Austin Logistics' Launches Valeo™ for Call Centers

New Technology Predicts Inbound Caller Value and Routes Calls to Ideal Service Levels

AUSTIN, TX - August 10, 2004 - Austin Logistics Inc., a leading provider of analytic software and solutions that predict customer value and behavior, today announced the availability of a new product for inbound call centers - Valeo™. By adding Valeo's predictive analytics and value-driven queuing to their existing pre-agent routing systems, companies can improve treatment of high-value customers in several important ways, such as, near-zero wait times, pre-emptive retention offers, and appropriate cross-sell promotions.

The software applies predictive analytics in real-time using critical customer and prospect data to determine each inbound caller's future value and the caller's reaction to all available service levels. Valeo then tags each call for the appropriate service level, for example, self-service resolution or retention agent. High-future-value, wait-intolerant callers can be answered quickly and appropriately to increase their loyalty, reduce attrition, and increase sales - all while controlling call centers' agent resource costs.

By adding predictive intelligence to inbound call-routing systems, Valeo helps solve today's most pressing problems with traditional first-in-first-out out interactive voice response (IVR) systems including:

• Low-value callers clogging the system and keeping high-value callers waiting for service;
• High-value customers closing their accounts in self-service without first talking to retention agents;
• Losing cross-selling and up-selling opportunities; and
• Hiring more agents to reduce customer hold times.

Current research shows that these persistent problems impact both customer relationship management (CRM) efforts and profitability goals. For example, the American Management Association found that 68% of clients will stop doing business with a company because of poor service. According to StreetTalk™ by CQ Research, 20% of the general population has stopped using credit cards because they had to wait too long when they called into customer service. For high-income callers, the loss climbs to 26%.

"Valeo directs agents' time to callers who, with the right treatment, become more loyal and generate higher profits," said Daniel Duncan, President of Austin Logistics. "Even with limited resources, the callers who will yield the strongest relationships and the highest long-term profitability are given the best treatment first. Valeo is a solution that truly fulfills the often-heard promise of turning call centers into profit centers."

Valeo can change a company's inbound caller paradigm in three important ways: first, by predicting each caller's future value; second, by moving receptive high-value callers out of self-service so agents can proactively make sales and retention offers; and third, by managing wait-times to maximize value, rather than simply answering calls first-in-first-out.

About Austin Logistics Incorporated
Austin Logistics is a leading provider of analytic software and solutions that predict customer value and behavior to drive more profit from every customer interaction - delivering a proven return on investment in six months or less. The company's products and solutions enable its worldwide clients to make proactive, profit-focused decisions that optimize actions in collections, risk/fraud, and customer loyalty applications. Since 1992, Austin Logistics has been trusted by many of the world's largest financial services companies. The company's products and solutions are also available to insurance and telecommunications operations worldwide. For more information, please visit www.AustinLogistics.com.