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Councils ready to collaborate
25/07/2007
The Improvement Service, the body responsible for improving the efficiency, quality and accountability of public services in Scotland, has announced that the National Customer Relationship Management Project for Scotland has selected Lagan as the preferred supplier of its solution.
The initial phase of the National CRM Project will be implemented across four councils Aberdeen City, Inverclyde, Scottish Borders and West Lothian, which serve a total of more than half a million citizens.
The four councils expect the collaborative partnership to realise significant efficiency savings combined with improved service delivery. The project is being coordinated by the Executive-funded Customer First programme.
At West Lothian Council today Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth John Swinney said:
"Throughout the summer, I will be visiting businesses, public and third sector organisations across Scotland. I am looking to find ways of improving our public services to deliver better value for taxpayers and build a wealthier and fairer Scotland.
"The Customer First National CRM project managed by West Lothian Council is a good example of how we can do this. This project will generate efficiency savings and improve service delivery within four local authorities - a clear demonstration of the benefit in taking a joined up approach - for both local communities and local authorities.
"I look forward to seeing this project progress over the coming months."
Martin Brown, CRM/Citizen Account Programme Manager with the Improvement Services, says the decision to procure a CRM and Case Management solution to facilitate citizens' access to key services across multiple councils will yield a number of benefits.
"We expect that people calling their council with an enquiry will be given a satisfactory solution in a fraction of the time it takes currently. Not only that, opting for a solution that can be implemented at four sites at the same time has saved time and money in selecting a suitable supplier, and paves the way for other councils in Scotland to do the same. The agreement with Lagan creates a Best Value solution that ensures other Scottish Councils can benefit from a very attractive offer that would not be accessible to an individual council. ''
The lead council within the Partnership is West Lothian. Chief Executive Alex Linkston said:
''We're confident that citizens across the four councils will experience a dramatic and quantifiable improvement and that our front line staff will get greater job satisfaction because they will be able to help callers directly rather than passing them on. The collaborative approach implemented by the Improvement Service, achieved within an aggressive timescale, has resulted in a very effective solution for everyone, with no wasted time and effort.''
The CRM solution, procured through the Catalist framework, will be implemented by Lagan's newly formed 'Scotland First' Delivery Team which has been brought together to ensure the company's combined knowledge and expertise is used to best effect. The Scotland First Team will work in conjunction with the Improvement Service's National Project Coordinator to facilitate Best Practise within the National Project.
Lagan is already the CRM supplier to five Scottish Councils; with this deal Lagan will be the clear market leader in Scotland.
Philip Murray, Lagan's Director of UK Business and Executive Sponsor for Scotland, said:
"We are absolutely delighted to be chosen by the Improvement Service and the National CRM Project councils. We recognise that Scottish Councils have a unique set of priorities and core programmes and we have therefore formed our Scotland First team to ensure that best practise is shared across the National Project, in a way that reflects the specific needs of Scotland. Our aim is to play our part in a 3-way partnership with the Improvement Service and the councils to deliver real service improvement for the citizen and significant cost savings for the taxpayer."
The first part of the CRM implementation programme is scheduled to begin in July 2007 subject to contract finalisation.
About Lagan
Lagan provides software solutions to Governments in Europe and North America. The company's core business for the past seven years has been in the provision of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions to Local Government where it now has the largest market share worldwide. To complement this and to support its ambitious growth plans, Lagan has extended its product offering to a broader Enterprise Case Management capability for all Government.
The company is growing rapidly in a number of target markets and has over 140 customers. As well as Local Government CRM, this includes Customer Contact Centres and Case Management, Shared Services and Social Services in the UK as well as Human and Social Services and the Single Non Emergency Number 311 markets in the US.
Lagan's revenue increased by an average of 65% per annum over the past five years and has appeared in the Deloitte Fast 50 Awards and the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 Awards, as one of the fastest growing UK technology companies.
A recent round of funding secured £8.3 million of venture capital for Lagan's future expansion in its new growth markets. Investors include: Esprit Capital Partners (formerly Cazenove Private Equity), DN Capital, Crescent Capital, QUBIS Limited and Viridian Growth Fund.
Founded in 1994 as a private company, and with more than 220 personnel, Lagan is based in Belfast, Northern Ireland with offices in London, UK, Washington DC and Chicago. Learn more at: www.lagan.com