Case Study

A CTI solution for SWM, Munich's municipal utility company

CTI solution

In many cases, customer service employees are the first direct contacts of a company. They therefore lend the company a voice and quickly contribute to positively or negatively influencing the image of a company, brand or product. If service center employees are provided with tools tailored to their needs, processing the concerns of customers efficiently and to their satisfaction becomes easier for these employees. SWM Kundenservice GmbH (SWM) also wanted to ensure this. Thanks to a CTI solution, the company was able to achieve a greater degree of automation of its processes together with Power Reply.

Automated identification

Previously, when the SWM customer center received a call, the customer profile was identified manually. To do this, the service employee asked for relevant customer data after the welcome, such as the business partner number or contract account number, so as to carry out an identification.

Since the conclusion of the "CTI@SWM" project, customer profiles have been identified automatically using the incoming telephone number. The identification already starts at the moment the customer center employee receives an incoming call. Consequently, data queries before customers can present their concerns have been eliminated and a more natural conversation enabled. The introduction of automatic caller identification has shortened the customer service process and entire call time by 15 to 20 seconds. Moreover, the provision of more services has clearly increased customer satisfaction.

This project also made allowance for telephone numbers that had not yet been registered: As an additional functionality, it is now possible to save unknown telephone numbers in the correct format via a button and for the corresponding business partner.

The technical details

The increase in efficiency was achieved by introducing CTI functions. The pre-existing CTI module of the Aspect installation (Aspect UIP) and the SAP CRM (CCFE) were used, or rather enhanced, for this purpose. In addition, a CHECKLink adapter, middleware developed by Comsys for connecting a unified IP and the SAP CRM, was integrated.

The technical basis for this was:

  • SAP CRM 7.04 (EHP4) mit SP: 04 (11/2016) FP

  • Aspect Unified IP 7.3 SP3

  • CHECKLink Adapter 3.5

The existing telephone system was connected with the existing SAP CRM via the Checklink solution from Comsys.

Power Reply has built up a very good reputation as a long-standing master agreement partner of SWM. Apart from its very great SAP CRM expertise, Power Reply was also able to put in a convincing performance in several cross-technology PoCs. Power Reply supported SWM from the start in this project, both in the specialist as well as the technical design, during implementation of the functionalities and in the stabilization phase.

Power Reply is specialized within the Reply Group in advising and developing energy and utility companies. The company combines profound sector knowledge with experience in implementing applications that support the core activities of its customers. Power Reply helps companies to optimize their IT investments by providing solutions and services that reflect the most important market trends.

The Stadtwerke München GmbH (SWM) is one of the largest German municipal utility and services companies. SWM operates in the fields of electricity, natural gas, district heating and drinking water supply, public transport, operation of the Munich swimming pools and telecommunications. The municipal utility and service company provides private and business customers with electricity and natural gas products throughout Germany. SWM is one of the largest European municipal utility companies and is one of the largest German power suppliers.