DaimlerChrysler SA says RightFax is the right thing

The DaimlerChrysler Group has a lot of customers needing fast and efficient service. Look at the number of DCSA dealerships in Johannesburg alone and you get some idea. Each of these showrooms is regarded as a customer and in need of constant communications from the umbrella group, each frequently requiring documentation and technical manuals to be faxed through to it to maintain exemplary levels of customer satisfaction.

For this leading motoring conglomerate, maintaining the highest levels of customer service is a critical pillar in the integrity of its various brands, and effective communication is deemed crucial to fulfilling this objective. It was in order to enhance the productivity of its Customer Response Centre (CRC) that DCSA chose to implement the Captaris RightFax faxing solution from AmVia for the CRM component of its SAP enterprise management architecture in 2002.

Provided by AmVia partner T-Systems, the integration of the fax component of a communications strategy into the underlying SAP system was intended to enhance the productivity of call centre agents responsible for faxing relevant documents to their required destinations. RightFax also enabled the creation of an integrated messaging platform through which incoming faxes could be delivered to the relevant agent via a number of messaging media, such as delivering fax messages directly to the user`s e-mail inbox for instance.

Begins Justin Prinsloo, IT communications and security analyst at DCSA: "We had to move from our old, outdated analogue fax system and chose RightFax due to its integrated nature. The easy integration into our back-end SAP architecture as well as the Lotus Notes mailserver environment was also seen as essential, which is another area in which the AmVia solution impressed us."

Eight ports were initially implemented at the CRC dedicated purely to CRM oriented faxing. Gina Nel of the CRC takes up the tale: "The system has really aided the CRC since its implementation in 2002 without major problems. The older solution required that agents manually fax documentation, which is definitely not conducive to improved staff productivity. Because of the volume of customers whom we deal with, servicing the national customer base and a few cross-border customers as well, managing this workload is dramatically enhanced by the consolidation of messaging media into a single view, namely the PC."

The system went live on 6 May 2002 and apart from upgrades to the underlying faxing subsystem has been operating without any major hiccups since then. The RightFax implementation is used to generate and send reports based on data in the enterprise system every day to ensure dealerships are kept up to date with the latest client issues concerning them, including SMS notifications to ensure that this information can reach its intended recipients through any communication facility.

"Since going live we have experienced very few problems, and those that we did encounter were quickly attended to by T-Systems who are just a phone call away. Improved agent productivity is the primary benefit, as well as increased communications efficiency between the head office and countrywide dealership network. It has become a crucial pillar of our system, after all, any delays in getting technical documentation for instance out to the dealerships means steadily decreasing levels of customer satisfaction," she continues.

The digital (ISDN) fax solution currently in place has in the last three months been expanded to a total capacity of 20 ports, consisting of 12 bi-directional ports as well as four dedicated to incoming and four to outgoing communications. The reason for the expansion of the RightFax system`s capabilities was the desire by other companies within the group to take advantage of the improved productivity and increased efficiency which the system brought to the table.

Says Prinsloo: "The other companies within the group, namely DaimlerChrysler Services and debis Fleet Management, also wanted to migrate to the RightFax platform, hence the recent addition of extra ports."

Duncan D`abreton, IT quality manager at DCSA, was involved in the original implementation in 2002 and is able to shed some light on the original decision taken by the group to implement this solution from AmVia: "The easy integration of RightFax into our SAP enterprise suite was the primary reason for moving over from the analogue Lotus Domino fax server to the new solution, and the fact that the system includes tracking and confirmation of all faxes passing through it cemented the decision for DCSA," he explains.

As the source of contact with suppliers, dealers and customers themselves, it was deemed essential that the CRC was able to prove that critical faxes were transmitted and received. RightFax includes this ability in standard form, and with the integration into the SAP CRM environment was able to attach this confirmation to the customer records immediately.

"The one facet of the system which in my opinion has not as yet been fully utilised is the integration into the Microsoft suite of products to enable faxing directly to and from the Outlook e-mail client. Not only would making use of this functionality reduce cost to the company as an effective paper-saving exercise, it would further enhance user convenience by providing a single interface through which all pertinent communications can be picked up and responded to," concludes D`abreton.

Although the CRC does make use of this integrated messaging functionality, the remainder of the group of companies most recently brought online with RightFax has yet to take advantage of this digital mindset.

"We expect this implementation to make the entire group more efficient with respect to fax communications, as has been the case with CRC. As the volume of faxes flowing through the organisation is significant to say the least, I expect the ability to deliver fax transmissions directly to the user`s desktop to result in substantial cost savings as well as enhanced productivity and higher levels of customer satisfaction. That of course complete with comprehensive records and easier tracking of the customer communications activities of the group on the whole," says Prinsloo in closing.