RBS 2006 Annual Report Download - page 36

RBS Group • Annual Report and Accounts 2006 35
■Manufacturing is the ‘engine room’ of the RBS group, supplying
processing and telephone services, IT, property, purchasing and
security expertise to the Group’s customer-facing divisions.
Our support and services enable the Group to
operate around the clock, and provide a strong,
stable and scalable platform for future growth.
Manufacturing employs more than 25,000 people
across the UK, Republic of Ireland and continental
Europe and manages the UK’s largest free-to-use
ATM network. During 2006 our retail customer
service centres received just under 70 million
customer calls.
Manufacturing
■We operate one of the world’s largest and most
advanced mainframe computer environments, delivering
extremely high levels of service availability. This supports
over 122,000 desktop PCs, and the servers, mainframe and
storage for these all to run efficiently and securely, as well
as more than 7,500 ATMs and 475,350 merchant terminals.
■In 2006 over 100 key technology systems supporting
customer transactions and employee systems were available
an average 99.9% of the time, even though we make many
upgrades and changes to systems daily. We have been
able to reduce the delivery time of new IT developments
by creating a scalable production environment.
■We manage and maintain over 3,200 buildings around
the world, covering 2.1 million square metres and providing
workplaces for 135,000 people.
■Our e-sourcing programme continues to be one of the
largest of any company in the world, with 2006 throughput
of over £1 billion. We use a common purchasing approach
across all divisions to make the most of our scale.
■We have applied a number of improved fraud detection
tools, focusing on ‘real-time’ fraud detection. We reduced
fraud throughout the Group by 24% in 2006 and 50%
since 2004.
■We have streamlined the way we produce and handle
statements, cheque books and debit cards, generating
seven million fewer sheets of paper.
■Printed documents are stored as an image that can
be called up and processed at any location. This eliminates
the risk of ‘lost paper’ and improves the management
of queries.
■Manufacturing’s Lean programme – which uses
techniques to remove waste, improve the flow of work
and ultimately improve customer service – has created
the capacity for Manufacturing to provide more support
to all divisions.