Unisys Predicts Six Key Growth Drivers for CRM in 2005

Unisys specialists in customer relationship management (CRM) today predicted several major growth drivers for the CRM marketplace in 2005. Overall, Unisys believes that enterprises will continue reaping the benefits of the maturing CRM industry by integrating data across CRM, enterprise resource planning (ERP) and global supply chain systems.

Businesses and governments will also leverage a combination of business-intelligence (BI) analytics, disciplined benchmarking techniques and new technologies such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). These advances will drive CRM programs to positively impact shareholder value.

Steve Olyha, vice president and managing partner of Unisys Global Enterprise Solutions practice, says, "Successful companies will mature into CRM delivery models that use point solutions - such as those for sales-force automation and forecasting - to tie together all the information associated with improvements across multiple process areas. No single solution can drive substantial results, but they can achieve significant impact when combined with a good enterprise-wide CRM strategy." Olyha cites the following six major CRM growth-drivers for 2005:

1. Integration of CRM, ERP and supply chain data

2. Demand for statistically valid metrics on best practices

3. Expansion of BI tools, including customized applications pushed to laptops and PDAs

4. Advances in call-center productivity using VoIP technology, global resources and outsourcing models

5. Integration of RFID into retail operations

6. Growing adoption of CRM practices by local government, particularly in 3-1-1 programs

Integrating CRM, ERP and supply chain data

The mandate for the CRM market in 2005 will be to further integrate the corporate value chain. Organizations will increasingly cultivate customer relationships by integrating - and sometimes transforming - the end-to-end value chain of sales, marketing, customer support, ERP and global supply chain systems. For example, sales force automation must be tied back into demand planning to avoid the customer support logjams that are possible when inventory systems cannot handle increased sales volume.

According to Olyha, "While it takes work to integrate those systems, that's not the biggest challenge. The biggest challenge is organizational change management. This requires a comprehensive blueprint of each business operation's processes, applications and infrastructure that shows how operations are linked and where each system touches employees and customers. The potential payoff in 2005 and beyond will be dramatically more powerful and predictable CRM programs."

Demand for statistically valid metrics on best practices

Companies today have an insatiable desire for CRM data, but lack the effective measurements to discriminate a subjective observed best practice from a proven, and therefore, predictable, best practice.

"The market is beginning to demand a much more fact-based approach to CRM," explains Rich Jaso, managing partner for Unisys North American CRM practice. "Enterprises are seeking statistically valid recommendations based on data collected across the industry. What are the practices that produce benchmark results for customer cross-selling and up-selling? Customer retention? Or customer acquisition? How fast and in what segments? These are the types of metrics organizations will focus on because they can produce immediate benefits. Therefore, we'll see new tools emerge with which enterprises can compare peer initiatives, identify gaps in their programs and hone in on practices with the highest return on investment."

Expansion of BI tools, including customized applications pushed to laptops and PDAs

In 2005, Unisys CRM specialists believe BI will be pushed directly to the front lines to help functional managers run their businesses in real time. Emerging solutions are now capable of not only providing "need to know" information on desktops and laptops, but also of pushing this critical data to PDAs. For example, a salesperson will check the order, account receivable or equipment repair status of his or her customer while walking into a sales call. Implementing effective solutions will require BI tool providers to partner with systems integrators and consultants to add subject-matter expertise. This will enable businesses to move beyond data warehouses and create solutions tailored specifically for their end users.

Advances in call-center productivity using VoIP technology, global resources and outsourcing models

The quality of VoIP technology will continue to improve as the technology becomes increasingly scaleable and operating costs are reduced. Companies are already adopting this technology throughout their enterprises - especially in their call centers.

"VoIP will continue to ease telecommunications costs and increase flexibility," says Dino Gelmetti, managing partner for Unisys Asia Pacific CRM practice. "For example, calls can now be digitally routed to agents working in facilities or even their homes throughout the world. Thus, it should be virtually seamless to adjust call flow due to weather disasters, emergencies and unanticipated call volume."

Additional strategies that organizations can use to increase call center productivity include leveraging global staff, consolidating facilities, outsourcing the business operation to skilled service providers and utilizing digital telephony to boost service levels. For example, digitally recorded telephony will facilitate dramatic improvements in the quality of agents' performance. Products now on the market can capture both voice and keyboard transactions, allowing for call center quality personnel to hone in on outstanding and defective practices. Going forward, enterprises will use digital voice recording to capture customer calls, assess them and save them for use in employee training programs.

Integration of RFID into retail operations

Companies will continue to invest in RFID for security and tracking purposes and will begin integrating this technology with CRM systems. For example, pharmaceutical companies can tag inventory and integrate that data into the CRM solution. If a problem arises with a batch of drugs, these manufacturers can very quickly trace it and communicate with its call centers and sales force to alert consumers about the problem.

According to Unisys UK Managing Partner, Howard Barrett, 2005 will see organizations beginning to experiment further with RFID in their CRM programs. For example, there will be pilot programs to assess how the use of RFID tags in retail banking can help reduce fraud and improve service delivery. "As the customer arrives at the teller window," explains Barrett, "the system picks up his or her RFID tag, verifies identity and pushes details of the customer's accounts, recent transactions and suggested topics of discussion to the teller. The level of personalized service RFID could enable will be unprecedented in retail banking."

Growing adoption of CRM practices by local government, particularly in 3-1-1 programs

According to Olyha, "There is a tremendous opportunity for local governments to reap the benefits that the private sector has realized by using CRM. For example, alliances among application developers and systems integrators are creating turn-key 3-1-1 call centers that help city and county officials better respond to, track and measure non-emergency citizen inquiries. These CRM solutions allow them to capture vital citizen data in a single database, thereby eliminating silos of information and unnecessary handoffs between government departments. The end result will enable enhanced citizen service levels and reduced costs through greater operational efficiencies."