Soft Computing for Customer Service Bill Cheetham Service

Soft Computing for Customer Service Bill Cheetham Service Algorithms Program Corporate Research & Development 1

Customer Service Technology The Service Algorithms Program support includes: • Web based self-service • Wizards • Configurators • Automated tools • Automated e-mail response • e. Gain (Inference) e. Mail • Cisco e. Mail • Phone support tools • Voice recognition and response • Video indexing of repair videos • Inference CBR • Field service automation • Tools for service technicians • Automated technical order generation • Remote maintenance & diagnostics 2

Outline Web based customer self-service Automated e-Mail response Phone support tools Field service automation 3

Web based customer self-service Wizards Appliances Solve it yourself (CBR) Configurators - Power Systems designer (Rule-Based) 4 Automated tools - Plastics Color. Xpress (CBR)

Plastics Color Matching - Problem GE is one of the worlds largest producers of plastics Customers specify the color they want the plastic GE needs to create a formula that matches the customers color - 10, 000 color matches per year globally ($500 per match) - colorants are the most expensive component of plastic Customers Color Formula Green_332 Yellow_102 White_107 Black_203 5 1. 23 0. 13. 63. 025

Plastics Color Matching - Action Start Uses Case-Base of 2, 000 colors with formulas Read color requested search case-base inspect physical chip make trial chip no match? computer adapts loadings yes 6 End no match? yes save in case-base

2. 4/yr globally • Productivity • Colorant Cost Millions of Dollars Saved Plastics Color Matching - Benefits 1994 1995 1996 3 million dollars cumulative benefits GE Best Practice for e. Commerce Self-Service 7

Outline Web based customer self-service Automated e-Mail response Phone support tools Field service automation 8

Automated E-mail Response e. Gain (Inference) e. Mail - CNBC. com (CBR) Cisco e. Mail - Appliances Answer Center, Parts, and GE Store (Rule-Based Reasoning) 9

GEA e. Mail - Problem Managing Costs/Productivity • • 10 min per email at 1. 00 per minute Increasing volume Consistent miss on business commitment Agent subjectivity Content Consistency • Inconsistent answers among team members • Inconsistent answers among GEA teams (GEAC/ASI) Reporting • Manual reporting (over/under 24 hours) lacking detail • No automated method to measure agent productivity or performance 10

GEA e. Mail - Solution 11 STEP 1. Explore Tools/Options STEP 2. Selected Cisco Suite STEP 3. Implemented Cisco Solution • Scrutinized email volume and content • Identified core business and technical resources • Customized application and training to meet business needs • Coordinated deployment among initial call centers • Continued enhancement and product analysis to drive gains in productivity • Developed thorough documentation and best practice sharing among GE wide teams

GEA e. Mail - Results Hard Sell • 40% reduction in email handle time • $4. 00 cost out per email • $600, 000 gain in productivity for 2001 • 99. 9% response within business commitment • Average span 5 hrs 12 Soft Sell • Improved Process and Content Control • Consistence Internal Response • Streamlined processes among email teams • Reduced Agent Subjectivity • Improved reporting • Ad Hoc • Individual Metrics -->Performance Appraisal Increase Productivity and Responsiveness, Reduce Cost!!

Outline Web based customer self-service Automated e-Mail response Phone support tools Field service automation 13

Phone Response Tool Voice recognition and response (? ? ? ) • $7. 6 Million natural language research contract from EU/NSF (Neural Nets, Uncertainty) • Automated data collection • Ordering parts Video Indexing of repair manuals (? ? ? ) • $1 Million ARPA project (Classification, Search) Call Center Automation • Appliance Diagnosis Tool (CBR, Decision Tree) 14

GEA “Save the Call” - Problem Increase the ability of an ASI Factory Service (FS) Calltaking Rep to solve a consumer product complaint without scheduling service. Save The Call Challenges Limited supply of qualified people (currently 240 - 260 FS reps) High turnover of ASI reps ( ~70% yearly) Little time for training of reps Increasing demands on call reps 15 Corporate Image depends on service

GEA “Save the Call” - Action Desktop launches CBR and sends brand, Product line and Problem statement to CBR. 16 Calltaker collects information on call using Calltaking 32 • Unlimited number of cases • Only relevant cases displayed • Attachments / Graphics Calltaker attempts to save the call using CBR

GEA “Save the Call” - Benefits Fully deployed for all product lines on June 1999 This effort saves $2. 5 MM / year (3. 9 % to 12. 3%) • reduce Service Call Rate (SCR) and spending on Customer Education & Installation (CEI) calls. CEI calls were 15% of all calls (1, 400, 000 per year) • each service call avoided saves $50 • increase consumer satisfaction (solve issues in one call), • feedback issues to design teams • we can enforce policies “Always ask question X if callers issue is Y” GE Best Practice for e. Commerce Self-Service 17

Outline Web based customer self-service Automated e-Mail response Phone support tools Field service automation 18

Field Service Automation Tools for Service Technicians • Aircraft Engine in Flight Diagnostics (Clustering) Automated Technical Order Generation (? ? ? ) • Automated Content Generation Based on Service Event (AI Planning, Info Fusion) • $3. 5 Million Air Force Project Remote Maintenance & Diagnostics • Medical Systems Remote Diagnostics (CBR) 19

Old Method of Fix Visit #1 GE notified of broken machine FE goes to site, diagnoses machine. Realizes part needed. Visit #2 Visit #3 FE goes back to field office. site, field office. Either replaces part. Gets different has part Machine part. or orders it. still broken. fixed. On Average over 3 visits per fix and over 2 days 20

GEMS CBR for Remote Diagnostics On-site Monitoring Remote Data Access Phone, E-mail FAX, Web GE Regional Service Team Parts Specialist • Diagnostics Specialist 21 Technical Answer Center Information System Servers Service Engineer • • • Call Management/ Commitment Tracking System Monitoring & Diagnostics Problem/Solution DB CBR using DB

Current Method with CBR GE realizes machine has malfunctioned or is about to Machine fixed remotely -Or. FE goes to site, has right part, fixes machine On Average < 0. 5 visit per fix 22 Visit #1

Summary A wide range of technologies are needed for a wide range of service problems. 23