With the combination of the “slim” and secure SIGNificant Generic POS Connector used at POS in retail outlets and the SIGNificant Server infrastructure used in the datacenters, expensive traditional paper-based processes efficiently transform into full electronic processes. This cutting edge solution is tailor-made for POS systems, characterized with a generic interface supporting any POS system.

Paper-based business transactions are time consuming and expensive as they require slips to be printed twice, one slip to be signed by the customer for archiving purposes and another to be given to the customer. The customer signs the paper slip and the POS system sends the slip’s raw data to the company’s back-office, while the signed paper slip is sent via physical mail to the back office or third parties. At the next stage the signed paper slip is scanned and archived with the raw data or manually archived in a physical archive.

The fully electronic process is done easily and intuitively. It starts with the customer’s handwritten signature on a signature tablet and followed with an option to verify the signature with the SIGNificant Biometric Server. Then a customer copy of the slip can either be printed by the POS system or be sent to the customer via email by the SIGNificant Server. At the next step the SIGNificant POS Connector encrypts the raw data and signature data and transfers them to the back-office. In case a network connection is not available, data is cached locally and retransmitted when online connectivity is achieved again. The SIGNificant Server converts the raw data into signed and sealed PDF slips at the back-office and then sends the PDF and raw data to the archive.

Advancing to a fully electronic process offers companies in the retail arena the benefits of a secure paperless environment. These valuable benefits include elimination of costs associated with paper-based POS (reduction of between 50%-100% in paper slips printing; reduction of 100% physical mails and scans), acceleration of business processes, avoiding lost slips and enabling retailers to perform transactions faster compared to their competitors. Additional benefits include fast and easy integration, thanks to the similarity of this process to the current paper-based process and the generic interface suiting any POS system and any archive at any IT environment. Furthermore, by adopting electronic signatures in the retails industry, companies provide customers with an easier, less time consuming experience and enable the generation of an audit trail necessary for compliance. Finally, last but not least is the significantly improved security aspect, based on automatic data encryption at the POS side and secure identification of customers.

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Electronic signature solution drive productivity and effectiveness by reducing operational & back office overhead, as when business processes become paper-free, the need to perform paper-related tasks such as printing, scanning, faxing and shredding is eliminated. In addition, all documents are available to the back office systems for real-time decision making and immediate electronic archiving, eliminating document loss, duplication or missing signatures. These solutions also increase security and reduce fraud because once the document is signed electronically, the integrity of the content and authenticity of the signer are guaranteed. When considering the operational overhead of paper-based processes, the cost of each document becomes fairly high.

Key Benefits

• As Easy as Signing on Paper – signing an electronic document with xyzmo SIGNificant’s solutions is as easy as a pen-and paper signature.
• Reducing operational & back office overhead – there is no need to perform paper-related tasks such as printing, scanning, faxing and shredding as the business processes become paper-free. In addition, all documents are available to the back office systems for real-time decision making and for immediate electronic archiving, eliminating cases of document loss or duplication and missing signatures.
• Increasing security and reducing fraud – Once the document is signed electronically, security increases. The integrity of the content is guaranteed and if requested, enabling real-time dynamic verification of the handwritten signature against a pre-defined biometric profile.
• Doing more business by closing more deals faster – the electronic signature helps accelerating turnaround times by reducing customer waiting periods and avoiding searching for contracts or forms, while customers are waiting. Therefore more customers can be served by enabling a rapid and efficient workflow.
• Drive customer satisfaction and retention – by embedding a handwritten electronic signature solution, which requires no changes in customers’ habits. The customers continue to sign like they always did, but with a distinct advantage of an improved experience, thanks to reduced waiting times and the convenience of remote and secured document handling.
• Improved legal compliancy and limited liability – the electronic signature is added into the document the same way as signing a paper, but reduces the probability of document forgery, as any manipulation within the document will result in invaliding the signature.
• Increasing revenue by having more time available for up/cross selling – the usage of electronic signatures dramatically increases the efficiency of sales/consulting staffs and reduces processing times, leaving more time for up/cross selling.
• Workflow Efficiency – It’s much faster than to route a document through mail or courier.
• Provide Copies for All Parties – Once the agreement is signed, all parties receive a digital copy, which makes it much easier for them to refer to it later and file it on their computer.
• Protect Reputation – Organizations publish vast amounts of documents to the internet, but are now becoming increasingly concerned about what happens to those documents in the wild. It’s critical to reputations that documents are not modified to create a false or fraudulent impression of the organization.

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The full technical integration was completed by only one xyzmo consultant managed by Accenture in a record time of less than one month. The activation process in T-Mobile USA Inc. stores is now much faster, efficient, effective and secure thanks to the use of various functions of the provided xyzmo SIGNificant technology: the Service Agreements are now automatically populated with accurate data captured while scanning/swiping a Driver’s License or Credit Card of the new T-Mobile USA Inc. customer; the Social Security Number is securely entered on a soft keyboard on Ingenico 6780 devices and no longer shared with the T-Mobile USA Inc. sales personnel; customers review the electronic Service Agreement before electronically signing it on the Ingenico 6780 devices; the Service Agreement becomes an electronic original when it is sealed with the xyzmo SEAL which is the superior sealing method of the xyzmo digital and electronic signature solution; storing the electronic Service Agreements directly into the existing T-Mobile USA Inc. document management system from EMC “Documentum” and sending it to the customer over email concludes this fully enabled electronic process at point of sale which completely eliminates paper based service agreements and sales receipts, thus eliminating the cost of paper, printers, toners, courier costs (i.e. FedEx), Scanning, long-time archiving at Iron Mountain, etc. and the labor associated.

The completely new shopping experience guarantees customer satisfaction: customers now enjoy better service and assistance from the T-Mobile USA Inc. sales personnel due to the fact that they have extra time to focus on the needs and wants of their new customers; at the same time, waiting periods are substantially shortened – signing happens on a signature pin pad that is part of the Ingenico 6780 Device exactly as it would be on a paper-based Service Agreement.

T-Mobile USA Inc. and its customers are now enjoying the benefits of a state of the art electronic signature technology at point of sale, which is part of one of the largest roll-outs of this kind of technology ever completed.

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Highlights

• Client: WIND Hellas – One of the largest telecommunications operators in Greece
• Product: SIGNificant Server
• Number of signature stations: approx. 400 shops

Overview

Wind Hellas (previously known as TIM Hellas) is one of Greece’s largest telecommunications operators with an annual turnover of €1.1 billion and more than 4.4 million customers. It was founded in 1992 and became a technology leader of the Greek mobile telephone market thanks to its innovative products and services. In 2006, Wind Hellas acquired Q Telecom, the 4th largest mobile operator in Greece. This acquisition allowed Wind Hellas to further strengthen its market position.

The Challenge

The process used at WIND’s POSs for the creation, printing, signature, collection of assorted documentation and their dispatch to the Contracts Administration Department of WIND was not only time, cost and labor consuming but also resulted in a serious amount of workload in the Contract Administration Department, since that every-day business at the POS’s produced a significant amount of paper (hard-copy) documents that needed to be digitally handled and managed as a whole by the Contract Administration Department’s resources.

Wind’s daily work at the POS involved several steps to activate and renew contracts both at the shop as well as internally. The company was looking for a solution that will approach their needs in a holistic manner and suit their organization, processes and systems’ related frameworks.

The Solution

SIGNificant’s solution addressed all of Wind’s needs and even exceeded them, and thus was chosen by WIND as the winning proposal of the open bid they conducted for this purpose. SIGNificant fully integrated the connection between the new and existing applications. The solution also required no changes to WIND’s existing business practices, including a wet-ink signature on a hardcopy contract. In order to allow both physical and digital signature of the same document, the HW used was the Wacom Volito Inking Pen Tablet. This tablet, produced as an OEM solution especially for SIGNificant, allows ink and digital signatures by placing a hard-copy contract over the tablet surface. The Volito tablet can also collect biometric signature traits that are unique to each person’s signature (pressure, speed, acceleration and angle). Another requirement fulfilled by SIGNificant was adding the contract’s supporting documentation (i.e. customer ID) to the exact signed document.

The Benefits

From day one, WIND realized savings from the rapid and complete integration of the SIGNificant signature solution:

• Thanks to the fully digitized process, the contract data is available to the back office systems for real-time decision making at the head office and for immediate electronic archiving.
• Improved customer service, due to the comfortable electronic transmission of contracts, thus enhancing customer experience and elevating Wind’s brand image.
• Elimination of contract duplication and/or loss.
• Increased efficiency of sales staff and reduced processing times.
• Sending the contract to the customer via email is possible – no need to print two contracts.
• The solution is intuitive and requires minimal training of sales staff. In addition it also requires no changes in habits – “sign as you always did”.

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A simple process with great benefits!

By embedding the xyzmo SIGNificant signature solution, the activation process is fully digitized. Service agreements can be completed automatically with important information, simply by scanning or sweeping the customer’s credit card or driver’s license, while any additional required data can be captured via a soft keyboard. The agreements are signed and sealed electronically, and can be automatically sent to the customer using the provided email address. This simple, intuitive solution which is easy to integrate in any IT environment and easily accepted by customers, offers mobile operators the benefits of a secure, electronic environment. It enables them to dramatically speed up the activation process in their retail stores, generate more revenue at POS and of course, save money by going paperless. This way spending for paper, printing supplies, or shipping of service agreements is eliminated. In addition, the verification of the authenticity/integrity of the service agreement and storage problems of successfully completed service agreements are no longer an issue for mobile operators and their customers, thus giving customers an easier, less time consuming experience. Among our satisfied customers are mobilkom Austria, Hutchison 3G Austria, Orange Israel, KPN Netherlands and additional providers in many other countries including the US.

Solutions for Telecom Companies from xyzmo SIGNificant on Vimeo.

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Challenges

In the past, XYZMO_CUSTOMER’s much more than 1.000 Corporate Stores processed and activated new customers with a service agreement using a manual process. This process involved the customer selecting a new phone and then working with the sales attendant to complete the transaction. This involved the customer providing personal information such as a driver’s license and verbally providing additional information such as a social security number for a credit check. All of this data collection and data entry was very time consuming, prone to errors and not secure, especially with the sharing of sensitive information such as social security numbers. Along with data collection, the customer had to sign several copies of the service agreement and these copies were stored at an external company, at a considerable expense to XYZMO_CUSTOMER, with retrieval time consuming and expensive. The entire process was not optimal for the customer, with the time lag of at least 30 minutes for activation from initial store entry. Additionally attention to other potential customers not being helped in the store also suffered, with the focus centered around the manual activation process, one new customer at a time.

Requirements

XYZMO_CUSTOMER elected to automate the new customer activation process as much as possible. Requirements included:

• Swipping of the customer drivers license and credit card, to capture personal information
• Customer entry of their social security number on a soft keypad, for added security
• Electronic presentation of the activation agreement, for customer review
• Customer handwritten signature captured electronically, then document is sealed, to detect possible manipulation at a future date
• Electronic original is stored in XYZMO_CUSTOMER’s DMS
• Electronic original is sent to the customer through email.
• Elimination of paper service agreements, reducing the cost of paper
• Reduction of labor expended on new service agreements

Solution

Achieving its goal to electronically sign contracts and agreements at point of sale, this XYZMO_CUSTOMER implementation really represents one of the largest e-signature technology roll-outs ever completed. For the xyzmo SIGNificant Group this successful project represents a delivery on the company’s commitment to provide top level digital and electronic signature technology to various industry verticals where handwritten signatures are part of the daily processes. In addition, XYZMO_CUSTOMER’s dedication to customer satisfaction is strongly represented by this ambitious e-signature technology roll-out.

The activation process in the XYZMO_CUSTOMER shops will now be much faster and much more efficient due to the integration of xyzmo SIGNificant’s electronic signature technology. The xyzmo SIGNificant technology has proved itself already during very demanding times like the launch of a new phone when a large number of transactions was processed at the XYZMO_CUSTOMER corporate stores in record times. Customer acceptance and feedback was and continues to be extremely positive. Waiting periods shortened significantly. Thus, customer service is significantly improved because the sales personnel have extra time to focus on offering better assistance to their customers.

With the current process, the customer gets a new phone activated in less than a few minutes.  xyzmo’s solution ensures that the customer’s information is accurately and automatically captured and populated into the XYZMO_CUSTOMER service agreement, and that the contract is electronically signed and, optionally, emailed to the customer.

The updated signing process at XYZMO_CUSTOMER stores now involves scanning or swiping a credit card or driver’s license to obtain important information and to automatically populate it into the electronic Service Agreement. Any additional but required data can be captured via a soft keyboard and signing/sealing the Service Agreements is now done fully electronically.

Verification of the authenticity and integrity of the Service Agreement and storage problems are no longer an issue for XYZMO_CUSTOMER and its customers because of the solution brought to the table by the xyzmo SIGNificant’s technology.  This process ensures a high level of efficiency as well as customer acceptance and satisfaction – the customer signs on a signature pin pad exactly as he or she would do on a paper-based service agreement.

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The downturn in the economy has businesses of all sizes thinking how they could enhance their efficiency and cut costs, without damaging their business results in today’s business environment. We, at xyzmo SIGNificant believe that in these tough times businesses could extremely streamline their processes by embedding electronic signature solutions, to sign documents without using any paper, thus enable a TRUE paperless workflow.

Most of the companies today, automate their business processes and document workflow procedures, leaving the approval stage the only component that requires the need of paper. Digital and electronic signatures replace the concept of traditional paper-based signing with an electronic one. Signing the original electronic document saves companies on labor, faxing, mailing and archiving costs. Lost documents or missing signatures are a thing of the past, as after the signing process ends, all documents are immediately available for archiving or further processing. Additionally, digital signatures safeguard electronic documents and files by allowing the authentication of the signatory and verification of the original document. By embedding these solutions in their business, companies will no longer need to print documents and brake the electronic document cycle solely for the purpose of capturing a handwritten signature, therefore establishing a fully digitized process.

When considering the operational overhead of paper-based processes, the cost of each document becomes fairly high. From the experience we acquired in xyzmo SIGNificant, we learnt that the simple step of embedding an electronic signature solution enables business to achieve two important goals, which are making and saving more money, resulting in a better bottom line with a quick and proven ROI.

Benefits making the achievement of these goals possible

• Reducing operational & back office overhead – there is no need to perform paper-related tasks such as printing, scanning, faxing and shredding as the business processes become paper-free. In addition, all documents are available to the back office systems for real-time decision making and for immediate electronic archiving, eliminating cases of document loss or duplication and missing signatures.
• Increasing security and reducing fraud – Once the document is signed electronically, security increases. The integrity of the content is guaranteed and if requested, enabling real-time dynamic verification of the handwritten signature against a pre-defined biometric profile.
• Doing more business by closing more deals faster – the electronic signature helps accelerating turnaround times by reducing customer waiting periods and avoiding searching for contracts or forms, while customers are waiting. Therefore more customers can be served by enabling a rapid and efficient workflow.
• Drive customer satisfaction and retention – by embedding a handwritten electronic signature solution, which requires no changes in customers’ habits. The customers continue to sign like they always did, but with a distinct advantage of an improved experience, thanks to reduced waiting times and the convenience of remote and secured document handling.
• Improved legal compliancy and limited liability - the electronic signature is added into the document the same way as signing a paper, but reduces the probability of document forgery, as any manipulation within the document will result in invaliding the signature.
• Increasing revenue by having more time available for up/cross selling – the usage of electronic signatures dramatically increases the efficiency of sales/consulting staffs and reduces processing times, leaving more time for up/cross selling.

Many companies already realized that going paperless with electronic signatures is an important step towards success in a tough economy. Most of them have already implemented sophisticated document management and other solutions. Thanks to the complete xyzmo SIGNificant’s signature solutions it is very easy and convenient to enhance this existing infrastructure with all the necessary functionalities for a total paperless process. The combination of the existing infrastructure with the xyzmo SIGNificant suite is an optimal alternative to paper-based processes, as they minimize signature fraud and reduce paper related costs and labor, resulting in increased efficiency of business processes.

Beyond the possibility of capturing a handwritten signature by using a broad range of signature capturing devices from various manufacturers, also smart-cards, tokens and software certificates are supported. Given the high scalability of the SIGNificant Server, millions of electronic signatures can be generated automatically and verified every hour also in mass signature processes, enabling companies to realize a TRUE paperless environment. They can verify all incoming electronically signed documents and use handwritten signatures, smartcards or software certificates for the approval processes. Acquiring additional data in order to complete a form can be done simply by scanning or swiping a credit card or driver’s license or via a soft keyboard displayed on the signature pad. All documents can be converted into secure PDF files or into protected xml files. And last but not least, companies can launch a verification service for the use of their external partners, with which they can verify if a received document is the original one with only one mouse-click.

For more information on xyzmo SIGNificant’s digital & electronic signature solutions, please visit our website at: http://www.xyzmo.com

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The customer is the core of all business transactions, especially within the Telecom Market. Having a competitive advantage is key for getting more business. xyzmo‘s solution for Telecom POS/Retail solves the problem of signing electronic documents securely while simultaneously reducing the costs and labor associated with paper-based processes and improving the time required for activation at POS, which generates more revenue and improves customer satisfaction. 

Think of this simple process and imagine the benefits!

Nothing is easier than completing a form automatically simply by scanning/swiping your credit card or driver’s license to obtain important information. Any additional required data can be captured via a soft keyboard. Signing and sealing service agreements are performed electronically, and service agreements can be automatically sent to the customer using the provided email address. Verification of the authenticity/ integrity of the service agreement and storage problems will no longer be an issue for your company and customers.

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The Highlights are:

Insurers can deploy e-signatures to better support their e-commerce projects, reduce mailing costs and improve the authentication of online shoppers at their Web sites.

Key Findings

• E-signatures are an important element of the e-commerce strategy. Insurers will need to deploy e-signatures to streamline the online sales process and reduce the time required to bind online policies
• E-signatures can be used to slash operational costs, including mailing, document generation and document management.
• E-signature technology can be leveraged across all channels — including agents and the call center — to better facilitate sales transactions.

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