Customers In The Spotlight

"Detailed information analysis underpins the AA's delivery of excellent service. Business Objects provides rapid access to information and ease of sharing reports throughout the company which we estimate will provide us with a ROI of more than 300% over 3 years and is enabling the AA to achieve significant savings in excess of £1 million."

John Seymour, Manager, Management Information for AA Road Services

 AA Road Services Maintains Leadership in Customer Satisfaction with Business Objects

Founded in 1905, the AA is the UK's largest motoring organisation with 3,600 highly trained patrols delivering roadside assistance to over 12 million customers. Named in 2002 as the best roadside assistance provider by Which? Magazine and again by JD Power, the AA deals with an average of 11,500 breakdowns per day, equating to over four million annually. Now part of the Centrica Group, the AA brand offers not only roadside assistance but also a range of services that includes insurance, finance, traffic & travel information, publishing and car servicing, as well as being the voice of the motorist through its public policy activities.

Competition is fierce in the roadside assistance market, with a number of new entrants to the sector. Detailed analysis of service performance and customer behaviour using business intelligence from Business Objects is providing the AA with the information to improve efficiency, reduce customer attrition and ensure high levels of customer service - whilst driving down operational costs.

"During 2002, the AA, in addition to winning both the JD Power and Which? Magazine surveys, achieved its best ever monthly member satisfaction result, with over 96% of AA members surveyed saying they were satisfied with the service they received at the roadside," said John Seymour, Manager, Management Information, AA Road Services. "Business Objects business intelligence solutions will play a key role in enabling the AA to continue to deliver excellent customer service while attaining the efficiency savings required for sustained business growth."

 Key Challenges

Quality of service is the key differentiator in the roadside assistance market - with customers requiring both speed of response and high quality service. For the AA, this means not only efficiently managing its network of patrol vehicles but also keeping a close track of customer behaviour to ensure the service continues to meet the required high standards.

The Solution

Since its inception, the company has focused heavily on maximising the availability of its roadside patrol vehicles, in recent years using its unique deployment system - AAHELP. This system processes breakdown information from the initial contact by the customer through to completion, automatically allocating patrol vehicles based on their location (monitored via satellite tracking), the individual patrol's abilities and the specific requirements of the breakdown. The depth of information available has enhanced both the reporting, monitoring and planning functions.

In addition, the AA's analysts are using WebIntelligence®, the integrated query, reporting, and analysis solution for the internet from Business Objects to access and analyse the detailed information held in "Service Profile", AA Road Services' data warehouse. WebIntelligence is used to evaluate the information and rapidly produce reports. These reports can easily be adapted to meet the evolving needs of the business. The WebIntelligence reports have been graphically customised to replicate the standard internal AA user screen, further accelerating ease of use.

These reports will allow management to view key business performance indicators across the company and interpret and act on changing information. TAH, The Information Integrators, worked closely with the AA to design, write and implement key reports essential to the AA's business. TAH and the AA are currently investigating new ways of increasing return on investment by exploiting additional methods for sharing information across the business.

 Key Business Benefits

As a result of improved efficiency and cost savings, the AA estimates an overall return on investment in Business Objects solutions of more than 300% over three years. In addition, the company has already identified potential savings of over £1 million. The company has also improved customer service which is helping to reduce attrition rates and to maintain the AA's market leadership position.

Faster performance information: The key to huge cost savings of over £500,000 is the speed with which analysts can now access, analyse and report on company performance. Reports that previously took several days to produce are now available within hours. In addition, WebIntelligence reports are rapidly shared with management and field staff throughout the company.

For example, the AA has reciprocal arrangements with other European roadside assistance organisations. Using WebIntelligence, the AA can analyse recovery, mileage and charging information - a process that now takes minutes as opposed to hours previously.

Operational efficiency: Further cost reductions of over £500,000 are being achieved through improvements in operational efficiency. WebIntelligence provides a complete picture of every roadside breakdown. This detailed view is enabling the AA to check operational procedures in order to save costs and improve efficiency.

For example, the AA can how rapidly highlight exceptions, enabling the company to provide additional tools or training to address the problem and maintain service levels.

Adding Customer Value: By using WebIntelligence to combine analysis of service performance and customer renewals information, the AA is able to assess customer behaviour and loyalty. This information is supporting new policies to ensure customers are targeted with relevant services, further improve customer service, reduce attrition, and ultimately enhance customer satisfaction