Financial service group Alliance & Leicester has signed a
multimillion-pound deal with Cable & Wireless to consolidate
its call-centre technology.
Alliance & Leicester will create a single view of customers
across all communication channels.
C&W will help the bank integrate six Alliance & Leicester
call centres to one virtual contact centre in a five-year deal
designed to enhance customer service.
The bank will use C&W's network and call routing technology to
route calls to the right call centre. The system will be rolled out
over the next 18 months.
Sophisticated call-routing technology is becoming widely used in
Europe as it allows companies to cut costs and improve customer
service, analysts said.
Alliance & Leicester manufacturing and operations director
Chris Rhodes said, "Our strategy is to create a single view of our
customers across all communications channels. However and whenever
we communicate with our customers we can provide the best service
level."
The contact centre will use C&W's network to handle the initial
call and verify the customer's identity before routing it to the
relevant call-
centre agent.
It will use C&W's Network Interactive Voice Response and
Network Computer Telephony Integration technology.
Steve Blood, research director at IT analyst Gartner, said call
distribution technology was a wise investment for firms with
scattered call centres. "It's a practical technology and will help
the bank cut costs and improve customer service," he said.
The centre will require a link between C&W's network and
Alliance & Leicester's back-office systems, which store
customer information," he added. This would normally be done
through a virtual private network.
Alliance & Leicester refused to comment on the implementation
details.