REPEAT/ Imperial Home Decor Group Deploys First Speech Recognition Application for Home Decor Industry with Norstan and SpeechWorks.Business/Technology Editors REPEATING... BOSTON & MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 17, 2001 Speech Solution to Provide Retail Customers with 24x7 Access to Wallcovering and Decorating Information Imperial Home Decor Group, Inc. (IHDG IHDG Imperial Home Decor Group ), the world's largest manufacturer of residential wallcoverings, today announced the full-scale operation of the first speech recognition application for the home decor industry. Now, IHDG customers and partners can check stock and pricing, and place an order, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, through an interactive speech recognition system at (800) 222-3700. The system was delivered by Norstan, Inc. (Nasdaq: NRRD NRRD National Royal Rangers Department (international ministry) ), a leading provider of e-business, convergence and communication solutions and services to business clients worldwide, and uses award-winning speech recognition software from SpeechWorks International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPWX SPWX Speechworks (stock symbol) ), a leader in network-based speech technology. By dialing (800) 222-3700, IHDG customers like Home Depot The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services. Headquartered in Vinings, just outside Atlanta in unincorporated Cobb County, Georgia, Home Depot employs more than 355,000 people and operates 2,164 big-box , are able to place orders, check stock availability and retrieve pricing information, all by speaking naturally over any phone, anytime. The service interacts pleasantly with callers, immediately understanding naturally spoken words and processing requests. The speech system answers all straightforward inquiries, allowing IHDG's call center representatives to handle the more complex requests. Since the speech application was introduced in September, the number of calls being answered by the interactive system has doubled. "We are a progressive company that is continually looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. innovative ways to improve our business and enhance the experience of our customers," said Terry McGarry, director of financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. for IHDG. "The team from SpeechWorks and Norstan provided us with a superior product and service, resulting in an on-time project that increased customer service while lowering costs." "We are excited to deliver SpeechWorks' technology to an industry leader like IHDG, who is striving to improve customer service while managing operational costs," said Steve Chambers, vice president of worldwide marketing at SpeechWorks. "With phone-based speech recognition technology, IHDG can deliver anytime, anywhere access to information and transactions, and secure a competitive advantage in its market with industry-firsts." Future Enhancements In the coming months, IHDG plans to expand its interactive speech service with access to a variety of additional information. Callers will be able to locate dealers in their area, check the status of an order and delivery, and purchase stock inventory. "At Norstan, we are committed to partnering with sophisticated technological leaders, to ensure that we are providing our customers with the most innovative products on the market," said Larry Schmidt, executive vice president sales and marketing at Norstan, a leading provider of e-business, convergence and communication solutions and services to business clients worldwide. "Through our relationship with SpeechWorks, we were able to quickly deploy a state-of-the-art speech system for IHDG that is friendly and easy-to-use, and results in high caller satisfaction. We look forward to delivering additional speech applications to IHDG." About Imperial Home Decor Group Imperial Home Decor Group is the world's largest designer, manufacturer and distributor of residential wallcovering products. IHDG also markets commercial wallcoverings and is a premiere supplier of vinyl for pool liners through the Vernon Plastics operating division. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio "Cleveland" redirects here. For the Cleveland metropolitan area, see . For other uses, see Cleveland (disambiguation). Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. , IHDG supplies home centers, national chains, independent dealers, mass merchants, design showrooms and specialty shops. Product lines include the Imperial, Katzenbach & Warren, Albert Van Luit, Sterling Prints, Imperial Fine Interiors, Sunworthy and Colorfields by Sunworthy brand names. The Company was created in 1998 through the merger of Imperial Wallcoverings and Borden Decorative Products. In 2000, Imperial Home Decor Group, had net sales Net Sales The amount a seller receives from the buyer after costs associated with the sale are deducted. Notes: This amount is calculated by subtracting the following items from gross sales: merchandise returned for credit, allowances for damaged or missing goods, freight in excess of $374.0 million. About Norstan Norstan, Inc. (Nasdaq: NRRD) is a leader in technology solutions and services, providing e-business, convergence and communications services to business clients worldwide. Headquartered in the Twin Cities, Norstan's sales and consulting service Noun 1. consulting service - service provided by a professional advisor (e.g., a lawyer or doctor or CPA etc.) service - work done by one person or group that benefits another; "budget separately for goods and services" offices are located throughout North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. . Through its operating units, Norstan is a single source provider for leading-edge technology solutions and world-class technology services. To learn more, visit the Norstan Web site at www.norstan.com. About SpeechWorks Organizations worldwide rely on SpeechWorks (NASDAQ: SPWX) to delight their callers and provide them with a new level of service over the phone. Complementing the self-service model of e-business, SpeechWorks speech recognition solutions, including the revolutionary SpeechSite(TM) product, Speechify speech·i·fy intr.v. speech·i·fied, speech·i·fy·ing, speech·i·fies To give a speech: "In Washington, cabinet secretaries pose and speechify" Jonathan Alter. (TM) text-to-speech engine and SpeechSecure(TM) authentication, let customers direct their calls, obtain information and complete transactions automatically, simply by speaking naturally over any phone, anytime. SpeechWorks customers include some of the world's most sophisticated customer service innovators such as America Online See AOL. , Amtrak Amtrak, the National Railroad Passenger Corp., authorized to operate virtually all intercity passenger railroad routes in the United States. Amtrak was created by Congress in 1970 in response to more than two decades of continuous operating deficits by privately run , Continental Airlines, E*Trade, FedEx, Fidelity Investments Fidelity Investments is a group of privately held companies in the financial services industry. It is made up by two independent but closely cooperating companies, Fidelity Management and Research Corporation (FMR Co. Institutional Brokerage Group, United Airlines and Yahoo!. The Company offers the SpeechWorks Here(TM) Guarantee, the industry's only program that includes a money-back guarantee. SpeechWorks strategic partners include leading corporations such as AT&T, Avaya, Dialogic, an Intel company, InterVoice-Brite, NetByTel and Net2Phone. Early investors included Citigroup's e-Citi Unit, GE Equity, Intel Corporation (company) Intel Corporation - A US microelectronics manufacturer. They produced the Intel 4004, Intel 8080, Intel 8086, Intel 80186, Intel 80286, Intel 80386, Intel 486 and Pentium microprocessor families as well as many other integrated circuits and personal computer networking , The Intel64 Fund, MCI (1) (Media Control Interface) A high-level programming interface from Microsoft and IBM for controlling multimedia devices. It provides commands and functions to open, play and close the device. (2) (Microwave Communications Inc. WorldCom Venture Fund and Reuters. SpeechWorks is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts and has offices around the world. For additional information, call 617.428.4444 or visit http://www.speechworks.com. Join SpeechWorks on May 2nd for Global Speech Day, the First-Of-Its-Kind Web Event about speech recognition technology. Information and registration are available at http://www.globalspeechday.com. SpeechWorks, Speechify, SpeechSecure, SpeechWorks Here and SpeechSite are trademarks or registered trademarks of SpeechWorks International, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. |
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