CASE STUDY: October, 2010

The Challenge:

With thousands of dispensary panel members across the US, 3M’S Occupational Prescription Eyewear Division quickly realized their need to securely automate co-payments for their prescription glasses. As it stood, the customer’s full credit card number was included on a faxed order form to the 3M Optical Lab that created an insecure and outmoded transaction chain.

Debbie Roney, Logistics Director at 3M and her team decided it was time to use a secure credit card ID, a numerical code mapped to a specific customer, to replace the full credit card number for safety eyewear orders. “We felt by implementing secure credit card ID numbers we would quickly eliminate the security risk for our customers,” said Roney, “now came the hard work of actually getting thousands of customers to get their ID number.”

The Process:

Their first idea, with the help of longtime partner Quest Information Systems, was to create a secure web site for customers to log-on, get their ID, and then use that ID when placing safety eyewear orders. While some customers took advantage of this system, many – especially those at onsite dispensaries within factories – didn’t have internet access and couldn’t complete their transactions.

3M and Quest both concluded that by adding the ability to get secure credit card IDs over the telephone with an automated IVR system they could enable this process for many more customers.

While Quest had never created an automated telephone system, they were longtime Microsoft .NET (Visual Studio) developers and began to look for a tool that would leverage those skills, be intuitive enough for first-time telephony developers, and provide all of the features they needed. After a careful search they chose Voice Elements, a .NET development tool created by Inventive Labs Corporation.

Voice Elements allowed Quest to use the Visual Studio language of their choice, and with sample applications and help from the support team at Inventive Labs they completed their IVR application in just over a month.

Ready for testing and deployment, Quest asked Inventive Labs for an uncomplicated way to “go live” and keep maintenance of the underlying server and equipment to a minimum. As Gregg Williamson, Director of Sales at Inventive Labs recalls, “It was a perfect fit for the 3M IVR application to run on our Telephony Bank hosting service. It provided an easier route to deployment in addition to piece-of-mind that all equipment, servers, etc. are fully supported and maintained –something that both Quest and 3M felt critical."

The Inventive Labs Telephony Bank is a group of resource servers that allow a Voice Elements-based application to run at a customer site with internet access, using the resources remotely. It is a simple monthly service based on the resource usage of an application, and allows a developer like Quest to focus on developing their software-based solution and maximizing their skill set.

The Solution:

Developed, tested and ready for deployment, the 3M Interactive Voice Response system went live in the beginning of 2010. To access the IVR, customers simply dial a toll-free number and voice prompts lead them through the procedure to obtain a secure credit card ID number. Once obtained, they can record this information on an order form or bring the number with them when they visit the Eye Care Professional (optician) for fitting. The secure credit card ID number is used at the time of order entry to match up to a customer credit card for any appropriate charges stemming from selecting employee co-pay options.

The privacy of all credit card information obtained through the IVR is safely protected and is in compliance with all banking requirements.

“This was a true collaboration, from inception to deployment,” Roney from 3M said. “We are confident that our customers now have a reliable and secure way to pay for their prescription safety eyewear and are very pleased with our continued relationship with Quest and the software and ongoing services we receive from Inventive Labs.”

Every month that the service is in use higher volumes of eyewear customers use the automated telephone system, and the dispensary opticians have found the process easy to explain to their customers.

“This is a case where the combination of our Voice Elements software and services perfectly met the needs of the customer,” said Ron Tanner, Inventive Labs president. “We look forward to providing support and services to 3M and Quest well into the future.”

About 3M Prescription Safety Eyewear Division

3M provides cutting edge health and safety products for many industries, helping to protect health with reliable, comfortable safety solutions. The 3M Safety Eyewear Division is the global leader in occupational prescription eyewear and has provided business and industry for over 90 years. Their optical laboratories and customer service centers are ISO certified. They have more than 60 frame styles in the AOSafety frame collection, as well as frame styles from other well-known safety frame brands. The Occupational Prescription Eyewear Division’s US laboratory is located at 2925 Gary Drive, Plymouth IN 46563 and can be contacted at http://www.aosafetysrx.com or (800) 982-2828.

About Quest Information Systems

Quest, an Indiana based company, is a leader in custom software development, software management, IT consulting, support services and government solutions. They satisfy the full range of application needs through comprehensive life cycle services, connecting information, systems, people and processes. Their expertise has resulted in successful mission-critical applications that align business software with business strategy. Quest’s status as a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, successful projects and satisfied clients attest to their ability to provide unique solutions to complex business problems. Quest can be reached at http://www.questis.com or at (317) 806-8800.

About Inventive Labs

Inventive Labs is a leading provider of telephony application solutions. The company’s products and related services, featuring Voice Elements Platform, dramatically reduce the time, cost and complexity of creating voice solutions.

For more information, visit http://www.voiceelements.com or call (866) 923-5290.