STAMFORD,
CT (March 2, 2000)
-- Internet billing, one of the key building blocks
in the rapidly emerging world of e-commerce, will
be a topic of discussion on "The Next Wave." The weekly
television series will be broadcast on CNBC, airing
as paid programming, March 5 at 1:30 p.m. EST, and
sponsored by a group of leading corporations involved
in the new Internet economy.
The
Shift From Paper to Digital Form
"Paper-based documents such as statements, notices
and bills fulfill key functions for virtually all
organizations," says Schumacher, "and in many instances
they act as a 'regular appointment' with the customer
and can represent as much as 80 percent of a firm's
total annual customer contact."
Companies
pioneering the use of the Internet are now exploring
how best to manage these critical customer contacts
in a web-based form. Internet billing is emerging
as a key focus because it is a fast, low cost way
to distribute the bills and collect payments. Plus,
companies can also use Internet billing to deliver
highly targeted one-to-one messages that help build
strong customer relationships, grow the enterprise
and even achieve a competitive edge.
Consumers
benefit as well because they can view and pay bills
online quickly, and no longer need to open and sort
through paper bills, write checks, or stuff and stamp
envelopes. Since the funds involved in Internet billing
are transferred electronically, the risk of lost or
delayed payments is significantly reduced, which benefits
everyone involved.
The
Internet represents an immense opportunity for businesses,
especially for those organizations that are involved
with statement processing and the resulting receipt
of funds, according to Vinton Cerf, Internet pioneer
and Senior Vice President for Internet Architecture
and Technology at MCI WorldCom. "We estimate that
the total value of business conducted on the net may
reach more than $3 trillion, or roughly 10 percent
of the world economy, in less than four years," he
says. "Businesses are just now discovering all kinds
of new business models as they explore ways to conduct
e-commerce."
What's
driving the growth? Speed, convenience and interactivity,
according to Cerf. "When an electronic statement arrives,
consumers can take action immediately, either to make
a payment, or to transfer the data in digital form
to a personal finance program to help track expenses,
or to interact with the electronic messages or links
imbedded in the statement." Bills in paper form rarely
trigger those types of spontaneous actions by consumers.
"Electronic
Bill Presentment and Payment is a fundamental building
block of e-commerce," says Schumacher, "because it
enables firms to provide a digital interface or interactive
gateway which can help educate customers or aid in
the marketing of additional products and services."
Pitney
Bowes solutions are currently employed by more than
500 of the Global 2000 business enterprises to process
high-integrity customer communications via hard copy
mail, giving the firm "a unique opportunity to serve
as a bridge to the emerging world of web-based bill
presentment and payment," continues Schumacher.
Many
of the firms also employ advanced, valued-added capabilities
such as intelligent inserting and print stream manipulation,
which can be important precursors to effective web-based
solutions.
"Pitney
Bowes has been very successful in helping thousands
of companies around the world mail critical customer
messages in paper form," says Cerf. "Now they are
seeking to build on that expertise to help those same
firms capture the benefits of web-based messaging."
Flexible
and Comprehensive
The Pitney Bowes Internet billing solution is encompassed
by docSense's new Digital Document DeliveryTM
(D3) capability which is already proven successful
in commercial use and can serve as a natural extension
of current billing processes in either business-to-consumer
or business-to-business applications.
The
D3 solution is especially attractive to rapidly evolving
web-based businesses, as well as firms uncertain about
how to use the Internet, because it can be implemented
in a variety of forms and easily accommodates either
pay or no-pay applications, according to Schumacher.
"Companies
can implement our D3 technology using a traditional
'turn key' model, or they can minimize up-front capital
costs by implementing D3 using a service bureau format,
which enables them to offer an electronic billing
option quickly and at a fraction of the ongoing unit
cost of processing traditional, paper-based mail,"
says Schumacher.
Billers
can also choose to have Pitney Bowes extract key data
from their traditional paper-based billing processes
and have it transmitted to bill payment consolidators
for eventual presentment to customers.
Additionally,
companies that distribute statements only—such as
trade confirmations from brokerage firms or statements
confirming investments in 40l(k) plans or mutual funds—can
still utilize the Pitney Bowes electronic delivery
technology.
The
benefit? The firms are seen as responding to the growing
consumer preference for faster delivery and easier
handling of routine, ongoing communications.
The
Internet billing segment features an interview with
Karl Schumacher, President of docSense, a Pitney Bowes
business that provides software and services for mailers
shifting to an Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment
(EBPP) or Internet billing capability.
Previously,
Mr. Schumacher served as Vice President and General
Manager of the Document Factory Solutions group for
Pitney Bowes where he also guided the development
of the firm's Internet billing strategy.
Noted
actor Leonard Nimoy hosts the 30-minute program, which
is one of several focusing on new developments in
e-commerce.
docSense
is a new business of Pitney Bowes Inc. It provides
software and services that enable enterprises to custom-tailor
and deliver traditional and newer forms of critical
customer communications via the Internet and other
electronic channels. For more information about docSense,
visit www.docSense.com. Pitney Bowes is a $4.4 billion
provider of informed mail and message management.
For more information visit www.pitneybowes.com.
Analyst
Reports