IBM's ECRM Initiatives

Abstract

The case discusses the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution implemented by the US-based IT giant IBM. It discusses the circumstances which led IBM into conceiving and implementing CRM solution in association with the leading CRM software vendor - Siebel Systems. The case discusses in detail the process followed by IBM to implement the CRM solution describing its systems architecture. It also discusses the challenges faced by IBM in implementing the solution and the benefits reaped by the company after the implementation.

"Our goal is to be viewed as one IBM by our customers and to work as one IBM internally. We're aiming to make IBM best of class in its industry for sales, marketing and customer service excellence. We believe we can achieve this goal by using Siebel applications to leverage our existing strengths as a market-intelligent enterprise. We're transforming our business to take speed, responsiveness and efficiency to a whole new level."

- Vince Ostrosky, Vice- President, Customer Relationship Management at IBM.

"This is one of the biggest implementations we have ever done. So customers always ask us, how did we do it, and what did we learn?"

- Cher De Rossiter, Program Director for IBM's CRM Project.

In January 2000, IBM, the $86 billion IT company, embarked on the largest Customer Relationship Management (CRM) project known at that time. Termed CRM 2000, the project aimed at ensuring that any point of interface between the customer and IBM, through any of its channels, in any country, was dealt with uniformly, providing the same service level, applying the same tools and information. In other words, IBM wanted to present a unified interface to its customers across the world. In 2004, four years after the project, the company was well on its way towards fulfilling its objective, reporting significant improvement in customer satisfaction levels.

Commenting on this, Cher De Rossiter (Rossiter), IBM's Global Services and Program Director for its internal CRM project said, "In 1999, there was a shift in the technology side of the project. We started working on a new go-to-market strategy in which we would redefine the way we set up our internal customer service organization."

IBM went about implementing CRM in phases, addressing sub-divisions such as change management and training successfully. Commenting, Steve Wright, Vice-President, Worldwide Customer Relationship Management Deployment, IBM said, "By getting to know our customers better and enabling more effective collaboration around the customer and among multiple IBM organizations involving sales, marketing and support, we can significantly enhance the value we bring to our customers, while generating additional revenues and cost efficiencies for our company. The concept of 'One IBM' is a cornerstone for the way we serve customers."

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        Case Code   ITSY044
   Case Length    12 Pages
              Period    1997-2003
 Organization     IBM
        Pub Date     2004
Teaching Note    Not Available
     Countries    US
      Industry    IT

Issues

The case is structured in a way as to enable the students to:

Understand the importance of implementing a CRM solution in a large multi-product, multinational company.

Study the implementation process of a mega CRM project in a leading IT company in the world.

Examine the rationale for implementing a CRM solution.

Study the challenges faced in a CRM project and identify ways to overcome them.

Appreciate the benefits which a company could reap after implementing a CRM solution.

IBM, Customer Relationship Management, eCRM, Mega CRM Project, Channel Integration, Customer Segmentation, CRM Implementation, Partner Relationship Management, Systems Architecture and eCRM Applications.

Please note:

This case study was compiled from published sources, and is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion. It is not intended to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation. Nor is it a primary information source.