Amdocs Extends Customer Experience Systems into Service Providers’ Retail Stores
First retail solution specifically designed for service providers; empowers store reps to secure every revenue opportunity by delivering a differentiated, consistent, more effective in-store customer experience
ST. LOUIS (September 22, 2009) –
Amdocs (NYSE: DOX), the leading provider of customer experience systems, today announced the launch of the first retail solution designed to meet service providers’ specific retail needs, and to address the increasing importance of the retail channel in selling smart devices and complex bundled offerings. Available today, the Amdocs Retail Experience Solution builds upon Amdocs’ expertise in managing customer interactions across multiple channels, including contact centers and Web self-service.
According to industry statistics, one out of four consumers who walk into a service provider retail store intending to make a purchase, leaves without doing so, which represents approximately 2.5 billion USDs in lost annual revenue for device sales in the US alone. The primary reason for this phenomenon is the poor experience that customers often receive, and can be attributed to the complexity of systems and processes with which store representatives have to cope.
Amdocs Retail Experience Solution is a pre-packaged set of products and services which manage customer interactions in service providers’ retail stores. Part of the Amdocs CES portfolio, the solution integrates with both Amdocs and third-party systems involved in store interactions, including CRM (customer relationship management), ordering, billing, service activation, point of sale and ERP (enterprise resource planning). A key part of this solution is a new product, Amdocs Retail Interaction Manager, which helps store representatives to handle sales and service interactions more efficiently and effectively via an intuitive, mobile and process-driven user interface.
The Amdocs Retail Experience Solution delivers the following benefits:
* Maximizes retail store revenue and profitability: The solution equips store representatives with sales tools that help them to quickly identify the right mix of products and services for every customer, For example, store representatives can swiftly access and resume shopping carts from other channels and uncover cross sell and up sell opportunities that help turn retail interactions into a revenue opportunity, as well as increase adoption rates and decrease product returns.
* Cuts estimated customer wait and interaction time in half: An intuitive user interface enables in-store representatives to handle most customer interactions more quickly and independently. The availability of pre-defined processes and access to existing customer information and guidance tools can reduce in-store transaction time by 50 percent or more. Furthermore, these streamlined processes empower even novice store representatives to become more self sufficient, thus avoiding the need to place calls to contact center to complete the transactions.
* Provides “Quick Connect” capabilities for faster integration: The Amdocs solution includes integration with the key systems that take part in retail interactions. This integration is based on SOA (service oriented architecture) – based plug-in architecture that facilitates integration with third-party applications as well as Amdocs applications.
“As consumers are presented with a growing choice of complex mobile devices and services, the service provider retail channel plays an increasingly important role in driving their adoption – especially with communication expanding into all aspects of our daily lives,” said Ashvin Vellody, senior vice president – Research at Yankee Group. “The more sophisticated the device or bundle, the higher the tendency for people to want to physically examine and interact with the product in person, or want a sales rep to explain bundled offers to them. A customer’s in-store experience has a direct impact on their likelihood to purchase, and their brand impression.”
“Now, more than ever, there is competition for every customer. A poor experience at the retail level can easily send a customer heading for the nearest exit,” said Seth Nesbitt, vice president of products marketing for Amdocs. “Amdocs Retail Experience Solution enables service providers to dramatically increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their store reps. Reps spend less time on learning systems and chasing data that resides at the call center, and more time working with customers to understand their needs and resolve their issues for a more powerful and consistent customer experience.”
About Amdocs CES
Amdocs CES (customer experience systems) is an integrated portfolio that delivers the operating environment service providers need to transform from providers of utility voice, data and video services into purveyors of the digital lifestyle. Amdocs CES allows providers to deliver an optimal customer experience–personalized, participatory and timely across any service, location and device. The Amdocs CES Portfolio leverages Amdocs business process best practices based on real-world scenarios, and transcends traditional business support systems (BSS), operational support systems (OSS) and service delivery platforms (SDPs) to enable service providers to address both current and emerging customer experience business processes. Amdocs’ unique business model focuses on enabling its customers to create differentiation and build brand, loyalty, profitability and competitive leadership. Please visit www.amdocs.com/cesportfolio for more information.
About Amdocs
Amdocs is the market leader in customer experience systems innovation, enabling world-leading service providers to deliver an integrated, innovative and intentional customer experienceTM at every point of service. Amdocs provides solutions that deliver customer experience excellence, combining the software, services and expertise to help its customers execute their strategies and achieve service, operational and financial excellence. A global company with revenue of $3.16 billion in fiscal 2008, Amdocs has approximately 17,000 employees and serves customers in more than 50 countries around the world. For more information, visit Amdocs at www.amdocs.com.
Forward looking statement
This press release includes information that constitutes forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about Amdocs’ growth and business results in future quarters. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be obtained or that any deviations will not be material. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ from those anticipated. These risks include, but are not limited to, the effects of general economic conditions, Amdocs’ ability to grow in the business segments it serves, adverse effects of market competition, rapid technological shifts that may render the Company’s products and services obsolete, potential loss of a major customer, our ability to develop long-term relationships with our customers, and risks associated with operating businesses in the international market. Amdocs may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, however the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These and other risks are discussed at greater length in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2008, filed on December 8, 2008, and in our quarterly 6-K furnished on February 9, May 12, and August 10, 2009.
Source: Amdocs