Debt collectors now have a more effective way of collecting their cash. TransUnion, a credit information company, has inked a deal with Austin Logistics to offer its call centre management software to Canadian clientele – either on-site or as a managed service.
TransUnion gathers and analyzes information to provide credit reports, credit scores and fraud services. Through this joint initiative, it will combine its credit data with call centre management software, allowing financial institutions and collection agencies to focus their resources on accounts most likely to deliver the greatest return. The goal is to reduce collection and treatment costs, as well as risk throughout the credit lifecycle.
“We already have a deep footprint in financial services and collection agencies, so it’s a really nice fit between our two organizations,” said Derrick Breau, vice-president of sales and marketing with TransUnion.
The company will primarily be offering the OnQ and CallTech solutions to its commercial base. OnQ allows clients to automate and centralize their campaigns and list management. CallTech provides predictive, analytic call targeting, which helps clients determine the best time to call customers and increase the number of right party connects, therefore providing a better chance of collecting the debt.
“They’re looking for tools, data and analytics that allow them to better focus their resources,” said Breau. “The challenge of the day in the IT world is all about limited resources – you want to focus those resources where you get the greatest return.”
The call centre management solutions are now available to TransUnion’s existing customer base in Canada, either installed on-site or as a managed service. TransUnion is also in the process of integrating Austin Logic’s ActionSelect treatment optimization and Valeo inbound call centre routing into its overall product portfolio, and expects to follow up with additional offerings down the road.
Austin Logistics has done some work in Canada and has a recognized name, so there’s a lot of demand for these solutions, said Breau. “The biggest challenge for us is to make sure we manage the volume and that we’re consistent and we keep the mesh of the two organizations tightly together.”
This joint initiative is part of Austin Logistics’ overall strategy to gain a foothold in the Canadian marketplace.
“As a company we really applied resources and a focused commitment to Canada in January 2007,” said Lee Martin, Canada general manager and vice-president of global strategic relationships with Austin Logistics. Previously, the company relied on direct relationships (and still has some direct relationships with large accounts), as well as U.S. organizations doing business in Canada.
“We have some large direct implementations going on and those can take upwards of six to 10 months,” he said. “TransUnion is able to take those products, deploy them one time and offer them out on a per transaction or recurring model basis where organizations don’t have to pay a large implementation fee.”
Instead, they turn on the system and receive services on a recurring basis. This can apply to financial organizations, third-party debt collectors or legal agencies working with debt collectors.
These clients will be able to take advantage of technology used by major financial organizations around the world, said Martin, and bring it to bear in their particular marketplace built on Canadian-focused data.
“TransUnion has that capability available,” he said. “Most organizations in Canada already have some sort of link into TransUnion, so we can leverage that and make those services available much more quickly.”
Comment: [email protected]
