Solving Biz Problems with SugarExchange
Valtim Marketing Case Study – Optimizing The Multi-Program/BPO Call
Center With SugarCRM
Geoff Mobisson
CEO, Levementum
04/08/2023 ©2012 SugarCRM Inc. All rights reserved. 2
Tweet: #SCON12
Agenda
The Resonant Questions….what are we talking about here? Who is Valtim? What was our mission? What were we afraid of? How did technology play a role in execution of our mission? What worked and what didn’t…
Tweet: #SCON12
The Resonant Questions…
How do you use technology to scale a multi-program Call Center environment
Should we do it in house, and how does SAAS play? How do you tackle the variability that multi-program
environments haveIntegrationProcessVariations in workforce sizeKPIs
How ambitious can you be from a technology perspective?
Tweet: #SCON12
Who is Valtim
Valtim Marketing Started in 1986 as a Marketing and Data Services firm Morphed into a Call Center in the 90s and Evolved into a
Business Process Outsourcer in the 2000s Valtim is a full-service BPO
marketing services firmcall centerdigital printing facilityfulfillment center.
Tweet: #SCON12
Some of our customers…who might be familiar to you!
Every walk of life and business…
Tweet: #SCON12
What was our mission
The Multi Program Call Center (BPO) challengeHow do we have an integrated operational view and model of completely (and necessarily) diverse business processes.
The Multi-Channel challengeDramatic shifts in channel diversity (phone, email, sms, social, chat, web)Customers DEMAND that all of them operate in an integrated fashion - “if I reach out to you on facebook, you better know that when I call you later”.
“We’re a multi-channel outsourcing solution for our clients, both profit and non-profit…but in doing that we realized we had hardened system silos for each client, and what we needed was a comprehensive & integrated system that could enable efficiency,”
- Ernie Kozlowski, Executive Vice President, Valtim
Tweet: #SCON12
Where we were…
Dozens of completely silo-ed teams…no leverage, no scale. With these team siloes…the inevitable occurred:
Data silosSystem silosProcess and Ownership inconsistenciesImpossible integration scenariosNo depth of analysis (…revenue, and some telephony based analytics yes, but that’s it)
Tweet: #SCON12
The BHAG….
Integrate ‘em all….eCommercecall centerorder fulfillmentdigital printing
Manage multiple programs….in one system architecture one CRM, one ERP, one e*Commerce suite…for all the customer programs
Change Management – How do we “bust the silos in people’s minds Start to finish….within a quarter.
Tweet: #SCON12
The “Not so BHAGs”…
The seamless support of the variants that occur from program to program
CTI differences (Computer Telephony Integration)Process differences between programsKPI variations between programs
Tweet: #SCON12
Why did they need to act The World Class Problem
Coming out of the recession, business was picking up
Scale Pressures:While from a process and workforce perspective, Valtim had a model that strongly supported the rapid scale of a multi-program environment, it didn’t have the technology
Getting ahead of the “Home Grown IT” problemValtim had the insight, from years of experience, of the shortcomings of the “home grown IT” approach
Great value in “static” environments with “little scale pressure”Huge risks manifest with
– Changes in personnel (tribal knowledge)– Variation in process– Rapid scale
Valtim felt that enterprise class CRM and eCommerce at the hub, was an imperative
Tweet: #SCON12
Guiding Principles
We could only be saved by Change Management and Technology…in that order.The Technology would have to be:
Open– To handle unplanned client integration needs
Flexible– Allowing for process variation (each client’s desired customer experience
is linked to their brand or identity)
Robust– Allowing for scale…in EITHER direction.
“We had a massive client with a signed contract, and we were banging our head against the wall, knowing our existing technology had hit a tipping point.”
Ernie Kozlowski, Executive Vice President, Valtim
Tweet: #SCON12
What were the options
OptionsCreate a new own system…the “Mother of All Systems [re: disasters]”Buy a set of enterprise class tools, and run them locallyBuy a set of enterprise class tools, and run them in a SAAS environmentBuy a single “Mother of All Systems” [not sure if it exists]
FearsCan we vary our business process & integrations from program to program?What happens to our data?What about our clients mandates on data security?Can our IT guys support it? Or even understand it?Will our people adopt it???
Tweet: #SCON12
Adding to the core
ERP was entrenched….and worked. Sage MAS90 CRM and eCommerce were needed to complete the “core”
…and would need to support “multiple programs” Everything else – would need to touch the core
Telephony and DialersChatSMS
Tweet: #SCON12
The technology selection
Before we even selected a vendor…we picked Open Source as a key characteristic.
FlexibleInexpensiveSupported broadlySAAS or On-Premise (no lock in)Open for integrationOpen for “proper” customization
While keeping “compliant” with software support
ScaleableArchitecturally…and financially
Control of our own Destiny
Tweet: #SCON12
Why SugarCRM
Deployed wherever we wantedSAAS (allowed custom integrations)OnsitePrivate hosting
Negotiated flexible use terms Open Source…means open integrations and open process
variationSugarCRM truly had the “open Kimono”, and we took advantage of it
Lots of call center implementations…
Tweet: #SCON12
Why Magento?
Deployed wherever we wantedSAAS (allowed custom integrations)OnsitePrivate hosting
Fixed cost…regardless of scale Multi-site operation and control Integrations to CRMs and ERPs galore…
Tweet: #SCON12
Why Levementum
Business acumen Experience in call center implementations Understood the multi-program challenge Knew how to take advantage of Open Source (power…and
responsibility…because you can get yourself in trouble) Understood the “Adoption” challenge
…we weren’t their first
Tweet: #SCON12
The Plan
DiscoveryWith technology selected….forget about it. Focus on business need, and align to the best practices of the platforms.
DeployImplement eCommerce CRM, Contact Center and CTI features for 3 programs to start…Customized call script/answer tracking module for all leadsIntegration to 3rd party analytics for intelligence and analysisIntegration to Client’s Qualified Leads programIntegrate cleanly with client site systems as needed…Provide tools in the CRM to allow easy management of the data cross both the CRM and the “client internal system” (mass deletes, etc)…DATA INTEGRITY across the “Valtim/Client” boundary
Get it done fast…< 90 days
“I was a little scared that during thediscovery there wasn’t any technical discussion - it was just process. But it paid off because when Levementum put their heads down and started programming they understood exactly where they were going,”
Tweet: #SCON12
The Deliverables Complete deployment of the Lead to Cash process in
SugarCRM Complete deployment of eStores for each program Integration between Sage MAS 500 and SugarCRM to
exchange ordering, fulfillment, inventory and accounting data.
Integration between Magento Enterprise eCommerce and SugarCRM to exchange Internet ordering information.
Integration between SugarCRM and Authorize.net payment gateway for eCommerce and phone orders.
Integration between SugarCRM and the Satori address verification system to verify addresses for ordering and billing purpose
Contact Center & Telephony integration for screen pop, click to call and queue/quota management
Tweet: #SCON12
The Schedule
Deliver the multi-program solution from scratch…in 6 weeks
Implement adoption programs immediately Prepare for implementation of additional programs
Tweet: #SCON12
Deliverables: Customized Client Modules
Each program has different definitions of what should data should be captured
Manage through custom modulesManage through role and security definitionsCLM’s were configured for each program…
For “some” programs, integration was built to push data as necessary for 3rd party application consumption (in real time and in batch)
Add intelligence to these lead modules by the use of “dependent questioning/drop downs”…if the customer said that, then the options are these.
Tweet: #SCON12
Deliverables: Manager tools and Analytics
Manager toolsTeam and role security for program segmentationData clean up tools (mass delete/cleanups) to ensure data quality and consistency across systems (CRM & 3rd party)Email templates and notifications for customer care
AnalyticsRobust web based (and scheduled – PDF, etc) reporting on lead/agent performance and dta entry.MTD reporting for performance metric & delivery to Valtim program clients
Tweet: #SCON12
Adoption
Prescriptive training… Program focused Executed swiftly…and a key to success!
TakeawaysCRM training…no!Business process training (in CRM context)…yes!
Tweet: #SCON12
Deployment Particulars
Dozens of agent users Multiple call centers throughout the North America Multiple programs sourced across call centers
All served by…. A single CRM system SugarCRM and Magento On-Premise, with SAAS backup and
training systems All code…upgrade safe, and in the “certified” way Minimal support
“Representatives in our Virginia call center will talk to a customer when they call to make a $1000 donation. The system recognizes them through CTI, creates a ‘case’, and an email notification goes to (our client’s) customer service group in Georgia. They are automatically prompted to call their donor to thank them for the $1000 donation. This integrates with our printing shop and prints out the letters.
the “process at work”
Tweet: #SCON12
Results and Lessons
ResultsSuccessful rollout of all 3 programsCompleted in under 60 days from start to finishAll without additional headcount
Tweet: #SCON12
Lessons
Discovery is everything New CRM and eCommerce technology is showing better and
better alignment to the Call Center Integrations to key Call Center tools (CTI,Call Recording,
Contact Centers, Autodialers, Predictive Dialers)….are no longer “special”….these are standard integrations for CRM…even SAAS based CRM.
SAAS works…even where data security is paramount
Tweet: #SCON12
Lessons
Call center integration needs are well supported by new CRMs and SAAS
Stay away from “Home Grown” systems….we needed these in the 90’s and early 00s, but NOT ANY LONGER.
Going to a packaged solution and having flexibility on the delivery model was perhaps the biggest bet – and the one that created the most value for us.
Be ambitious with your Call Center…if you have the business discipline and leadership, nowadays the technology will support it
Tweet: #SCON12
The future
More Contact Center Features Additional flexible Call Scripting features to make it easier to
create and manage multiple programs, and complex scripting (done!!!)
Install and deploy existing Advanced Contact Center featuresPreparing to deploy our integrators SugarCRM Contact Center solution for
Predictive dialMore detailed CTC and ScreenPopComplex Queues & Advanced workforce management
Tweet: #SCON12
The conclusion Keys to winning
A BPO project must start with:Technology Agnostic Discovery….which is hard to do.
A BPO platform must be:OpenPlatform flexibleIntegration readyScale ready
A winning adoption program must be:PrescriptiveProcess focused
A winning core IT architecture for BPO must include:CRMeCommerceClean integration to fulfillment and execution data
Tweet: #SCON12
About SugarCRM
SugarCRM offers open source CRM business software for customer relationship management solutions
both cloud-based and on premise CRM softwaresales, marketing, customer supportEmail, mobile and socialCRM integration.
Headquarters in Cupertino, California in the South San Francisco Bay Area
Tweet: #SCON12
About Magento
Magento is a feature-rich, professional open-source eCommerce solution.
It offers merchants complete flexibility and control over the look, content, and functionality of their online store.
Magento’s intuitive administration interface contains powerful marketing, merchandising and content management tools to give merchants the power to create sites that are tailored to their unique business needs.
Headquarters in Los Angeles, California
Tweet: #SCON12
About Levementum
Levementum is a global consulting and technology services company that focuses on xRM (relationship management) and eCommerce in the customer service and contact center domain.
Headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona
04/08/2023 ©2012 SugarCRM Inc. All rights reserved. 39
Submit Session Feedback
Select the SugarCon Mobile App: 1) Tap on this session2) Tap on survey3) Submit your feedback
*Prizes for attendees who submit session feedback using the Mobile App
04/08/2023 ©2012 SugarCRM Inc. All rights reserved. 40
#SCON12