American Express 2002 Annual Report Download - page 13

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have steadily increased the number of employees
trained in Six Sigma tools and principles. In addition
to fixing errors within processes, we are also now
applying Six Sigma principles to product design and
development in order to build quality in from the start.
We view Six Sigma as an important element of our
ongoing commitment to service quality and to providing
our customers with experiences that continually meet
and exceed their expectations.
We also continued to leverage the Internet to lower costs
and improve service quality. During 2002, we expanded
the number of services and capabilities available to
customers online and increased their utilization. For
example, within the U.S., approximately 80 percent of
our card servicing transactions are now available
online. In fact, we now have more online interactions
with customers than we do by telephone or in person.
Within our Corporate Card base, nearly two-thirds of
account maintenance is now being done online instead
of being phoned in or faxed to us for processing. At
AEFA, 66 percent of all 401(k) transactions are com-
pleted online. The Internet also serves as an important
product development and customer acquisition
channel across both our card and financial services
businesses.
Online servicing can dramatically reduce unit costs.
We realized substantial benefits in 2002, while
improving the flexibility of our overall business models
and delivering service in a manner that many of our
customers prefer. As part of our shift to online servicing,
we also continued to move more internal processes,
such as the procurement of goods and services, to the
company’s intranet.
While we have made good progress in shifting volumes
online, there remains a great deal of opportunity
across our transaction base. With the majority of our
online servicing capabilities already built and paid for,
we expect the Internet to generate continued margin
improvement for us over the near to moderate term.
We are transforming traditional practices in other areas
as well. Our decision to outsource data operations to
IBM last year is one example. This arrangement will
I11 AXPI
LEVERAGING THE INTERNET_ A continuing shift to online customer servicing has lowered
costs for the company while increasing convenience for cardmembers, who can check
statements, pay bills, apply for cards and perform a host of other transactions through
the Manage Your Card Account (MYCA) section of americanexpress.com. MYCA attracted
3.7 million enrollees in 2002, bringing the global total to 8.9 million.