Motoring organisation the AA expects to achieve a return on
investment of 300% over three years, after rolling out business
intelligence (BI) software for use in its datawarehouse, which
stores information about its 12 million customers.
Analysts said the move reflects a resurgence in interest in BI
software as firms facing increasing economic pressures, look to get
the most value possible out of the data they store.
The Centrica-owned company, which deals with 4.2 million breakdown
call a year, has identified savings of more than £1m it expects to
make as a result of improved efficiency and cost savings.
The AA also hopes the Webintelligence software from supplier
Business Objects will lead to customer service improvements - a key
differentiator in the competitive roadside assistance market.
John Seymour, manager of management information at AA Road
Services, said half of the £1m saving will be achieved because of
the improved speed with which analysts can access, analyse and
report on company information.
"With our previous system, which we selected in the late 1990s,
reports were frequently taking up to 48 hours to produce," he said.
"It is now a matter of hours."
Further reductions of more than £500,000 will be achieved through
improvements in operational efficiency, by giving the company a
complete picture of service performance, Seymour said.
"We have a complex data relationship with our customers. For
example, each breakdown often involves more than one resource and
we can now view this as one," he said.
This detailed view will allow the AA to highlight any particular
problem, enabling the company to provide additional tools or
training to address the issue and maintain service levels, Seymour
said.
Helena Schwenk, business intelligence analyst at research firm
Ovum, said the uptake of BI software has risen significantly in the
past 12 months. "BI software is creeping up the corporate agenda
because of the economic pressure companies are facing," she said.
"Lots of companies are using BI to save money, by for example
cutting product lines and tightening inventory."
Companies should be wary of software suppliers making extravagant
claims for return on investment, warned Schwenk, although she
added, that there is no reason why organisations like the AA should
not make a 300% return if the implementation is carried out
properly.