Siebel Rings up Customer Wins Global companies hop to CRM leader

Siebel Rings up Customer Wins
Global companies hop to CRM leader; more than 3,500 users; customer service is key
by Lisa Picarille
From CRM Magazine September 2002

The dog days of summer are gone and for CRM software powerhouse Siebel Systems, things are falling into place as the company this week announced a handful of customer deployments and wins.

Siebel adds the International Institute for Management Development, Mentor Graphics, Advantech and Key Energy Services to its list of more than 3,500 customers worldwide.

IMD is among those that teamed with Siebel to announce a successful deployment. Located in Lausanne, Switzerland, IMD is a 50-year-old business school that helps students at any stage in their careers. IMD installed Siebel Sales to generate an understanding of the schools' program offering among human resource professionals that procure IMD programs for their staff.

Until recently, IMD was perceived as being inward-focused because an outmoded customer database limited the scope for capturing and tracking opportunities and fully understanding the complexities of the customer relationship. Now, when customers first contact IMD using their preferred channel of communication, Siebel Sales captures and records their comprehensive profile of the customer. IMD's field sales professionals use this single view of customer information, including details on IMD programs the customer has expressed an interest in, programs the staff have already attended, details on any virtual learning networks within the company, and a list of events the customer has been invited to and attended, to build their knowledge of individual customers and enhance their sales effectiveness.

Using Siebel Sales, IMD can also sell additional programs that enhance the customer's business. For example, if the customer reports during the meeting that the company has undergone merger and acquisition activity, the salesperson may propose a tailored IMD program which is designed to assist newly merged companies work more closely together.

Mentor Graphics Corp. a provider of electronic design automation (EDA) hardware and software has deployed Siebel eBusiness Applications and will soon integrate three recently acquired companies into their service tracking system.

Mentor is using Siebel Call Center and Siebel eService to track and access customer issues in a single, global system, improving its business processes and enhancing customer care.

The company wanted a solution that would integrate its customer service data on a global basis and streamline support processes. Prior to implementing Siebel eBusiness Applications, Mentor stored call tracking information for various regions in five different databases, making it difficult to share information across all service centers.

Using Siebel Call Center, the Mentor Graphics service organization now has one comprehensive global system to manage, synchronize, and coordinate customer interactions over multiple communication channels. Mentor customer applications engineers are able to quickly, accurately, and consistently provide service, regardless of where in the world customers choose to locate their development teams.

In the first three weeks after going live, Mentor's knowledge re-use doubled, dramatically reducing redundant work, response, and resolution times, while increasing employee productivity

Taiwan-based Advantech, a supplier of industrial computing hardware and software, upgraded to Siebel 7 in only 90 days and has deployed the latest version across nine locations in Asia, Europe, and North America.

The software enables Advantech to better analyze customer behavior, resulting in improved demand forecasting, faster development, and enhanced launch of new products as consumer requirements evolve in each market.

The company is using the new software as its moves away from being a pure product manufacturer to one providing a combination of products and services.

"To stay ahead in the highly competitive automation industry, we have to constantly enhance and increase the efficiency and quality of our customer service," said Andy Wang, Chief Information Officer of Advantech. "

Key Energy Services, the world's largest onshore, rig-based well service company, has announced it would standardize its field service operations on Siebel eBusiness Applications. The company plans to use Siebel eOil and Gas 7 and Mobile Data Solutions, Inc. (MDSI) to consolidate its back office systems and workflow processes from150 separate locations into a centralized solution.

Using Siebel eOil and Gas 7, a suite of vertical applications tailored specifically to support key business processes in the oil, gas, and chemical industries, Key Energy Services' 1,500 field service representatives will manage mobile service operations, including work management and dispatch, break/fix service events, invoicing, quotes, and orders Field service representatives will be able to access and update service requests and view customer data across wireless field devices, ultimately improving productivity and enhancing customer service.

"Using the complete set of functionality and advanced Web architecture of Siebel Field Service 7, integrated with the MDSI ideligo (wireless) solution, we are providing our service personnel with real-time, accurate information they need to deliver seamless, rapid, and high-quality customer service," said John Hood, CIO at Key Energy Services. "As a result, we expect to reduce service costs and improve organizational efficiency across the entire company."

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