Ionis gives its "SICOM" sales information system a new lease of life with the Selligent solution

Paris, March 13, 2006. Ionis, one of the leading French social protection organisations, decided to rationalise and update its sales information system. To do so it opted for Selligent.

Since 2001, Ionis has had two information systems - one for groups and one for individuals - and wanted to converge them. For the IS and Organisation department, the time had come for rationalisation. As Ionis Research Director, Hervé Reibel, points out, "our strategy was to have a single information system serving a single business."

The choice of Selligent
Once executive management had approved the introduction of a single IS, Ionis asked Valoris to draw up the specifications and asked 10 software developers to bid. Three of them made the short list and in the end Selligent was chosen. Reibel explains that "the three solutions responded to the Ionis technical standards, and their cost and functionality were in the same ball park. The difference showed up with the Web facility; the Selligent solution seemed more mature than its competitors. Then again, the Selligent team were really keen to work with us, and the relational side is a crucial element in a project of this nature."

Speed and flexibility
In just under a year, the solution was up and running - a perfectly reasonable timeframe, according to Reibel, when you consider the functional and technical complexity of the project. Three tasks had to be tackled in parallel - configuring the application, transferring the data from the two systems, and implementing no less than 13 interfaces with the management system.

"The pilot site was a great way to take the project forward," Reibel stresses. "It enabled us adjust the change management process and training, and fine-tune the procedures for the subsequent national roll-out."

Objectives met
The system is currently being used by the Ionis sales department, that is, some 150 people, to manage the Sales network (a wide variety of targets: individuals, enterprises, brokers, sector organisations), the Marketing division (targeted marketing campaigns at regional and national level) and the After Sales & Support division.

Ionis now has a single tool - for the long haul.

Reibel explains that "the return on investment is still difficult to quantify, because customer relationships were always part of our corporate culture. But operating costs are lower, and we can leverage our tool much more because our system is uniform and the interface management enhanced. The reporting tools should further improve client tracking."

Moving forward
The SICOM system has evolved considerably in line with Ionis' needs, and major enhancements are already planned for 2006. For example, Ionis is looking at remote connection to the system via wireless technology. Furthermore, plans include the implementation of a telesales platform and the automatic sourcing of the provident management system using the SICOM.

Reibel sums up by saying, "implementing a CRM system has also been a fabulous experience in terms of human relations. The project has helped build bridges between the IT and sales teams, and now we work in partnership mode. We have woven a real relationship of trust."
 

Hintergrundinformationen

About Ionis

Ionis is the 7th ranking ARRCO/AGIRC complementary retirement group and the premier joint operator of in-company savings plans with the company INTER EXPANSION, which itself is ranked 5th for the volume of its diversified assets managed for in-company savings. Ionis is also ranked 10th among provident societies in France. The group's business lines cover complementary and supplementary retirement, provident insurance, healthcare insurance, in-company and individual savings.

Ionis has a workforce of some 1,200 people across France. It covers 200,000 companies and 3,400,000 individuals. At end 2005, it had 6.3 billion euros under management.

For more information, go to the Web site www.ionis.fr
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Selligent ist ein europäischer Anbieter von CRM-Lösungen (Customer Relationship Management). Seit der Gründung 1990, hat sich das Unternehmen als Spezialist für kollaborative Lösungen etabliert, die die Organisation und die Aktionen von Arbeitsgruppen entscheidend verbessern, die im direkten Kontakt mit Kunden, Interessenten oder Ansprechpartnern in Unternehmen stehen.


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