Iwatsu Electric Co., Ltd.
The Japan Research Institute, Ltd.

The Japan Research Institute, Ltd. (Head Office: Ichibancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Shunichi Okuyama; hereafter referred to as JRI) and Iwatsu Electric Co., Ltd. (Head Office: 7-41 Kugayama 1-chome, Suginami-ku, Tokyo; President: Yoshiyuki Ishibashi; hereafter referred to as Iwatsu) have started joint sales of a packaged system for contact centers that supports multi-channel inquiries, including those by telephone and e-mail.

JRI and Iwatsu will bring out their respective strengths to provide users with the most effective contact center system from the early stage of contact center operation. By offering the two companies' already available packages, users will be able to build a high-quality system in a short period of time without incurring unnecessary development costs.

The needs of the two companies were met in that cooperation in approaching each other's customers will enable sales to users in industries that have hitherto remained untapped, and the two companies believe that this cooperation system will further increase user convenience.

1. Features

QuIR will offer the best solutions to users who plan to introduce a contact center system in the future and those who plan to replace the existing call center system with a new one. For the telephone cooperation system, the two companies will closely cooperate with each other by using Iwatsu's INDeX, which provides high cost performance, as the standard PBX.

- The packaged system includes templates necessary for contact center operation, enabling users to introduce it in a short period of time.
- Necessary functions will be offered according to channel type and the number of seats needed, as well as to particular user needs. They will also be offered according to the on-demand fare system.
- The recommended optimal scale of operation is ten to 100 seats.

2. Functions

(1) Channel Integration Solutions
(a) Multi-channel inbound
Inquiries received through various channels, including telephone and e-mail, can be processed efficiently using an integrated display.

(b) Channel interaction
QuIR will provide the "cross operation" service that allows flexible selection of the reply channel to an inquiry regardless of the reception channel.

(2) Integrated Information Management Solutions
(a) History of multi-channel contacts
The history of inquiries received through telephone, e-mail and other channels can be managed in a unified manner.

(b) Enterprise system cooperation
QuIR will provide linkage with business, customer and other data users already own to ensure swift and smooth operation.

(c) Message management
"Bulletin information," "communications and precautionary information" and other kinds of information will be managed in a unified manner, enabling information sharing among managers and operators.

(d) Security management
Effective information security measures will be realized through personnel and terminal management functions.

3. Conceptual Chart

The introduction of QuIR will enable users to ensure seamless information sharing within their organization as they receive inquiries from customers through various channels (for the conceptual chart of QuIR, see the Japanese version of this press release).

4. Sales Plans

JRI and Iwatsu will work together to offer solutions to customer support operations and aim to sell a total of \1 billion worth of contact center systems (equivalent to 1,000 operator seats) to 40 client companies annually.

For more information on the content of this report, please contact
Shinzo Fujii
Sales & Marketing Dept

Tel: 03-5431-7818
E-mail：fujii.shinzo@jri.co.jp

For press inquiries, please contact
Yoshihito Sato
Public Affairs Dept

Tel: 03-3288-5360
E-mail：sato.yoshihito@jri.co.jp

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