Date: 2006 Solution:   Managed Services, IP telephony and Contact Center Product:   Ericsson BusinessPhone Market:   Asia Country:   China

Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) operates international routes to and from China. The global company is the fourth largest European carrier and has been operating in China for nine years. The Chinese economy has a high growth rate and this booming economic situation naturally brings constant rises in the demand for reliable air travel. As well as having the capacity to transport increasing numbers of passengers, SAS requires reliable back office applications to ensure the smooth running of the customer relations side of the business. The number of calls handled by SAS was rising every year and, without an upgrade of the system, the level of service provided to end-users could begin to decline.

As a long-term partner of Ericsson's a trusted relationship had been developed and it was natural that SAS should choose Ericsson to implement the changes. To meet the growing demands placed on SAS, the equipment in Beijing was upgraded by Ericsson and a second call center opened in Shanghai. The two SAS call centers are now connected using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), combining them into one virtual call center. This is particularly beneficial when traffic to either call center is high, as incoming calls can be transferred to the other location with no extra cost and no loss in voice quality.

Ericsson installed BusinessPhone 250 as the PBX service in each location. The equipment is modular and easily allows the interoperability of technology as it is developed, ensuring SAS can grow its operations through the future-proof offering. The changeover of technology and implementation of the Managed Services contract took place within one month of SAS selecting Ericsson for the project.

Björn Ekegren explains how the solution has enhanced the airline's customer services: "There was a need for the organization to link the Direct Sales facilities in Beijing and Shanghai. This ensured that the company could now utilize its resources in the most efficient way. Within the framework of Ericsson Managed Services, SAS has now established a 'virtual call center' in China."

Ericsson provided a Managed Services solution, including all planning, design and deployment of the upgrade and will manage the network for going forward. This network management solution has brought increased communications efficiency for SAS. Following the success of this VoIP project in China, SAS is now planning to work with Ericsson to roll out the solution to the airline's call centers across the world.