New Call Center Scheduler-TM- Software Improves Workforce Management For Southwest Airlines and SpeedFC Call Centers.

Business/Technology Editors

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 17, 2002

Call Center Associates announces that its new Call Center Scheduler(TM) product is now generally available to the U.S. marketplace. Call Center Scheduler equips companies such as Southwest Airlines and SpeedFC to solve the staffing challenges facing their call centers at a much lower cost than alternatives. The software calculates the appropriate staffing needs for call centers and automates the staffing process, saving precious time and making employee schedule compliance easy to manage. A typical system costs $15K and can generate a demonstrable ROI for call centers of any size, from 10 agents in one center to hundreds of agents in many locations. ROI depends on call center size and configuration.

According to Purdue University's Center for Customer Driven Quality, human resources account for 56.1% of the average call center's budget. This means properly scheduling shifts, breaks, and lunches can save companies thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars a year - while improving customer service levels.

"We built Call Center Scheduler to offer a practical solution to the marketplace," says Wayne Shaw, President of Call Center Associates and a call center authority with more than 20 years of operational management experience. "Unlike other systems, Call Center Scheduler does not require connectivity to every other system in the center. As a result, it is quicker to implement and easier to operate. In addition, it has an effective feature set, and is `cost-friendly' for every call center size."

Optimizing Profit Potential at Speed FC

Most importantly the software creates an impact with immediate results. One new customer, Speed FC, immediately began using the system to forecast the overtime staff needed to support a new "catazine" drop. Call Center Scheduler was installed on a Friday, so there was not enough time to do new schedules for the coming week. Instead, the company used its current schedule and ran scenarios to determine the difference in supplied and required staffing to optimally handle the anticipated call volumes. The company was able to be more proactive and strategic in placing overtime staff. The result: an efficiency that enables them to drive top-line revenue growth and simultaneously decrease operating expenses by optimizing staffing levels.

Improving Operations at Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines has call centers located across seven states and three time zones, so the airline relies heavily upon the power of Call Center Scheduler to manage its workforce.

"Call Center Scheduler helps us meet the changing demands of our customers. Thanks to this product we are able to schedule thousands of agents in multiple centers with various hours of operation at each location - while reducing costs significantly," says Rob Lalim, Director of Automation at Southwest Airlines. "We have also been pleased with the support we've received."

"We bring intellectual capital that helps call center managers achieve the balance between meeting customers' expectations, executives' budget requirements and employee morale," says Shaw. "Our Customer Support goes beyond the norm; our customers call for those questions that would normally drive them to contact a software company, such as `What happens when I hit this button, I forgot?' But they can also call for scheduling support and problem-solving, such as `I have this new scheduling requirement, what do you think is the best way to create that schedule?' We think this differentiates us from our competitors."

Key Features

Call Center Scheduler enables workforce managers to:

- Create call volume forecasts

- Generate schedules

- Perform intra-day staff management

- Develop scenarios to properly staff centers

- Automatically plan for staff vacations

- Properly price telemarketing services programs (key for Outsourcers)

- Easily create schedules by using Wizards

About Call Center Associates

Headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, Call Center Associates was formed in August, 2001, to provide solutions and services that maximize the primary asset of the call center - it's people. The founders' average 20+ years of customer contact center operations and technical experience. Call Center Associates offers innovative options for staffing and scheduling applications, workforce management outsourcing and consulting services. Clients include Southwest Airlines, Valor Telecom, and SpeedFC, among others. For more information about Call Center Associates and Call Center Scheduler visit www.callcenterscheduler.com or phone [phone].