BPO solutions provider Conduit Global uses Avaya technology to deliver Internet of Things-enabled support service for Global client

Maintaining superior service automatically

Conduit Global’s client, an American global corporation that sells print and digital document solutions and services in more than 160 countries, has a long-standing reputation for outstanding service and support. As soon as one of their printers or copy machines requires servicing, the user – or, increasingly, a central point of service – receives an alert. Today, with hundreds of thousands of printers to support across the US, (that equates to thousands of alerts per day) the client relies on technology solutions provider Conduit Global to manage these initial calls. Using a solution built on Avaya technology, Conduit Global has helped the client to maintain its excellent customer service standards, while simultaneously driving down annual costs by over $1m and increasing efficiency through automation.

Printers and copiers are essential to the smooth running of offices around the globe, and downtime – even for issues such as replacing toner – can be a frequent source of irritation in the workplace. That is why Global Conduit’s client, like other printer providers, has equipped its devices with a range of sensors to provide early warning when ink levels are running low or the machine needs servicing. On older models, alerts typically appear on the machine’s screen, prompting users to contact the company for support. Today, newer generations need no such intervention.

Enter Avaya. We saw this as an opportunity to leverage Internet of Things (IoT) intelligence. Now, alerts are sent automatically by each device to a support center for immediate remediation measures. In some cases, an automated email is sent to schedule a service appointment or to order consumables. On other occasions, the alert automatically requests a visit from an engineer to the customer site.

Opting to outsource

While the client provides the engineers who service the hardware, since 2015, the interaction management has been handled by Conduit Global – an Avaya business partner that specializes in technology-enabled Business Process Outsourcing (BPO).

Starting in Europe, Conduit Global expanded that relationship to provide the client a carrier grade telephony customer contact and fully hosted technology platform to support multiple business lines dotted throughout the United States. Now it manages the equivalent of 35K inbound calls and 15k outbound calls a day.

Using a solution built on advanced Avaya technology, Conduit Global has helped the client reduce its CapEx commitment to provide prompt responses, by an estimated $3 million. By making smarter use of automation and revamping the call handling side of the support service, Conduit Global has enabled the client to drive down the servicing costs by approximately $1 million a year, while maintaining – and in many areas, improving – service standards.

Automating the response

With thousands of alerts generated every single day, the client became aware of the pressure placed on its resources. The company’s end goal was to have skilled engineers focused on field visits where their expertise is genuinely required, while ensuring that customers with less technical problems would receive assistance more quickly.

Building on the solution it was already providing to the client in Europe, Conduit Global recommended a technical platform based on Avaya Aura® Communication Manager. The benefit? The US operation could streamline its operational cost model using a hosted/ managed multi-channel contact platform, while simultaneously improving its consumer reach and the customer experience. This solution provides and manages alerts and customer calls in a consistent and effective way over a single, secure network. Conduit Global designed voice and CRM integration allowing for consistent self-diagnosis checks before actions take place, enhancing efficiency and the overall customer experience.

For voice and screen recording, Conduit Global devised a process using Avaya Workforce Engagement. The process ensures dispatch of an engineer with the appropriate skills to the customer site and manages the trade-off between customers with urgent needs and the optimal use of the engineer’s time.

Streamlining and enriching call handling

The client’s employees continue to service inbound calls originating from alerts, streamlined by Conduit Global’s provision of advanced call routing and interactive voice response (IVR) functionality using the Avaya Experience Portal to streamline call handling.

This more advanced technology has enabled Conduit Global’s team to redesign the customer interface, ensuring efficient call routing to the representative with the most appropriate skills and bypassing unnecessary calls going through a central operator when customers were unsure which option to select.

Avaya’s online collaboration and application development platform Avaya Breeze plays a key role in simplifying the process. Conduit Global is one of the first businesses to capitalize on the rapid development functionality available with Avaya Breeze™ and its snap-ins. The development team has used the Context Store snap-in and Avaya Experience Portal to create custom screen-pop applications that ensure advisers have the most relevant information in front of them - such as machine details and recent service activity or machine-generated alerts – whenever they speak to the client’s customers.

A growing number of simple calls – such as ordering consumables – can now be managed without any adviser involvement.

Simplifying change, enhancing performance

When changes to the IVR system are required – or any aspect of the solution or workflow – Conduit Global oversees their implementation.

“We’re impressed with the features and functionalities of Avaya’s integrated multichannel customer contact solution,” explains Conduit Global’s CEO, Michael Graham. “It is flexible and easy to use, deploy and manage. The solution meets our requirements for optimizing live customer contact."

Furthermore, the Avaya platform can manage up to 350,000 devices on a single network, so even though the client’s installed base is already large, it has plenty of capacity to support new users.

A further advantage for the client is the way Conduit Global generates valuable performance data from the alerts received. This helps build a picture of servicing requirements for different devices and can inform future product development.

Maintaining superior service

The client’s customers are happy with the high level of service and responsiveness, and the company has avoided the need to retain a large team to manage the interactions. By choosing to partner with Conduit Global, The client has turned this unpredictable CapEx into straightforward – and far lower – OpEx. This ensures staff focuses on core activities – in particular, dealing with complex service enquiries in the field.

Avaya technology has been an integral partner, providing a solution for different interactions and alerts – from humans and devices – to be handled over the same network, securely and reliably.

"With Conduit Global Managed Services, our corporate customers can outsource their entire communications infrastructure to us and focus on their core business while we manage their infrastructure and all the services while maintaining unparalleled service levels”, Graham remarks.

About the Client

The client is an $11 billion technology leader that innovates the way the world communicates, connects and works. Its expertise is more important than ever as customers of all sizes look to improve productivity, maximize profitability and increase satisfaction. The client does this for small and mid-size businesses, large enterprises, governments, graphic communications providers, and for partners who serve them.