Case Study: U.S. Robotics Connects With Alorica for Its Worldwide Customer Service and Support

Think modems and U.S. Robotics immediately springs to mind. Ever since modems were the size of toasters and handled only 300 baud, U.S. Robotics was at the forefront of the industry. Its x2™ technology was the first to make possible speeds of 56K, now part of the v.90 standard. And its innovations are widely acknowledged with playing a key role in the global transformation to Internet-enabled computing. Providers of the world’s No. 1–selling modem brand, today U.S. Robotics is expanding into new Internet access and connectivity markets in broadband, wireless networking, and Internet devices and services.

Remaking a Company

When U.S. Robotics recently spun off from its parent company, 3Com, it appointed Van Andrews as president and CEO, an expert in remaking high-tech companies for new growth markets. Andrews envisioned a company that would leverage its brand strength and industry partnerships to quickly bring compelling new products to U.S. Robotics’ worldwide distribution channel. Part of fulfilling U.S. Robotics’ new mission was to retain a firm that would continue the company’s high standards in technical support, customer service and repair/return processing.

“I wanted a customer support infrastructure that could respond quickly and intelligently to our worldwide customer base buying both our analog modems and emerging products,” Andrews explained. “I hoped to find a single vendor for all our global customer support needs.”

A Seamless Solution

But was outsourcing really the smartest way to go? Andrews started by searching for a strategic consultant to analyze U.S. Robotics’ existing operations and propose a diagnosis for possible redesign. He turned to Alorica Inc., a world leader in post-sales consulting and improvements. Alorica had a strong track record with other hardware giants, where they had located major bottlenecks in customer support organizations and then implemented new procedures. The results were dramatic improvements in customer response times and profitability – numbers so impressive that Andrews hoped to rival them in his new organization.

Alorica performed a detailed assessment of U.S. Robotics’ operational prospects under various scenarios: taking over a portion of existing customer support capabilities from its former parent, creating a new support system from scratch, or using a turnkey outsourcer. Despite the fine job that in-house representatives had been doing, it was the latter approach that made the most bottom-line sense.

Andrews assigned Alorica the task of implementing its recommendations, installing an A-to-Z outsourced solution to handle both pre-sale and post-sale activities, as well as using its proprietary Helix-by-Alorica (HbA) technology for customer relations management. Today Alorica takes care of literally all U.S. Robotics’ customer interaction and support activities in 28 countries, including call center, service, repair, parts, merchandise returns and swapping, warehousing, distribution and logistic services.

Andrews’ decision was quickly confirmed by reductions in operational expenditures. “We’ve easily trimmed 25 percent off our support costs by outsourcing through Alorica,” he says.

Transparent Integration

Outsourcing to Alorica’s services was a seamless process. Customers have no idea they are speaking with an outsourced provider. This is made possible by the in-depth training given Alorica representatives on U.S. Robotics products, procedures and even corporate culture. Up to three levels of call escalation are routinely delivered by Alorica’s support staff. And with each interaction Alorica’s expertise gets even better, since all information is stored in a dedicated knowledge base for future reference and retrieval.

“Our call center philosophy is based on three keystone concepts,” comments Andy Lee, CEO of Alorica. “The first is what to say, meaning accurate, integrated information on U.S. Robotics issues. The second is when to say it, denoting a speedy response time in order to minimize abandoned calls. And the final concept is how to say it, namely using a courteous, tension-defusing style in each and every customer interaction. This ensures a professional level of support that wins customer loyalty, and keeps satisfaction levels at their highest, surpassing all industry standards.”

Real-Time Reporting

At the heart of Alorica’s system is HbA, a Web-based customer relations management (CRM) program that integrates data and provides up-to-the-minute reporting tools. HbA offers customer interaction tracking, e-mail management, logistics, repair services, knowledge management and online analysis. Thanks to HbA’s Internet capabilities, U.S. Robotics managers can keep their fingers on the company’s pulse day and night – at work, at home, or literally anywhere in the world.

“Let’s say we suddenly experience a big spike in call volumes after hours,” explains Bill Arnieri, director of worldwide customer service at U.S. Robotics. “HbA tells us exactly what the issue is in minutes, so we can respond immediately and find a quick fix.”

HbA reports might point to a particular batch of modems that were shipped with a driver missing, for instance. Arnieri’s team can minimize the problem by posting the appropriate driver online for customers to perform self-help, thus saving possible customer interaction cost. This prevents brand-awareness damage, and translates into savings over the long run.

Having accurate, real-time customer support information has made a big difference for Arnieri. “The reporting functions found in HbA are what really set Alorica apart from other outsourcers,” he says. “We can download very sophisticated analyses from any PC with Internet access, and slice and dice the data by product, issue, driver, or virtually any parameter we like. As a result, we can run a much smarter and more resilient operation.”

Complete Configuration of Services

Whether it’s before or after the sale of a modem or new product, Alorica is prepared to take care of U.S. Robotics customers. Take the management of returns, for example. Alorica has its own tracking information system that is fully customized to meet the company’s needs, with the ability to trace both “fix” and “swap” projects and perform total process control.

Returned products are serviced from any type of supply-chain entity, such as end-users, resellers, wholesalers, distributors and OEMs. They can be repaired or refurbished, no matter if they’re covered by warranty or not. The status of the product is verified at numerous service checkpoints for accurate and timely status updates.