COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
City of Anaheim
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITIES
DATE: NOVEMBER 28, 2006
FROM: PUBLIC UTILITIES GENERAL MANAGER
SUBJECT: APPROVAL OF SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH SUNGARD H.T.E., INC. FOR NAVILINE GRAPHIC USER INTERFACE UPGRADE TO CUSTOMER INFORMATION SYSTEM
ATTACHMENT (Y/N): YES ITEM # 24
201 S. Anaheim Blvd.
Suite #1101
Anaheim, CA 92805
Tel: (714) 765-5137
www.anaheim.net
APPROVAL OF SUPPLEMENTAL Agreement WITH sungard h.t.e., iNC.
Page 3 of 3
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council, by Motion:
1. Approve a supplemental Agreement with Sungard H.T.E., Inc. for the Naviline graphic user interface upgrade to the Sungard H.T.E. Customer Information System for an amount not to exceed $102,043 and;
2. Authorize the Public Utilities General Manager, on behalf of the City, to execute the Agreement and any other related documents and to take such actions as are necessary to implement the Agreement.
DISCUSSION:
The Public Utilities Department (Department) proposes that the City Council approve a supplemental Agreement between the City of Anaheim and Sungard H.T. E, Inc. for the Customer Information System (CIS). The primary purpose for the supplemental Agreement is to add a Web browser feature to the CIS that will allow customer service users to more easily navigate the system, thereby reducing average talk time per call, speed up back office processes such as billing, and decrease training time for new call center representatives. The one-time cost of the new licensed programs, implementation fees, and HELP Card Support is $102,043. Annual maintenance and support costs will be reduced from $113,900 to $105,730, resulting in annual support cost savings of $8,170. The support fees remain in effect as long as the Department continues to utilize the Sungard H.T.E. CIS.
The CIS maintains customer records and processes electric and water billing for the Department, as well as billing for other services such as paramedic services subscription, street sweeping, and trash collection.
Each year, the Department’s Customer Service Division receives approximately 195,000 customer calls regarding Anaheim’s approximately 110,000 electric accounts and 62,000 water accounts. This call volume should continue to increase as residential and commercial development comes to fruition in the Platinum Triangle and Mountain Park.
Additionally, as is typical in call center operations, there is regular staff turnover due to the high work volume and entry-level nature of the positions, resulting in the need to train about three new employees each year. In fact, it takes about six to eight weeks to train each new representative before they are adequately prepared to take live calls.
As a result of this turnover, lengthy training time, and increasing call volume, the Department continues to look for solutions to provide quality customer service to an ever expanding customer base. The addition of enhanced electronic account access through the Manage Your Account service launched in mid 2006 is one way that the Department accomplishes this. However, the Department also realizes that it will continue to enhance its capability to provide a quality person-to-person customer service experience.
Consequently, the Department’s Technology Development and Customer Service divisions have collaborated on a cost-effective solution to transition the CIS from a character-based menu driven system, to an upgraded version that users can navigate through a Web browser interface similar to Microsoft Internet Explorer. This is accomplished through the Naviline graphical user interface. Specifically, the Naviline upgrade will provide the following benefits:
· The Web browser interface provides a familiar web-like graphical environment that is familiar to users. This makes the application faster to learn and easier to use by employees.
· Application navigation is improved through the use of screen tabs, keyboard short-cuts, links, and jump buttons. Tabs allow users to avoid moving through multiple screens to access additional information.
· Data from history files can be exported to Excel and Word for enhanced customer communications when needed.
· Functions can be completed using a reduced number of screens. For example, the number of screens required to complete on/off service transfers is reduced by more than 50%. Also, the new system provides a Transaction Center which integrates financial transactions outside the billing process to a single screen.
Assuming a modest five percent efficiency increase from this upgrade the following annual enhancements could be achieved in the Customer Service call center alone:
· Reduced training time of 8 person-days (based on 40 days per training times 3 trainees + 1 instructor times 5%).
· Ability to handle 9,750 additional calls without staff augmentation (195,000 calls times 5%)
Industry reports indicate consistent 8% gains in user productivity by moving to a graphic user interface and up to a 30% reduction in training time. Assuming a five percent increase in efficiency for the entire Customer Service group, annual productivity savings are approximately $50,000, which results in a payback period of approximately two years.
In summary, to realize the operating efficiencies from the Naviline upgrade, the Department recommends that the City Council approve the supplemental Agreement with Sungard HTE. Upon approval, the Department will proceed as follows:
· By 12/01/06 - Finalize supplemental agreement
· By 12/08/06 – Establish firm software delivery date – expected two months subsequent to agreement.
· By 06/01/07 – Complete testing, training, deployment.
IMPACT ON BUDGET:
There is no impact on the General Fund. Funds are budgeted in Fund 500, Program 6779 for fiscal year 2006/07.
Respectfully Submitted,
Marcie L. Edwards
Public Utilities General Manager
Attachment 1. Sole Source Justification Sungard H.T.E.
Attachment 2. Supplemental Agreement with Sungard H.T.E.