Wheaton | Bekins Keeps Customers Moving with Business Communications Software from Interactive Intelligence

Household goods moving company deploys all-in-one IP communications software suite for improved customer service, increased productivity, and reduced costs

INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Wheaton World Wide Moving | Bekins Van Lines has reported improved customer service, increased productivity, and reduced costs as a result of deploying Interactive Intelligence Group Inc.'s (Nasdaq: ININ) Customer Interaction Center^™ (CIC).

CIC, an all-in-one IP communications software suite, replaced a Nortel system, which was several revisions behind, according to Jerrod Carter, CIO for Wheaton | Bekins.

"It was going to cost us $100,000 just to bring our Nortel system up to date and with no added benefit," Carter said. "After evaluating systems from Avaya, Mitel, ShoreTel, and Tribox, we selected CIC based on its sophisticated and flexible feature-set."

After making its selection, Wheaton acquired Bekins Van Lines, which was also using CIC. As a result, it created a more aggressive deployment timeline to facilitate communication between the two entities and prevent any disruption of service to customers.

"Our combined entity meant we were communicating with hundreds of independent agents across the country and thousands of service providers," Carter said. "CIC enabled us to create a four-digit speed dial to provide quick access to each agent or provider. This may seem like a small thing, but it enabled our staff to acclimate to the acquisition more quickly and our corporate employees to be more efficient."

The company was also handling a lot of military business, and operators would spend much of their day getting frequently transferred military personnel in touch with someone who knew the status of their move.

"By adding CIC's skills-based call routing we were able to immediately get our military customers to the person most familiar with their move," Carter said. "This has saved our operators countless hours and has further improved service."

Also contributing to customer service has been CIC's callback feature. "Callback has equipped our agents with the information they need to more effectively serve customers as soon as the call is connected," Carter said. "It lets customers keep their place in queue without sitting on hold -- an option they've come to greatly appreciate."

The move to voice over IP has also saved the company money by enabling it to drop its primary rate interface lines, while CIC's desktop softphone resulted in additional savings by eliminating the need to purchase pricey, button-laden phones, according to Carter.

Wheaton | Bekins worked extensively with Interactive Intelligence reseller, Communications Products Inc. (CPI), to assist with CIC's evaluation and deployment.

"CPI was indispensable throughout the entire process -- from its understanding of our objectives, to how we could best meet our goals within an aggressive timeline," Carter said. "The company gave us a clear plan, and the onsite training they did for our employees the week before going live proved critical to a smooth transition."

Wheaton | Bekins sums up its deployment experience like this: "During the evaluation process, Interactive Intelligence and CPI were by far the most impressive vendors," Carter said. "Since then, we've not been disappointed. CIC's been so easy to use and it's given us all the functionality we needed and then some."

About Wheaton Worldwide Moving | Bekins Van Lines

Wheaton Van Lines, Inc. is one of the world's most highly regarded providers of transportation services. Wheaton Van Lines now owns two household goods relocation brands, Wheaton World Wide Moving and Bekins Van Lines. With annual combined revenue in excess of $250 million, the van line is now the fourth largest household goods carrier. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the Wheaton and Bekins brands offer private and corporate domestic and international household goods relocation services as well as special commodities and logistic services. To learn more, visit www.wheatonworldwide.com or www.bekins.com.

About Interactive Intelligence

Interactive Intelligence Group Inc. (Nasdaq: ININ) is a global provider of contact center automation, unified communications, and business process automation software and services. The company's unified IP business communications solutions, which can be deployed on-premises or via the cloud, are ideal for industries such as financial services, insurance, outsourcers, collections, and utilities. Interactive Intelligence was founded in 1994 and has more than 4,500 customers worldwide. The company is among Forbes Magazine's 2011 Best Small Companies in America and Software Magazine's 2012 Top 500 Global Software and Service Providers. It employs more than 1,000 people and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company has offices throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Interactive Intelligence can be reached at +1 317.872.3000 or info@inin.com; on the Net: www.inin.com.

This release may contain certain forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are described in the company's SEC filings.

Interactive Intelligence Inc. is the owner of the marks INTERACTIVE INTELLIGENCE, its associated LOGO and numerous other marks. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.

ININ-G

Wheaton Worldwide Moving | Bekins Van Lines
AJ Schneider, +1-317-558-0746
Vice President of Marketing
aj_schneider@wvlcorp.com
or
Interactive Intelligence Inc.
Christine Holley, +1-317-715-8220
Senior Director of Market Communications
Christine.holley@inin.com

Source: Interactive Intelligence Group Inc.

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