Optimized customer service with innovative portal technology
Online portal www.vbl.de
Most important communication and service tool
for VBL customers

Versorgungsanstalt des Bundes und der Länder (VBL) optimizes customer service with innovative portal technology

For the customers of VBL, their online portal www.vbl.de has now established itself as the most important tool for communication and service. To meet the requirements of a modern Web 2.0 environment and to ensure a continuous barrier-free handling of inquiries and requests, VBL decided to use the portal technology SITEFORUM by the eponymous provider from Erfurt.

The Versorgungsanstalt des Bundes und der Länder (VBL) is the largest German supplementary pension fund for occupational pensions in the public service. Since over 75 years VBL conducts occupational pensions for public employees and manages contributions and allocations from employers and employees in excess of 12 billion euros. About 5,400 participating employers, about 4 million insured and 1 million pensioners are currently using the service of the public body in Karlsruhe.

VBL.DE – Modular customer portal with many useful applications

Via the website the customer and prospect receive comprehensive information about the services offered by the financial service provider. All infrastructure necessary for the portal, including web design and content management is implemented through the web services by SITEFORUM.

Visitors of the VBLportal receive many useful services in addition to information. Via the calculator integrated in the portal, visitors can calculate their so-called Riester pension or deferred compensation. Also these modules have been developed by SITEFORUM. The new pension calculators are a resounding success.” Martin Appel, Online Marketing Manager of the VBL since 2004, confirms. "With only three clicks the customer can create his personal offer and does not need to fill out several forms like before."

Consistent business processes by integrating internal processes in the portal

However, the benefits of the new portal technology do not end with the Internet. The internal service center of VBL with around 100 client advisers is docked to the portal and can process all requests directly from the system. For this the SITEFORUM CRM and DMS modules are called into action.

Martin Appel explains: " Every employee has access to the archive and can effectively search for the latest offers. Even the field staff has access to the complete SITEFORUM system. There was only positive response after the in-house presentation of the system. The unanimous opinion was that the new pension calculators represent a quantum leap improvement."

The circuit is closed by affiliating a big call center to the system with enhanced features. The staff of the call center will receive and handle requests from insurants and pensioners directly via the VBL portal. Even the processing of customer data is managed through the portal in the future. The insurant can use various self-service deals online. He receives personalized retirement offers and other important information directly via his personalized starting page. This campaign management also comes directly from the SITEFORUM system. Currently there are 30.000 registered users.

Advantages of the SaaS model

The advantages of the software-as-a-service model consist firstly in the continuous availability of the system. All that is needed for access - externally to the portal, as well as internally on the intranet - is an Internet connection. In addition, SITEFORUM as service provider cares to the entire infrastructure, including updates / patches, checking availability and protecting the system from virus attacks and other attacks. The customers and employees of VBL do not notice anything about that. They can rely on always being able to access their data and information securely and avaiably. Because of the Internet-based basic technology it is possible to integrate new, interactive components such as the quote engine or business chat at any time.

"We decided for SITEFORUM for the simple reason that we were able to achieve the best cost effectiveness. With the web services by SITEFORUM we have the best infrastructure at our disposal to provide an optimal information-, communication- and service platform for our customers on the internet and employees on the intranet respectively. The software-as-a-service model enables us to keep developing our customer portal “My VBL” in a state-of-the-art fashion and to continue implementing more modern e-government services.", Martin Appel concludes.

Another offer is already in preparation. In the future, the approximately yearly 100,000 new customers of the VBL are given the opportunity to order a "pensions folder" via the VBL portal, where they then can collect their notifications and documents. The entire order process through to the mailing of the folder to the insured is done completely automated via the corresponding SITEFORUM web service.

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