Case Studies

Pitman Training Group

Technical solution

Application Data Centre Hosting, Internet explorer based application, enterprise level database, disaster recovery and fail over real time replication, online marking / testing and learning management.

About Pitman Training Group

With over 100 training centres throughout UK, Ireland and overseas, Pitman still train thousands of students in shorthand and typing. Their talents stretch further than these two essential business skills. Today, focus is on helping students improve their skills so they can achieve the career of their dreams - whatever that dream might be.

Courses range from one to two day business skills seminars to short courses in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access and Publisher), typing, book-keeping and health and safety. For students who wish to take a longer term study programme, they offer a wide range of Diplomas - from secretarial and business IT to Microsoft Office and finance.

The Need

Pitman Training Head office (PTG) required a business and technical solution that would assist them in measuring, controlling and developing their existing and future franchise network. Therefore a standard, centralised application was required that would cater for the customer relationship management needs along with essential delivery and tracking of courses, progress, financials and of course exam testing / marking on line.

3SIXTY was proudly selected as the solution of choice that would see the deployment of the 3SLive CRM application to all 100+ centres. Our challenge was to deploy our standard 3SLive application modules but to also deliver bespoke solutions around online testing, marking and financial tracking.

The Solution

PTG have a need for managing their customers in a far more efficient, yet far more personal manner than their current IT systems allow them to do. Therefore, 3SLive was chosen for its tight-knit customer management capabilities, irrespective of where the customer is located. The opportunity to re-sell to previous customers and keeping them informed of relevant new products and services is vital to the success and continued expansion plans of PTG.

Each of the centres is a franchise business in its own right, and therefore has to submit monthly returns to PTG including franchise fees and other key measures. Therefore 3SLive is going to aide in the management of this entire process, thus ensuring the relationship between the franchisees and head-office is as transparent and seamless as possible.

PTG will also be able to use 3SLive to issue directives to each franchise regarding standardised marketing via the head-office portal, thus ensuring that the PTG brand is used in a consistent and approved manner.

3SIXTY have been appointed to manage the entire lifecycle of this implementation, with a go-live date of November 2008 for all centres to be active on the system.

The Benefits

• Central franchise database of contacts, prospects and financials that would be partitioned securely for access and use by each franchise centre.
• Delivery of a first class sales and marketing solution that would track / target prospect interest, list management / purchase, course bookings, financial performance tracking and online examination / marking.
• Central control of the vast number of centres within their franchise network.
• Ease of franchise transfer, take over in the event of ownership change of each centre / region.

www.pitman-training.co.uk