Services Overview

As a managed service provider, ESI helps the sponsor of the exchange solution implement the solution without the need for risky, expensive and time-consuming technology installation, operations or support. ESI also provides all of the support services needed to provide a truly turnkey performance improvement solution.

Exchange solutions can be implemented easily and quickly as compared to other major performance improvement capabilities. The ESI deployment approach is based on standardized ESI best practice implementation templates and is supported by qualified ESI professionals. A classic phased implementation pathway enables implementation to proceed from a kickoff meeting to a fully operational pilot or an initial interaction-specific capability deployment in as little as four months.

Implementation

The typical phased deployment approach for in-market implementation begins with a high-level design phase. In this initial period, ESI staff work with the client to adapt the ESI pre-configured industry-specific exchange solution to the requirements of the specific client. The team also prepares all of the business case requirements needed to get approval to proceed with a more detailed design. This typically requires completing four key deliverables:

  1. A description of the client-specific exchange solution and initial in-market executions. This description usually includes the target interaction types and channels, priority customer segments and sourcing approach and the value exchange functionalities to be invoked n the exchange session (including for example the elements the parties might give and get). High level approaches to any IT-related issues are usually also provided.
  2. A solution implementation requirements document, including workplan and timeline.
  3. A high-level business case outlining the costs and expected revenues to be yielded from the implementation of the exchange solution in both the pilot and rollout phases.
  4. Recommendations for managing and funding the initiative.

Once this initial phase is completed, a joint ESI-client team moves into a detailed design and initialization phase. The activities of this phase include:

  • Designing the details of the exchange session experience for each channel and interaction type (including session flows, etc.);
  • Building the necessary client-specific economic models and populating them with the data on the buyer-seller exchange economics for all items to be exchanged. Developing the workflows for all core operational processes and the associated training materials for company personnel
  • Configuring the portals (client, customer, customer service, reporting, etc.) needed to support the exchange capability;
  • Defining the reporting and analytics needed to manage the program;
  • Identifying the data sources, access methods, and network connections needed to connect and transfer the requisite data from the company to and from the ESI data center
  • Conducting all needed security audits and compliance reviews
  • Updating the implementation business cases to reflect the refined design and implementation plan.

At this point, the project team is ready to begin to execute the exchange solution against a sample of initial exchange interactions. This initial interaction learning will provide actual, in-market data to support the business case assumptions needed to justify a full-scale rollout across a wider range of channels and exchange interactions.

The ESI team has the industry-specific expertise needed to help clients move quickly from design to implementation. ESI staff with in-depth expertise in the relevant industry such as banking, credit card and financial services, telecommunications or retailing is staffed onto all client teams. ESI implementation teams also have the in-depth technology implementation and capability engineering experience needed to manage sophisticated solution deployments in Fortune 500 organizations.