Customers of the Student Loans Company (SLC) can receive information on their loans thanks to a state-of-the-art IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system.

Designed and installed by Siemens Communications and SLC the project involved system design and implementation, including integration with SLC's existing databases and the provision of round the clock support under a comprehensive Service Level Agreement. The contract was won against strong competition.

Colin Clive, IS Development Project Manager at SLC, said: "We wanted to create a system that was both cost-effective for us and improves the speed and ease at which customers can access the information they need. Additionally we wished to reduce the telephone answering load on our staff, yet also maintain customer service levels - particularly during peak processing.

"IVR was the logical technology to adopt. We chose Siemens as our partner integrator in this project for its ability to meet all our performance and delivery schedule criteria, its proven track record in providing such a service and its competitive pricing.

"Customers telephoning SLC's call centre will use the keypad on their telephone to respond to questions, including entering identification and security details. When authenticated they will receive instant information depending on their status within the business process. This includes payment details, and balance information. We are expecting that 20% of calls won't need to be routed to a call centre advisor."

The IVR software, sitting on a server linked to SLC's telephony system, can handle up to 120 simultaneous calls. The platform is fully integrated with SLC's Oracle databases and simple queries can be answered with no intervention from SLC staff. When more complicated enquiries are received the system can transfer the call to a call centre advisor, passing on the customer details. This allows the advisor easy access to the customers' details, which speeds up the process.
                       
The new platform is fully redundant, including dual processors and dual power supplies. Designed and installed by Siemens to budget and within the three-month deadline that was an essential term of the contract, the system also has significant expansion capabilities.
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"The introduction of this intelligent, flexible self-fulfilment system marks a new era in the way SLC approaches customer service. The partnership between Siemens and SLC project teams ensured it came on-line smoothly and with trouble-free interoperability with our existing systems," said Colin Clive.

The project marks SLC's first move towards electronic Customer Relationship Management (eCRM). Paul Barrett, business development consultant, Siemens Advanced Customer Solutions, said: "We took into consideration their current equipment, while keeping open all possible options for future expansion. Our experience and choice of leading-edge equipment have therefore been key its success."

Through its Advanced Customer Solutions (ACS) Siemens offers one of the most comprehensive portfolios of Contact Centre, CRM and Mobile Business services available in the UK. ACS solutions comprise state-of-the-art and award-winning technologies in combination with a comprehensive suite of professional services. Solutions are tailored to meet the needs of both public and private sector organisations and are delivered in conjunction with technical design, implementation, training and lifelong support.
   
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