Project Management

Data Integrated Solutions

Group 1 Solutions (more standardized):

- integrate and enhance data

- establish rules and processes

- create prototype output

- generate reports

- produce the output you need to drive results

Only Group 1 offers technology that combines the three fundamental functions of data integration in a single solution. Our modular architecture allows you to seamlessly add features as your business needs evolve. Below are some more customized business needs we can provide.

Extract, Transform and Load (ETL)

ETL solutions read data from a source, convert it to a desired format and move that information to a target database.

Enterprise Information Integration (EII)

EII is the process of integrating structured data from multiple data sources to present a single, real-time view of the business — and customers.

Business Intelligence (BI)

BI includes a broad category of applications and technologies for gathering, providing access to, and analyzing data for the purpose of helping enterprise users make better business decisions.

Group 1 uses software applications to complete a full integration. Our data integration solution, DataFlow, provides an intuitive GUI(Graphical User Interface).

The complex architecture customizes the folloiwgn software solutions for customization:

- Data movement and loading

- Data visualization & distribution

- Advanced analytics

- Data cleansing

- Data enhancement

- Source connectors

- Workflow automation

Using software technology most project managers can use a local network to report their own activities on a project so that each individual can put their work into a project management software application. Gantt charting is also commonly used in individual projects to chart progress of different activities within the projects.

Case Study Example of Group 1 Data Integration using DOC1 Software Solution:

BKB Offers Clients a More Customer-Friendly Experience

Basler Kantonalbank (BKB) is the bank of the Swiss canton Basel City. A subsidiary of BKB, the Bank Co-op is a retail bank operating throughout Switzerland, consisting of 32 branches and approximately 700 employees. The Bank Co-op offers all essential banking services for both individuals and corporations. The goal of the Bank Co-op is to sustain economic growth, while remaining sensitive to social, ethical, and ecological principles.

The Challenge

Seeking a Single StatementBKB generated statements that included information on everything from bonds and loans to options and shares. To present a more detailed financial overview, and to meet the affluent banking standards, BKB needed to provide customers with a single statement of assets and liabilities.

Quick and Easy Solution

To facilitate task management at the push of a button, BKB needed an output management solution featuring fast data processing, easy handling, and trouble free integration.

The Solution

All for One, One for All

BKB implemented DOC1 Suite, the all–in–one solution for Customer Communication Management (CCM), consisting of DOC1 Data Flow and DOC1 Designer/Generate/Print. The DOC1 Suite solution provides the intuitive handling and user friendliness that is critical to BKB.

Drag and Drop to Success

With DOC1 Designer’s drag and drop functionality, BKB can easily create the personalized layout of every asset and liability statement. The design component allows BKB to not only define the data structure, but also generate and administer the graphics, images, and address fields.

The Benefit

Fast and Problem Free

BKB’s DOC1 implementation went off without a hitch. The DOC1 Suite was installed on a separate server and successfully integrated into BKB’s existing systems for the data transfer. In less than four months, from start to finish, the implementation was complete.

A New Year Solution

With asset and liability statements due at the end of every year, December 31st is an important date for BKB. DOC1 Suite enables BKB to successfully produce these critical annual statements on-time and error-free.

Tailored to Suit

With DOC1, BKB can now process statements online according to the customer’s specifications — at any time and at any location.

Supply Chain

Supply Chain Management

The customer/business will contact Pittney Bowes with an order, a professional will then use their on demand supply from an outsourced supplier (they have multi-vendors), and then have the warehouse ship the product direct from Pittney. Downstream and Upstream of information can be dealt with directly through Pittney reprsentatives or online with a tracking tool of your order.

Delivery

They offer on demand delivery which is on-time delivery that the customer requests. Customers have the ability to view to see if the product is in-stock with an online ordering system.

Quality

Overall customer satisfaction of their product makes quality an important specification during the order process. There are many ways to contact and track an order to delivery. They can view online, they can expedite orders, and also deal with Pittney on any supplier, distribution information, rather then calling around to third parties.

Cost

Pitney Bowes, like any other company does inquire costs. The main cost would be the unit cost, which is made up of materials, labor, and overhead that is divided by the amount of units that is produced. This mean that Pitney Bowes costs do vary from period to period depending on the amount of production.

Pittney currently uses a third party in warehouse and distribution areas. They outsourced some areas on order to have mroe inventory control, and cut costs with dealing with multi-vendors.Pittney also uses the Internet for most of it's dealings with customers and businesses. This speeds up and reduces costs for the company as well as a good online tool for the customers in viewing the online catalogues. Some new ideas that Pitney Bowes can consider is to meet with everyone that is involved in the business process and set supply chain goals as a group. This will help to improve the entire supply chain as a whole, rather than just one portion of it.

Quality Control

Pitney bowes uses compulit for there quality control. This scans the products to ensure the quality of the products. Quality Control ActivitiesCompulit guarantees a minimum 99.5% imaging accuracy rate based on the following criteria:

Minimum of 99.5% or more of the original pages are captured to image. Minimum of 99.5% or more of the images are properly linked to the coded records. While the overall quality of images is ultimately determined by the quality of the original document collection, Compulit incorporates detailed quality control measures to ensure that the images accurately represent the original documents, that all information captured during scanning is both correctly and consistently entered, and that the images are burned to CD with no decompression errors (decompression errors result in lost images and can cause corruption of the entire batch of images). Specific quality control measures include:

Project Training

Because Compulit uses a wide variety of image acquisition programs, staff members are trained on both the specific details of the case and on the selected imaging program for the project. Team leaders provide group-training sessions on the systems. Each staff member performs test scanning on sample documents before processing actual case documents.

Initial 100% Quality Control

During the initial stages of the project, team leaders check 100% of each box after every phase of processing. They report errors or inconsistencies to individual staff members to be corrected. They also identify and announce any unusual situations to the entire project staff. This level of quality control continues until each staff member consistently meets required quality levels. 100% Clarity Check The scanning operator checks each image for quality and clarity as it appears on screen.

Daily Quality Monitoring

Team leaders are dedicated solely to quality control and management activities. Compulit maintains separate quality monitoring stations to allow for daily quality control without interrupting the scanning process. If the team leaders discover specific patterns of errors, they require scanning operators to review previous scanning work for likely errors that might be present. Blowback ComparisonWe regularly print sample images and compare them against the original documents to ensure consistent quality levels.

100% Deskew Testing

Technicians run 100% of the images through a deskew program before CD creation. 100% Decompression TestingWe also check 100% of the images to ensure that there are no compression/ decompression errors.

100% Fallout Testing

When document images are used in conjunction with a coded database, we run a special comparison program to check for any possible linkage errors between the images and the database records. This program ensures 100% complete, seamless linking between the images and coded data.

Client Consultation

As questions arise, the team leaders consult with the project manager and designated client contact person as needed. The team leaders make verbal announcements to the imaging teams and update procedure manuals as needed.

Managing Quality

Quality of design

Pitney Bowes makes use of all of the four dimensions of quality. Quality of design was used in the process of making different kinds of mail machines. There is a very specific design concept that is put in place before production of any new products. This usually involves alot of research to find out what the customers needs are and how we can meet those needs for them. We have many different types of mailing machines that are large, small, and vary at how many envolopes they can run through at a time. Depending on the size of the company and the amount of mail that they send out, is how we came up with the actual sizes of each machine. We made many different models in order to meet all of our customers need , little and big businesses.

Quality of conformance

Quality of conformance is when a product is produced to meet certain specifications. Pitney Bowes uses quality of conformance in the mailing and shipping process. Every seperate item that it mailed or shipped is sent out with certain specifications. Such as what systme it will be sent out using, how fast they want it to get there, and if someone need to sign the package on arrival. Depending on how the customer wants their itmes sent ,they have many options and we are willing to meet their wishes.

The "abilities"

Pitney Bowes is very proud of all of our products and services and how they are always available, reliable, and maintainable. We always have many items in stock which offers very high availability. If the order is going to be a custom order we ensure that your product will get to you as soon as possible and in a speedy process. All of our products are very reliable in the fact that they barely every break down or need repairs for over a few years after production. When this does occur and your prodcuts need to be fixed or maintained we have many fiel agents who will be sent to your location within a day in order to fix your problems with the machines.

Field service

Almost all of our products qualify in the field service section of quality as well. In purchasing with Pitney Bowes we ensure you that your products will either have a warranty or have a replacement plan. With mail machines, shredders, and scales and many more of our prodcuts we do offer a one year guarentee. If your machine was to break after the guarentee is over we will always try our hardest to either help you fix your already existing machine or help you replace it with a new one. Our main goal is to always keep our customers as happy and satisfied as possible.

Quality systems

Pitney Bowes always wants to satisify their customers and therefor places alot of energry on quality systems for our products. We have many researchers that compare the needs of all of our customers. These people figure out what our customers want as of new products and what they want changed with out already existing products. From all of this information that they obtain we use it all in the process of improving and making new popular products. When visiting the Pitney Bowes website a survey pops up and asks our visitors if they wish to help us out and answer a few questions. The customers that answer these questions make out process so much easier because we hear directly from the customer themselves on their wants and needs.

New ideas

Some new ideas that Pitney Bowes should consider is to follow up with customers to see how their machines and products are running. In making these phone calls it will help them even more to know how and why certain machines break. This would also help to change the design of the machines in order to drop the number of failed machines. Another great idea that Pitney Bowes should use is to give away something small and free with the purchase of a large item. This will show customers some more of the products that we have to offer and hopefully they will want to purchase more of them.

Service Process Desgin

Service Product Bundle:

The tangible services for Pitney Bowes include printing, shipping, encryption and financial services. It also develops software to create mailers and manage shipping, transportation, and logistics for government agencies and corporations.The implicit benefits that we provide for all of our individual customers is resting assure that they are getting the best product and services. Our company provides many implicit services, such as mail and document solutions as well as new innovations in the mailing industry and applications in a variety of markets. Some of the facilitating goods include top quality mail and shipping equipment.

Service Matrix:

The portion of the service matrix diagram that Pitney Bowes operates on would be classified as the co-routed services. These services offer a moderate number of choices to customers,using a moderately standardized service system.

Customer Contact:

Pitney Bowes offers front room service to business operations, and back room service to customer relationships. With focused operations employees can use the Internet and phone to assist in aiding individual client's needs with a standarized process. On a larger scale business support issue that may require a more reactive response, we will send technicians and employees trained on the specific issue to troubleshoot face to face.

Recovery and Guarantees:

Pitney Bowes offers many different types of warranty's. Some of these are Cartridge replacement, equipment repair, and equipment replacement. If damages occur to any compatible laser printer, inkjet printer, fax or copy machine due to a properly installed but defective Pitney Bowes Branded toner product we will service and repair all of these products, at Pitney Bowes option we will reimburse our customer for the full amount for all services and repair to the machine in question. All warranty's are dependent upon customers providing us with satisfactory evidence that the machine damage was due to a defect in a Pitney Bowes Branded toner product. We also guarantee that if you are not completely satisfied with your Pitney Bowes product you will have up to thirty days after your original purchase to return the product and receive a full refund of your purchase price.

Our company provides guarantees on all services we provide. Including service level agreements, software maintenance agreements, Softguard rate update protection on weighing systems, and ValueMax which protects any leased equipment if lost, damaged or stolen for any reason. We offer warranties such as, Brand Toner Warranty which includes: Cartridge Replacement, equipment repair, equipment replacementPitney Bowes warrants all Pitney Bowes Brand toner products for a period of one year from date of purchase, subject to normal storage conditions in a climate-controlled environment.

Pitney Bowes Process Selection

Pitney Bowes contains many divisions; to focus on one division would be in the mail stream, (mailroom division). This division uses the batch flow process for general purpose equipment. An example would be the mail flow from site to site in facilities who contract Pitney Bowes for their services like the mailroom, printers and toners, shipping, accounts payable etc. Another example in the area of accounts payable that describe the batch flow would be invoice payments. It all begins where the mail is picked up in the Post Office then taken to the Pitney Mailroom to the accounts payable employees who extract the mail, edit, audit and batch. From there it's taken to another division who are specified in scanning invoices and is sent to an international country where it gets paid. Pitney Bowes primarily falls into MTS (make-to-stock). The producer specifies the product and customer request it. Any customer can order the supplies and pays for the product, whether it's from postage meter for a pharmaceutical company to a fax machine found in staples. The cell they fall into in the process characteristics matrix would be the batch and Job Shop. Why? Because the make-to-stock would include: Pitney Bowes Divisions, Stores, Companies and the make-to order/assemble-to-order would include: Mailroom, Post Office, Offices. The factors influencing their process selection would be the product flow and the type of customer order. Depending on the product and volumes required by the market effect the process selection. Pitney Bowes has actually adopted one of the methods of mass customization called (postponed). Using the postage meter as an example, lets say it were to break in one of their mailrooms. A new machine would be sent, one of the technicians would customize it whether having to come it and manually do it or with a certain software, as for payments, putting money into the meter for the postage would be through the post office who would provide it through an online system that would go to the machine or one of the mailroom employees manually dialing it on the meter.

Inventory Policy

Pitney Bowes has been able to grow and come up with strategic plans all through innovation, helping its customers create, produce, distribute and manage their mail, documents and packages. Financial Institutions, public utilities and large organizations all call Pitney Bowes when they need machinery that can sort and process mass mailings. So they decided to embark on a global customer service improvement strategy. The plan was to deploy Blackberry Wireless Handhelds built with existing CRM system, with Siebel Field Service and Antenna Software’s A3 solution. The results were better customer and business metrics, granular reporting on product performance to determine where challenges exist, inventory levels lowered by 15%; a 90% reduction in emergency parts order, 10% fewer callback visits, and improved employee access to information that increased productivity. The customer relationship management (CRM) program helps improve the overall customer experience. They wanted to integrate the technical platform to serve their service divisions: Document Messaging Technologies (DMT) and Mail stream Solutions and Services-Americas (MSSA). Businesses worldwide rely on Pitney Bowes high volume mailing systems. The MSSA also includes Multi-Vendor Services which services printers, copiers, multi-function devices, scanners, shredders, PC’s and workstations, mail stream solutions and kiosk devices from a variety of high tech manufacturers. The landscape includes Siebel Field Service for work order management and time and materials billing; SAP for parts and inventory management and contract billing; and Servisgistics for parts planning. IBM WebSphere MQ serves as the messaging middleware and the Antenna Mobility Platform (AMP) provides the mobile application and mobile middleware that integrates with Siebel, SAP and Servigistics. The system provides a simple way for field service technicians to input and retrieve real time information from the Siebel and SAP systems and enable them to link inventory consumption to service activities and products. It improved the inventory management, greater visibility into the field activities from the call center and district offices, improved the first time fix rates and increased service revenue. The AMP service provides full functionality whether in or out of network coverage like update service requests online with actual time tracker, travel and parts usage information. Pitney Bowes saved money by reducing the number of callbacks and shipping costs related to carrying costs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etAVCmI5H98

Team 2 Pitney Bowes

Pitney Bowes was originally created in 1920 when two men, Arthur Pitney and Walter Bowes, combined their unique companies together. Arthur Pitney was the founder of the Pitney Postal Machine Company, while Walter Bowes was the founder of the Universal Stamping Machine Company. These two men worked together to create the company Pitney Bowes, which succeeded in many ways. A few of their inventions include the first ink jet postage meter, and the first in-line weighing and metering system. Pitney Bowes is the world's largest producer of postage meters; the company who also makes other mailing equipment and provides shipping and weighing systems. They are a provider of mail and document solutions as well as new innovations in the mailing industry and applications in a variety of markets, including printing, shipping, encryption and financial services. It also develops software to create mailers and manage shipping, transportation, and logistics for government agencies and corporations. Pitney Bowes is a multi-billionaire company who believes in waste reduction and recycling, energy management, renewable energy, employee involvement and education. To this day Pitney Bowes is still dedicated to making everyone’s shipping, printing, and mailing experiences much easier and cost effective.