Universal Salvage's Enterprise-Wide Customer Care - A Far Cry From the Scrap Heap
27 November 2000
Universal Salvage's Enterprise-Wide Customer Care - A Far Cry From the Scrap Heap
Kana eBusiness Solutions Underpin New Strategy for UK Motor Salvage Company
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Nov. 27 Kana Communications , a leading provider of enterprise
relationship management (eRM) solutions, is implementing Kana eBusiness
Platform(TM) and Kana Service(TM) at Universal Salvage. Universal Salvage,
the largest and most successful motor salvage company in the UK, will use Kana
to manage the vehicle life cycle, from collection through to auction, across a
multi-channel, multi-function contact center. Universal Salvage's objective
is to integrate all customer, partner and enterprise interaction giving all
parties real-time, permission-based access to customer case history, the
insurance companies, partner activity and vehicle data, including costs, sales
returns and tow charges. Universal Salvage is creating the system to improve
customer care among a rapidly growing customer base, while reducing value
chain costs.
"Kana's products were far ahead of anything else we had seen within the
market place," commented Biju Chudasama, IT director, Universal Salvage. "As
a company, our foremost focus is the customer and every other process must
follow from this. Kana offered us a strategy and deep and broad product
capabilities that reflected this customer-centric philosophy, so we can
empower our customers with the best possible service, in the most
cost-effective manner."
"Universal Salvage is a great example of how companies can harness the
power of the Internet to manage relationships across the enterprise," said
David Fowler, senior vice president Worldwide Marketing, Kana. "With a
strategy that encompasses both customers and partners, they will make the
salvage process both seamless and transparent. Kana is excited to see
Universal Salvage's project encapsulate our vision of eRelationship
management."
Kana's products integrate five channels of communication within Universal
Salvage -- telephone, fax, EDI, the Internet and e-mail -- providing a
universal customer history. While initially the products will be used to
streamline internal communication, Universal Salvage will give insurers full
access to internal data, allowing them to change details with both parties
seeing the changes instantly.
About Universal Salvage
Established in 1968, with eleven sites throughout the UK, Universal
Salvage processes in excess of 140,000 vehicles a year. Universal Salvage plc
is the only company in this field with a full stock market listing and the
largest and most successful motor salvage organization in the UK. Universal
pioneered the UK's first dedicated End of Life Vehicle processing facility,
based at Corby and works in partnership with leading insurers, fleet operators
and motor manufacturers, to drive down the cost of motor disposal for its
clients and the environment. Universal Salvage will have state of the art
processing areas on all of its sites by the end of the next fiscal year.
About Kana Communications Inc.
Kana Communications, Inc., a leading provider of Internet-architected
enterprise relationship management (eRM) solutions, delivers a broad range of
world-class, integrated e-business and interaction applications with a modular
and scalable platform for both Internet and Global 2000 companies. Kana
solutions deliver personal portals that offer customers, partners and the
enterprise a global view of their communications and relationships. This
global view includes managing the full set of communications channels such as
e-mail, Web, chat, instant message, VOIP, phone and person-to-person, as well
as e-business and communications applications to integrate the marketing,
sales and service functions. This full-service suite enables e-businesses to
compete and succeed in today's customer-driven economy. For more information
about the solutions found in more than 800 companies, including 8 of the
10 most trafficked Web sites, please visit Kana at http://www.kana.com .
NOTE: Kana Communications, Kana and the Kana logo are trademarks of Kana
Communications, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of
their respective owners.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements Under the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Information in this release that
involves Kana's projections, expectations, beliefs, hopes, plans, intentions
or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties. These statements include statements about Kana's
strategies in the marketplace, its market position and its relationship with
customers. All forward-looking statements included in this release are based
upon information available to Kana as of the date of the release, and we
assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statement. These
statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results could
differ materially from our current expectations. Factors that could cause or
contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, competition,
the successful integration of Silknet, increased competition due to Kana's
expanded product offering, risks associated with the evolving and varying
demand for eRM, eCRM, customer communication and similar software, our ability
to expand our operations, acceptance of email and the Internet as a
communications medium, litigation over property rights, and general economic
factors. These and other factors are risks associated with our business that
may affect our operating results are discussed in the Company's filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including our most recent
annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly report on Form 10-Q.