April 2000 - Phoenix Technology Group, the Irish financial software provider, has just completed a document management solution for UK investment group Threadneedle Investments. Threadneedle Investments, which is part of Zurich Financial Services, is the third largest investment fund manager in the UK.
A key element of Threadneedle's business requirements is the task of managing critical documentation associated with investment portfolios e.g. legal documents, leases, plans, licences, invoices and other related correspondence. Scanning existing paper documents electronically has been a key task in this project.
The Phoenix solution was designed to dramatically reduce the amount of paper documentation used within administration departments, through the scanning, indexing and retrieval of paper documents as electronic images.
The solution was designed to capture and manage all documentation regardless of its format (email, fax, letter,) allowing Threadneedle staff easy access to all documentation from their desktop.
Developed using FileNET's Content Services system on a Microsoft SQL Server database, this implementation is the first of its kind for Threadneedle. Future work will extend upon this solution by focussing on the areas of invoice and correspondence automation.
As part of the solution, Phoenix incorporated a number of customisations that were very specific to Threadneedle's business requirements. Advanced web-based document query / retrieval, and word search systems have been installed further facilitating ease of use for employees.
"The solution that we designed is geared towards accessing files quickly and easily from a central repository. Employees can now access all documentation relating to the correct investment portfolio file, through a web-based interface. This will help speed up the flow of work in administration, eliminate Paper Mountains and improve overall employee productivity," said Niall Clarke, Chief Technical Officer, Phoenix Technology Group.
"The implementation was carried out within twelve weeks and we have already seen a rapid return on investment and a significant increase in productivity. The next phase will be to extend and further optimise this solution by integrating it with workflow" said Robin Sproull, Senior Business Manager, Threadneedle Investments.
About Phoenix Technology Group:
With offices in Dublin and London Phoenix was founded in 1997. Phoenix delivers enterprise content management and e-process solutions to global retail financial institutions. Phoenix is a leading provider of web-enabled solutions for multifunctional contact and service centres empowering organisations to manage complex service processes and high-volume transaction relationships with customers, brokers and suppliers regardless of the source media (paper, e-mail, e-form, voice).
Customers include AXA Sun Life, CGNU, Royal Sun Alliance,
and Scottish Widows/Lloyds TSB. For more information, please
visit www.phoenix.ie
About Threadneedle Investments:
Set up in 1994, Threadneedle Investments has grown rapidly
to become one of the largest investment groups in the UK.
The company offers a broad range of investment services
including ISAs, PEP transfers and fund investments. In 1997,
Threadneedle established the first multi-fund conversion
of unit trusts into an Open-Ended Investment Company (OEIC).
Threadneedle Investments is currently the third largest UK investment fund manager, with stg £11.3 billion under management (source IMA, February 2002). Threadneedle Investments is part of the Zurich Financial Services Group, a global leader in integrated financial services, providing customer solutions in the area of financial protection and asset accumulation.
