With ongoing technological advances and the growing focus on customer satisfaction, the banking industry today manages a relentless flow of new services�all in a bid to win over and keep customers. CIBC are keenly aware that effective promotion and customer communications in branch are paramount in the success of this bid. Managing this enormous flow of information, however, can present significant challenges.

CIBC were managing in-branch promotional material through a Marketing Communications group acting as a coordinating body for the merchandising, distribution and fulfillment of CIBC marcom material. Juggling manually input and requirements from eight product groups, the bank�s marketing and advertising groups, two fulfillment houses, fifteen regional merchandisers, 1,200 operating units and a variety of other CIBC internal groups�this marcom group dedicated a significant amount of human resources just to managing the entire process of initiation, procurement and distribution.

With the entire system largely paper-based, yearly costs of the inefficiencies were extreme. Perhaps most important, the process lacked the speed and flexibility required to give top-down control that would ensure CIBC communications consistently met broader corporate objectives.

The Powered Logic� team pinpointed the solution: a cohesive, single-source system for the initiation, ordering, fulfillment and accounting of CIBC� in-branch promotional material and associated hardware. The proposed solution would allow the bank to manage their resources through a self-administered, web-based portal.

To provide this reliable, self-administered platform for CIBC and all of its stakeholders, Powered Logic� recommended an intra-net based solution using backend database techniques to manage information gathering, data-transfer, and historical trend analysis. Powered Logic� also provided a complete online administrative function to allow for amendments, additions, deletions and the review of all information resident in any online application. Administrative staff can make authorized changes to site information at any time.

From exhaustive needs analysis involving all stakeholders through to planning, design, and implementation, every step of the process was audited to ensure the bank�s full satisfaction. Just one year later, the entire system was up, running and fundamentally changing the way CIBC managed their in-branch communications.

First and foremost, CIBC now exercises centralized control over all aspects of their in-branch communications, including ordering and delivery of point-of-service material. The system manages complete rollouts of programs to all of branches through an intra-net portal. Branches know what�s in stock, what�s not and their complete order history. They can track particular orders and find out the very latest material being offered, complete with graphical representations.

The system allow for timely data-mining and trend analysis to inform future communication programs. Eliminating the need for outsourced merchandising and inventory control represents significant cost savings.

The bottom line � CIBC�s new comprehensive communications system means better, more effective communications that both attract and keep valued customers