flexibility, boost product/vlly and manage workflow more efficiently • improve customer service...
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---- ------- - ---- ---- - - ---- -- --- @ customer relationships SIEBEL@ ==-=~=0
It's hard ro argue wirh success. But
when you're at the top of Fortune
magazine's prestigious list of most
admired companies... number one
in customer satisfaction ...and your
sales force has been called the best in
its industry by Sales and iHarketing
Management magazine, what do you
do for an encore'
"IBM and Siebel offered what we were
looking lor-functionality,
flexibility, an open architecture
and a long-term strategic direction..."
Cal Schmidt, IS Associate Director, Northwestern Mutual
For Northwestern Mutual, rhe
largest provider of individual life
insurance in rhe U nired States, the
answer is to find the best way to
deliver an ever-growing range of
products and services. In 1999, for
example, the company developed a
new customer service model sup
ported by leading Siebel eBusiness
Applications running on the IBM
DB2" Universal Database:M
At rhe same rime, the company
has begun the process of automat
ing its representative desktop,
in sync with the launch of the
Northwestern Mutual Financial
Network. Supported by Siebel
eInsurance running on IBM DB2,
this vast network of some 10,000
users will enable the business to
deliver a broader range of financial
services more efficiently to customers
than ever before possible.
Overview
Ch llenge:
• Implemenr a new cu tomer service
model to reduce the time Its sales force
spends on admimstral/ve tashs
• Automate its represenla/!V, deSKtop
while launchmg the Northwestern Mutual
Financial Network
Solution:
• SIebel Service
• Siebel Insurance
• IBM DB2 Universal Dslaba e
Benefits:
• Dehver broader range of
fmanclSI serll/ce
• Boost product/vlly and manage workflow
more effICiently
• Improve customer service
• Help prOVide reliable. fast data retrieval
WIth excellent sealab/lltv
ibm·siebel.com
Improving customer service
amid rapid growth
Norrhwesrern Murual started to
rethink its customer service model
in 1998. Ies scrategic objective: to
free the company's sales force to
concentrate on selling by providing
more support from home office staff.
As Cal Schmidt, IS Associate
Director, explains, "We knew our
work volumes were going to increase
over the next few years and we
wanted to unload as much of the
adminiscration from our sales team
as possible. For example, instead of
having them manage service requests,
we could handle requests through
our service center, distribute them
through Siebel Service ro the appro
priate person and crack their progress
until the cusromers are satisfied:'
The success of the cransition would
depend largely on the choice of tech
nology to suppon the new business
processes. In late 1998, Schmidt's
team reviewed a number of options,
and based on functionality, flexibility
and open technology, Siebel Systems,
Inc. won hands down.
"We weren't willing to compromise
OUt business processes to fit a tool
that didn't have any flexibility in
it;' says Jan Wagner, IS Assistam
Director for policy ownet services
sYStems at Nonhwestern Mutual.
"The openness of the Siebel archi
tecture and how easy it was to inte
grate with our legacy applications
and data - these were key factors in
our decision."
Another deciding factor was the com
pany itself. As Schmidt points out,
"We looked at the financial scrength
of the company, the matket share and
the cultural fit. Siebel Systems came
out far ahead."
IBM participation is
a deciding factor
According to Schmidt, "The
IBM-Siebel alliance was also very
important to us. Our enterprise data
needs to be in a stable, secure and
consistently robust environment, so
we've chosen DB2 Universal Database
as our strategic database for Siebel
applications. IBM is going ro be
around for a long time, and we can
count on them to keep developing
and supporting DB2. Both IBM
and Siebel offeted what we were look
ing for-funCtionality, flexibility,
an open architecrure and a long-term
scrategic direccion that matches
Out own. We felt they would give
us our best chance of meeting our
business goals."
Early on in the discussions, IBM
provided help in proving the scala
bility of the Siebel platform on DB2
Universal Database. "IBM took the
initiative to benchmark our configu
ration against the 10,000 amicipated
usets. This gave us added confidence
to move forward;' nOtes Schmidt.
At a later stage in the project, IBM
Toronto Reseatch Center assisted in
installing the database and integrat
ing it with the Siebel application.
According to Jan Wagner, "IBM sup
plied exceptional, expen personnel to
help insure a smooth implementation
of the Siebel environmem on DB2:'
Process improvements using
Siebel eBusiness Applications
and IBM DB2
The Siebel eBusiness Applications
rolled out on time and on budget
in July 1999 to Northwestern
Mutual's life and disability insurance
service units. In October 1999, the
project team added significant new
functionality for request distribution
management. Says Schmidt, "Ie
demonstrates the advamage of
Siebel's openness that we could
incorporate our own customized
discribution piece that's tailored
to our unique business tequite
ments and operating environmem:'
Now, when a customer call or e-mail
comes into the centralized service
center, the customer service represen
tative builds a case file within the
Siebel eBusiness Application. Papet
tequests are handled at the mail desk.
Whatever their source, requests are
forwarded online into the company's
distribution system. This system
assesses the availabili ty of all the
customer service representatives and
their current workload, and then
allocates the request to the appropri
ate person's queue.
"We can track all the requests
coming in and the follow-up, so
we know whether they are getting
to the right person and moving
efficiently through the organiza
tion;' says Wagner. "And, if the
request went through the Siebel
application, we can obtain visibility
on all the work that we're doing on
behalf of a customer or financial
representative."
Meanwhile, Northwestern Mutual
began a rebranding exercise that led
to the launch of the Northwestern
Mutual Financial Network. This
network btings together some 10,000
financial representatives, disttict
agents, associate agents and assis
tants, as well as a range of financial
and legal specialists. The objective:
to offet Notthwestern Mutual CUSt
omers a team of experts to help
them with their financial needs on a
broader basis, beyond life insurance.
"This kind of network is faitly unique
in the indusrry and we view it as
critical to our future success;' says
Schmidt. "Our main focus as a
company is to build long-term, long
lasting relationships with our existing
policyowners by offering a broader
range of services than ever before pos
sible, including estate planning and
trust services. We need to support our
financial tepresentatives with the best
tools possible or we will not succeed."
Faced with this challenge, Schmidt's
team looked at various ways to boost
efficiency on the desktop. Curtently,
the company uses a packaged solution
for client management called Contact
Partner from SunGard Insurance
Sysrems, formerly known as FDP.
While it offered strong functionality
in its specific area, Notthwestern
Murual wanted to build a compre
hensive, integrated solution - what
Field Technology IT Manager Nancy
Bentley calls "a platform for integra
tion not only across applications, but
across business rules."
"We needed a system that we could
use to integrate a number of pieces
of our sales cycle together to help
our financial tepresentatives become
more productive;' she explains.
"We're talking about geographically
dispersed people who need to share
information. That was a key driver
behind why we picked Siebel
eInsurance. Siebel provides the tech
nology and the architecture we need
to create that type of integtated envi
tonment. And IBM DB2 Universal
Database ptovides teliable, fast data
retrieval with excellent scalability,
enhancing its fit with Siebe!."
---- ------- ----- ---- - ---- - - ---
Building an end·to·end
architecture for sales automation
Northwestern Mutual reviewed
several oprions and rhere was one
striking difference rhar singled
Siebel eInsurance out from the rest.
As Benrley points out,"The focus of
mosr of rhe other packages rended
to be oriented to a specific funcrion,
such as client management. One
solution offered a very open archirec
ture, bur ir didn't give us rhe func
tionality we needed. Siebel gave us
rhe best of both worlds."
Norrhwesrern Muruallaunched
a pre-pilot version of the Siebel
solurion. Ultimately, rhe solution
will be rolled out to approximately
10,000 users. According to
Benrley, inirial user feedback has
been posirive.
"IBM supplied exceptional, expert
personnel to help ensure a smooth
implementation of the Siebel environment
on DB2."
Jan Wagner, IS Assistant Director, Northwestern Mutual
"Our Siebel eInsurance solurion
has been very well received in rhe
field ro rhis point. They really like
rhe business funcrionaliry rhey see,
as well as the ease of use and flex
ibility to tailor it ro rheir own way
of working. Thar kind of flexibility
is very important when you have
10,000 users."
"Wirh IBM and Siebel Systems,
we have rwo very strong companies
thar have good technology and good
people;' adds Schmidt. "We're really
benefiring from their partnership in
these major implementations."
To learn m re a au pu ling he
IBM and Siebel all a ce to wor
for you vlSI! ibm·siebel.com
@Siebel Systems, Inc
Siebel Systems, Inc
2207 Bridgepolnte Parkway
San Mateo, CA 94404
Siebel and the Siebel logo are trademarks of
Siebel Systems, Inc. and may be registered in
certain jurisdictions.
Printed in the United States of America
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All Rights Reserved
Siebel Part # 10PlO-CS370-05620
==-=":"=@
©Copyright IBM Corporation 2001
IBM Corporation
New Orchard Road
Armonk, NY 10504
IBM, the IBM logo, DB2 Universal Database and
the e-business logo are trademarks or registered
trademarks of International Business Machines
Corporation in the United States, other countries,
or both.
Other company, product and service names may
be trademarl<s or service marks of others.
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