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Endsleigh Insurance Upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Version 4 with CIBER UK Improving the Efficiency and Accuracy of Frontline Sales Staff in Real-Time

Endsleigh Insurance is an independent intermediary specialising in the provision of insurance and financial products for career people. Founded in 1965 by the National Union of Students, the company quickly expanded into relationships with graduates and people in professional occupations and is now the preferred insurance supplier for a wide range of professional organisations, including the National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers, Association of University Teachers and Association of Optometrists, amongst others.

Endsleigh Insurance has in the region of 1000 employees, with 50 relationship managers out in the field generating business for the company.

In conjunction with Microsoft® Gold Partner CIBER UK, Endsleigh Insurance have implemented and upgraded to Microsoft CRM Dynamics Version 4, as part of a continued initiative to standardise on Microsoft technology. The solution enables each team to view information relevant to their division, without having to search through an entire database. The upgrade also lets the team benefit from the seamless integration of Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Microsoft Reporting Services, improving the efficiency of staff and letting them take on board a wave of new prospects.

Prior to the introduction of Microsoft CRM, Endsleigh had manual processes for managing contracts between partners and subsequent commission payments. These manual methods were, as are all manual methods, prone to error. They proved to be administration and labour intensive which did not free up time to for staff to be looking for leads and opportunities. Endsleigh had lost faith in their previous systems and did not feel confident in being able to manage too many new leads and opportunities.

Rebecca Smith, Business Project Manager, Endsleigh Insurance, reveals, “The data in our system was not easily attainable and required a level of technical expertise to access the data. This obviously impacted on IT resource which was required to extract data and convert to information. Furthermore our partners come through mixed communication channels such as the internet, direct or indirect access, or through the branch network. We have different contractual arrangements with our partners according to theirs and our needs and goals. Undoubtedly we have different systems with which to interface but prior to our Microsoft CRM implementations we did not have any central repository to manage these partners and prospects.”

The company's data was being stored in various fragmented systems with no uniformed method of identifying lead conversion rates. Endsleigh had to spend excessive time and costs setting up agents on various systems, the number of which also impacted security across the group.

Consequently, the company experienced significant operational difficulties. The business team, for example, which is responsible for affiliated services, lacked a reliable communication tool with which to engage with its agents. With no effective lead or account management system in place, the sales team was unable to share, view, or manage account information. More ominously, the limited scope of the existing system meant that the commercial division had hit a brick wall in terms of taking on new prospects; it simply couldn't manage any more clients.

Although Endsleigh have a substantial IT department, they also have a number of projects to undertake so they were not looking for any large development. The solution they required had to be multi-company and it had to integrate with Great Plains and their System i solution from IBM. It was also important that the solution should not require intense training or support and had to have a demonstrable and a rapid return on investment.

By implementing and upgrading to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Endsleigh now have a complete suite of powerful marketing, sales and service capabilities, all with a familiar and consistent user experience based on Microsoft Office and Microsoft Outlook®. Extensive new configuration, customisation and seamless integration capabilities will make it easier for Endsleigh employees to engage with customers and suppliers helping them drive measurable business results as well as offering a low total cost of ownership (TCO).

Furthermore Microsoft Dynamics CRM acts as a powerful and intuitive business intelligence system with the capacity to integrate information from multiple sources; it is also designed to work with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS) as well as other Microsoft products and technologies.

Paul Nicholas, Business Project Manager, Endsleigh Insurance, explains, “Now that we have the Microsoft Dynamics CRM system we now have a single system right throughout the company, so everyone works on the same source of information that is fully real-time and fully up to date.”

Nicholas continues, “We’ve improved the efficiency, and more importantly the accuracy of our front-line sales staff. When they are dealing with clients they have a full record of the history that has gone on between us and the clients. We now deal with our clients and customers in a more prompt and quality driven way. We are dealing with them consistently regardless of who they talk to in the organisation. We now have a single source of information for all of our customer activities.”

Brian Henry, Head of Sales for Financial Services, at CIBER UK comments, “Endsleigh Insurance have continued to invest in Microsoft Dynamics CRM because it is based on a platform that is understood, not just by use, but universally by most people. As an organisation standardising on Microsoft technology, the seamless integration of Microsoft products is a critical factor in their future growth strategy. The similar look and feel of Microsoft products means that not only is integration simple, but fast adoption is also guaranteed. Together with Microsoft SQL Server 2000, Microsoft Dynamics GP for Financial Management, and Active Directory among others, Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4 will improve group-wide efficiency and help Endsleigh employees convert prospects into valuable clients.”

Peter Leahy, Head of IT, Endsleigh Insurance, says, “By upgrading to the latest version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM it shows clearly we have faith in both the Microsoft solution and CIBER as our implementation partner. The scalability of the solution, supported by the fact that we have used both previous versions, reinforces and clearly vindicates our initial decision to select this product, as well as its future potential and direction. We also realise that Microsoft customer relationship technology continues to evolve. Microsoft Dynamics CRM Version 4 will help to improve and build upon the good work we started in the previous version. We want to improve our collaborative working with partners, suppliers and customers. We now have a solution that will enable us to do this. This will allow us to drive bigger, better and more targeted marketing campaigns.”

Leahy continues, “The killer benefit for me, as well as the organisation, is improved business continuity. With unified communications Endsleigh Insurance employees can easily transpose their working environment for their home environment. If an incident occurred our employees now have the ability to access their Sharepoint, their email and their telephone, as well as our CRM system. This has led to improved and better offline working making us more responsive and effective as a business.”

Exciting new features of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 include: simplified workflow and up-to-the-minute reporting, as well as multi-language and currency capabilities. Microsoft Dynamics CRM can be shaped to support the business and provide a robust platform for future growth. The product comes complete with sales, marketing and customer services modules.

Rebecca Smith concludes, “Overall the transition has been relatively pain free – as Business Project managers we have been involved in implementing a number of third party solutions. This can be cumbersome, expensive and more painful than extracting teeth! However Microsoft Dynamics CRM has proven that with easy to understand technology and a committed business partner such as CIBER implementation does not have to be a nightmare.”

Enquiries
Garry Stewart
CIBER UK
2 Watling Drive
Sketchley Meadows Business Park
Hinckley
Leicestershire
LE10 3EY
Tel: 0870 000 0204
Email: garry.stewart@ciber.com

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Note: CIBER news releases are archived for historical purposes. Information in the release is accurate at the time of publication. However, service offerings, partnerships, contacts and other specific information may change over time.