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Woolwich of UK
| Woolwich plc is a composite financial services provider with over 6,000
staff in the UK, France and Italy. Previously Woolwich Building Society,
the company became a bank in 1997 and is now one of thee UK’s largest companies.
Traditionally, the majority of its customers have accessed their accounts
through its 400 branches and 12,000 ATMs, but in recent years it has built
up successful telephone-based operations as well.
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| Retail financial services is an increasingly competitive market and within
this environment many banks are becoming retailers of financial products
as opposed to manufacturers. Whilst, traditionally, Woolwich has had a strong
emphasis on savings and mortgages, for much of the past decade it has been
building a broader range of products and aims to be the most effective provider
of diversified personal financial services in the UK. This diversification
will also extend to the channels through which it distributes its products
and services.
Woolwich is seeking to reposition itself primarily as a distributor of packaged financial services, rather than a manufacturer of loans, and shift the emphasis toward customer benefit. With the effective use of the appropriate technology, it is possible to learn more about individual customers and offer a complete service rather than discreet products which will enable them to make the most of their financial resources and achieve their long term monetary goals. Woolwich is therefore steadily rolling out Open Plan Services, a lifestyle banking proposition which is being delivered through a high service, proactive environment. By helping customers identify their life goals in an initial fact find with a personal finance manager (PFM), Woolwich can target its product offerings appropriately and then service and has the capacity to sell more effectively through call centre, Internet and home banking channels. The multi-channel approach also means that customers can access their account at a time that suits them rather than within traditional banking hours. The business goals of Open Plan Services are principally to improve customer retention and increase product penetration.
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| AIT was chosen because it was clearly compliant with both the business
and technology strategies of Woolwich, and its financial services experience
meant that the project team demonstrated a complete understanding of the
business vision of Woolwich. Both companies developed an excellent working
relationship that continues to develop as Open Plan Services is rolled out
throughout the Woolwich. On the technology strategy side, compliance with
Microsoft technology was a central part of Woolwich’s needs and AIT, as a
Microsoft Solution Provider Partner, was ideally placed to be able to deliver
within the demanded timescales. In addition, AIT was able to offer a scalable,
integrated solution across all channels and had high quality, responsive
teams based in the UK.
From day one of the project, the lifestyle team was a partnership between business and IT specialists from both companies, who constantly drove one plan and one vision forward. AIT provided Woolwich with an integrated call centre solution, as well as a home banking solution based on Microsoft’s personal financial management software, Money99. Since the implementation went live in 1998, AIT’s customer contact centre has become the central hub of a truly e-CRM enabled financial services provider: an interactive digital banking service and a WAP-based mobile banking service have been integrated into the Woolwich service. Woolwich can now sell and service lifestyle based propositions through its contact centre, Internet, interactive TV, mobile and home banking channels. After the initial fact find to understand customer needs and aspirations, the call centre services and has the potential to sell to the customer, providing a complete suite of customer relationship management tools.
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Date of Live Running: |
1998 |
| John Crane, Head of Distribution Development at Woolwich describes the
results Woolwich customers are seeing as follows: 'Open Plan Services is
customised banking. Its three key components are advice and planning, the
delivery of integrated financial services and accessibility, all made available
to a wide range of customers. It allows the customer to see a complete financial
picture and the progress made toward financial goals. It also provides a
range of access options.'.
Early indications show good take-up and loyalty to Open Plan Services. Customer satisfaction levels are extremely high, as is customer response to all the products on offer. Typically, customers joining Open Plan Services are taking out a further three Woolwich products. However, it is anticipated that the service, with its umbrella proposition of the future of banking, will bring new customers to the Woolwich, utilising a combination of technology and service. In the pilot scheme, some 25% of customers joining were completely new to the bank. Indeed, as customers start to use more of the products on offer, the integrated approach Woolwich has taken is causing interest from other major institutions because Woolwich has facilitated a major buy-in to the proposition. Woolwich has also been extremely pleased with the speed of system implementation. The call centre agents enjoy using the system as well as the inherent emphasis on usability, they appreciate the level of integration which allows them to service customers more easily and effectively. For Woolwich, AIT’s solution enables them to fulfil their business objectives.
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| Microsoft Solutions, WAP Mobile ‘Phones, Interactive Digital TV, Internet,
Call Centre Technologies.
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Web: AIT Group plc
EMail:
clive.mcnamara-at-ait.co.uk
www.ait.co.uk
Business: Systems Integrator
Date of Submission: 1/Dec/00
© 2000 AIT Group plc All rights reserved. Company and product
names mentioned may be the Trademarks of the submitting company or of other
companies.
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