ServiceCentral Suite enables Telecom New Zealand to Provide Customers with Efficient Handset Service and Repair. 

April 2, 2006 — ServiceCentral Technologies today announced their successful implementation of its ServiceCentral Return & Repair Suite™ at Telecom Mobile in New Zealand. Telecom has deployed ServiceCentral’s ServiceCounter™ module to over 250 retail stores across the country, and implemented the ServiceCentral RepairBench™ and WarrantyManager™ modules at its new national repair center, Telegistics.

Telecom launched an initiative in 2005 to greatly upgrade and improve its customer handset service and support to provide faster turnaround and improved communications to customers while providing better visibility to Telecom agents and retail partners. As an immediate improvement, Telecom selected ServiceCentral’s ServiceCounter application to streamline the capture and tracking of Service Tickets at the retail store. As part of the larger initiative Telecom created a new wholly-owned subsidiary, Telegistics, to take control of its repair operations. To automate the repair process and track the flow of handsets between customers, retail stores and the repair center, Telecom selected ServiceCentral’s full Return and Repair Product Suite.

The ServiceCentral system allows retailers to log customer returns at the point of receipt, note customer complaints, and track loaner handsets issued to customers. The handset is then sent to Telegistics where it undergoes a full manufacturer authorized repair. Customers, retailers and support agents can track the progress of the handset repair process through web-based inquiries. All repair activity at Telegistics is recorded by ServiceCentral, and the repair data is automatically submitted to manufacturers for warranty reimbursement.

Keith Buckley, Head of Divisions Supply Chain for Telecom, stated that “While Telecom is just starting the journey to completely revolutionize the customer service experience, ServiceCentral has already greatly enhanced our ability to provide a higher level of handset repair support; from our retail partners through to our repair center, Telegistics, and back to the customer. Over the next 12 months we will continue to build on this foundation to optimize our customers satisfaction levels with the service experience. The great news is that even though we just started we have already greatly improved our turnaround time and, most importantly, increased customer satisfaction with the repair experience.”

“The Telegistics repair center is a high-tech facility built around a production line process flow to repair the handsets expeditiously with high quality. ServiceCentral provides us the necessary tools to properly track each unit through the process, recording all parts and solutions applied in accordance with manufacturer requirements,” stated Brett Middleton, General Manager at Telegistics.

Steve Teel, Executive Vice President of ServiceCentral noted “that Telecom and Telegistics have set high expectations for improving customer satisfaction for handset repair, and we are very excited to help Telecom meet these expectations with our proven solutions.”

About Telecom New Zealand
Telecom New Zealand has a strong history in the New Zealand market and a growing presence in Australia. Telecom provides innovative and reliable information and communications technology (ICT) solutions, to enable customers to communicate when, where and how they want. For more information, visit www.telecom.co.nz.

About Telegistics
Telegistics was formed in 2005 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Telecom New Zealand.