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ABN AMRO creates RFP global unity with PragmatechCompany creates a consistent, global approach to creating RFP responsesReading, UK – November 18, 2002 — Overview ABN AMRO Asset Management is the asset management arm of ABN AMRO Bank N.V. and is represented in 33 countries worldwide. This global network of asset management units forms one of the world's leading asset managers with significant experience in managing assets for institutional clients, including central banks, pension funds, insurance companies, and other institutions as well as for private individuals. In addition, ABN AMRO Asset Management manages a comprehensive range of mutual funds domiciled in most of the major European countries, as well as in the United States, Latin America, the Far East, and Australia. Total worldwide assets under management amounted to €165,889m on 30 June 2002. The Need As a leading global asset management group, there are few markets in which ABN AMRO Asset Management does not have a presence. Because of its diversity, depth of product offering, and large number of personnel around the world, it is essential that ABN AMRO Asset Management adopts best practices. This is especially important for client and consultant contact and liaison – from face-to-face meetings, through telephone contact, and the delivery of effective, consistent written communication. One key function that is crucial to ABN AMRO Asset Management’s operation is the creation of high-quality RFP (Request for Proposal) responses. These are produced in response to requests from firms of investment consultants and prospective clients and are a key selling document to these parties. To create a consistent, global approach to creating RFP responses - which are time consuming and highly detailed - ABN AMRO Asset Management set-up a dedicated RFP response team headed by John Shewan, who joined the company in March 2000. “With the globalisation of investment consulting, it was clear that ABN AMRO Asset Management needed to mirror this development in the provision of information. By creating a dedicated RFP team, which has the latest company and product information, we ensure that a globally consistent message is delivered. We know that whenever an intermediary is in contact with one of our offices – whether it is in Europe, North America, South America, or Asia – we present them with the most up-to-date and relevant information,” comments John Shewan, head of ABN AMRO Asset Management’s global RFP team. ABN AMRO Asset Management has operations in 33 countries, including the UK, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United States. A key requirement of ABN AMRO Asset Management's international operations was to enable remote access to the centralised knowledge base – now located in London – in order to help the international offices automate their RFP response creation processes and quickly pull together professional sales documents. “The regional offices were producing their own RFP responses, researching and pulling together the latest company and product information from around the company’s large, international network. This was not the most efficient way of creating RFP responses, and we wanted a consistent, coherent approach to presenting ABN AMRO Asset Management to the outside world,” adds John Shewan. The Solution ABN AMRO Asset Management has adopted Pragmatech’s sales effectiveness solutions as the answer to creating a global standard for dealing with RFP requests. Using Pragmatech’s RFP Machine, which is an intuitive, Windows-based document authoring and publishing system, ABN AMRO Asset Management’s RFP team has created a searchable central knowledge base comprising the latest information on the company, its operations, products, and services. Using Pragmatech’s RFP Express tool, ABN AMRO Asset Management’s worldwide offices can now access the central knowledge base remotely via the ABN AMRO intranet. John Shewan and his team in London are responsible for overseeing the ongoing maintenance of the RFP Machine knowledge base that is remotely accessed by ABN AMRO Asset Management offices worldwide. “It is our responsibility to keep the database up-to-date with the most relevant replies to RFPs. We work in partnership with our portfolio management and business development teams to write new responses, create new material, and update the database when new products and services are launched,” states John Shewan. The Benefits Using Pragmatech’s advanced sales effectiveness technology, ABN AMRO Asset Management has successfully created a best practice approach to its response to RFPs that meets both global and local needs. The creation of ABN AMRO Asset Management’s RFP team and utilisation of Pragmatech’s RFP Machine solution means that whole process is consistent, standardised, and much more efficient for all parties concerned. There is now a single, easily searchable knowledge base that can be accessed securely by all ABN AMRO Asset Management’s regional offices. This means that the previous duplication of effort experienced with the creation of each new RFP has been abolished because a small, centralised team is responsible for the content that now appears in each of the company’s RFP responses. This streamlined approach ensures that only the most relevant and appropriate information appears in ABN AMRO Asset Management sales documents around the globe. At a local level, there has been very positive feedback to Pragmatech's sales effectiveness technology. For any ABN AMRO Asset Management staff accessing the database via the company’s intranet, the whole process is both simple and intuitive. Because the RFP response system sits within the Microsoft Word environment, staff are presented with a simple, easy to use system that is very powerful. Advanced functionality – such as key word searching – means that the right information and RFP responses are quickly found and incorporated into professional documents. It also means that staff in regional offices do not have to waste significant amounts of time and effort trying to locate the most up-to-date information. “Despite ABN AMRO Asset Management’s global strategy and standard to RFP response production, this whole approach means that the regional offices can still add their local flavour to their own sales documents. We wanted to create the centralised framework that adopts best practice, but that can still be tailored to the needs of each market,” adds John Shewan. The Future As Pragmatech’s sales effectiveness technology becomes more integrated into the day-to-day operations of ABN AMRO Asset Management, the way it is being used continues to grow and expand. For instance, John and his team are continually adding to The RFP Machine's knowledge base with the latest corporate and product information. This includes widening the range of product information available on the database – such as the latest information on the company’s equity and fixed income products, amongst others. The RFP team in London is also looking to make the RFP response solution even more suitable for use in its regional offices. At present, all the information in the knowledge base database is available only in English. The company is currently assessing whether to add local language versions of commonly used key responses to RFPs in the near future. About Pragmatech Pragmatech Software develops and markets innovative and intelligent web-enabled sales effectiveness software solutions for a variety of industries, including financial services, banking, healthcare, telecommunications, legal, insurance, technology, and many others. The company’s Sales Effectiveness Software Suite – which includes The RFP Machine® and The Proposal Assembler®, greatly simplifies the process of creating winning business proposals and responding to Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and Requests for Information (RFIs) for sales and marketing professionals and, with the addition of Web Publisher™, expands the means through which corporate messaging is disseminated. Pragmatech Software, Inc., is headquartered in Amherst, New Hampshire and has offices in San Francisco, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago and New York. Pragmatech Software Europe Limited, based in Reading, UK, is the company’s European Subsidiary. For more information, visit Pragmatech Software on the World Wide Web at http://www.pragmatech.com Editorial Contact: Viveca Woods VMW Public Relations 646-418-6934 Viveca@optonline.net top of page |
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