Merrill Lynch: Customer Self-Service Web Roadmap and Implementation
Client: Merrill Lynch
Challenge: Merrill Lynch created a service to link financial consultants and clients, offering online access to account information, market research data, electronic bill payment service, Internet access and e-mail communication. This service had to be robust and reliable, not to mention user friendly and sophisticated in its functionality.
Solution: CSC worked with Merrill Lynch in creating a customer self-service web roadmap and successful implementation. CSC provided services in four key areas: project management; business process design; technical architecture and implementation assistance; and specific technology planning and testing activities.
Results: The Internet channel enhanced Merrill Lynch’s customer intimate value proposition. Less than a year after launch, Merrill Lynch has enrolled 250,000 on-line clients and all of the firms 13,000 financial consultants. An accelerated product launch saved $60MM for the entire project. The call center costs per customer were decreasing throughout the CSC's process. Merrill Lynch views this project as an internal best practice example of integrating multiple departments to collaborate on a new product release.
Merrill Lynch is one of the world's leading financial management and advisory companies, with offices in 35 countries and private client assets of approximately $1.5 trillion. As an investment bank, it is a leading global underwriter of debt and equity securities and strategic advisor to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals worldwide. Through Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, the company is one of the world's largest managers of financial assets.
Security and Architecture
CSC reviewed the security architecture and performed penetration tests to identify potential threats, resulting in design recommendations.
CSC Best Practices
CSC provided services in four key areas: project management; business process design; technical architecture and implementation assistance; and specific technology planning and testing activities. CSC's Catalyst methodology was applied, along with shadow-management techniques to facilitate joint client-consultant ownership of the project plan, and acceleration-management techniques to push the project completion date. CSC developed predictive models to estimate the expected use of the internet service across each of the technical infrastructure platforms. Results from the model were used to design the initial infrastructure, to stress test the production site and to determine backup site requirements.