Case Study: Urgent Couriers

Urgent Couriers did not become one of New Zealand’s largest express service providers by accepting second best. The company was founded on a guiding principal of delivering excellence in all areas, relying on its high standards of customer service and technology. Of course these drivers are both interlinked – even the most able and best trained staff must rely on technology to ensure service promises are met.

Technology enables Urgent Couriers to capture data and update records in real time, making information immediately available to clients through the internet. And underlying this - supporting data management, sales and customer support - is newly installed cutting edge telephony technology from SWYX that ensures communications are handled in the most efficient and economic way possible.

Steve Bonnici explained that “the SWYX people took the time to understand our business requirement and offer us exactly what we needed, saving us money from the outset. We are confident that the system they have implemented will continue to do so in the future.”

Urgent Couriers founder and Managing Director, Steve Bonnici, says the company’s goal is “to set the standard for the courier industry.” The implementation of a new telephony system was critical to its call centres operation yet building on it’s already exceptionally high-standards was a must. Prior to implementation the company boasted a 90%-level of calls answered within a two rings, an average delivery instruction of 30 seconds, and was handling 2,200 inbound and 800 outbound calls per day. As well as building on this, any new telephony solution had to guarantee a smooth and seamless transition. Any drop in standards could prove extremely costly for a company engaged in such a time-critical customer sector.

THE IMPLEMENTATION

Urgent Couriers approached numerous telephony suppliers with these stringent requirements in mind and specified its requirement for new features that it did not already have. These included call recording, intelligent call routing, improved data availability and a fallback solution. These needs – combined with the company’s forward thinking mentality – pointed towards the need for a high-end IP telephony system. After an exhaustive selection process, SWYX was chosen, thanks to its range of features, ease of application and attractive price performance framework. It was the only product to meet all the selection criteria Urgent Couriers had requested.

Of course a system that links core business systems with IP telephony is more complicated than simply fitting a box to the wall. Since the project had to be undertaken whilst normal business continued, both systems had to be able to run in parallel, to the extent that both old and new phones could ring alongside each other. This allows a thorough training capability permitting total confidence to be established prior to final switch over.

A sophisticated integration means changes to the core environment and you have to be prepared for the complications which this can bring, says Urgent Courier’s IT Manager Warren Brewerton. “But there were no dramas, only the teething problems you come to expect with implementations.”

THE OUTCOME

With SWYX now up and running, Urgent Couriers can continue to do what they do best – striving to maintain the highest quality standards in their industry and being the best at what they do. They can now focus safely on their core business with the knowledge that they have installed the best and most fl exible telephony solution available on the market.

With the considerable boost of an integrated solution, Urgent Couriers has now gained a great deal of advantage-delivering features.

The ability to review all calls raises the bar: it helps maintain standards, train recruits and resolve disputes.

Intelligent Call Routing has increased efficiency and reduced connection times. Ensuring the most accurate routing possible, the system directs calls to the next available operator and provides easy-to-use, single click contacts for outgoing calls.

Improved data availability displays contact information automatically as calls are received. Integration with call centre systems improves access to data and in a busy environment this can save considerable time, effort and money.

Security is also paramount and a fallback solution has been provided. If a physical phone line goes down, both incoming and outgoing calls can be automatically diverted to mobile phones without customers being alerted to a situation.

Further features greatly improve ease-of-use. For example, when an agent or employee wishes to transfer a call, they can see at a glance all agents’ availability, greatly reducing retries whilst a customer becomes impatient. Another new feature the company now enjoys is the automatic transfer of calls to other staff members when all the dedicated phone operators are busy with customers.

The SwyxIt! softphone client is fully customized to meet Urgent Couriers requirement, enabling client voice recording and ad hoc playback.

The conference button enables Urgent Courier staff to set-up 3 party conference calls easily. It comes in very handy when a third party opinion or advice is needed at a moment’s notice.