enabling multichannel sales, marketing and customer service systems to be deployed over the Web, call centers, field, reseller channels, retail and dealer networks. Siebel Systems' sales and service facilities are located in more than 28 countries. For more information, please visit Siebel Systems' Web site at www.Siebel.com.
About Gemplus
Gemplus (www.gemplus.com) is the world's number one provider of smart card based solutions for security, wireless and e-business applications. Offering consulting services, design, software, hardware, personalization and full implementation, Gemplus works with its customers around the world to deliver comprehensive, integrated and tailor-made smart card based systems.
The Group's customers use Gemplus memory and microprocessor smart cards, smart contactless cards, electronic tags, smart objects and magnetic stripe cards to simplify and secure a wide range of applications. From Web based and mobile commerce to financial transactions, loyalty, transportation, education healthcare, identity, pay TV and physical and logical access control, Gemplus provides intelligent end-to-end solutions that bring security, convenience and ease-of-use to millions of people worldwide.
Founded in 1988, Gemplus had sales of over 767 millions of Euro ($US 817 millions) in 1999, and employs almost 6,300 people in 17 manufacturing facilities, 7 R&D centers and 44 sales and marketing offices located in more than 37 countries.
Except for the historical information contained herein, this press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risk or uncertainties. Future operating results of Siebel Systems may differ from the results discussed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements due to factors that include, but are not limited to, risks associated with customer relations, such as the availability of Siebel Systems' products and services, customer implementation of products and services, relationships with third-party vendors and systems integrators, concentration of revenues in a relatively small number of customers, existence of errors or defects in products, ability to successfully manage growth, significant current and expected additional competition and the need to continue to expand product distribution and services offerings. Further information on potential factors that could affect the financial results of Siebel Systems are included in Siebel Systems' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999 and its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Note to Editors: Siebel is a trademark of Siebel Systems, Inc. and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. All other product and company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners and are mentioned for identification purposes only.
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