 |
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
Media centre /
Press releaseFINANCIAL INNOVATION AWARDS 200429 November 2004GRAND PRIX AWARD GOES TO NATIONAL SAVINGS AND INVESTMENTS FOR LEADING CUSTOMER FOCUS National Savings and Investments (NS&I), the government-backed savings and investments provider, has won two awards at the Institute of Financial Services (ifs) Financial Innovation Awards 2004, including the coveted Grand Prix award for outstanding innovation and achievement. The Financial Innovation Awards recognise and celebrate those individuals and organisations that have foreseen the needs of their customers and produced something which differentiates them from their competitors. NS&I also picked up the award for Most Effective Back Office Initiative in recognition of the efforts it has made in providing greater focus on customer service by improving its back office operations with the introduction of LEAN, the business streamlining process. First developed for car manufacturing, LEAN helps develop clear customer focus and continuous improvement. NS&I and Siemens Business Services (SBS) successfully applied LEAN to the financial services sector, the first time it had been implemented on a wholesale fashion in the industry. In addition, NS&I was one of five finalists in the Most Effective Outsourcing Partnership Initiative category, again for the introduction of LEAN. NS&I’s back office operations are provided by SBS, which has been NS&I’s business partner since 1999. Last month SBS and NS&I agreed to extend the partnership by a further 5 years, till 2014. NS&I currently has £67 billion invested. In the financial year 2003-04, NS&I’s turnover exceeded £12 billion, £7.5 billion of which came from investments in Premium Bonds, NS&I’s most popular savings product. Steve Owen, partnerships and operations director at National Savings and Investments, said: “Over the past five years we have been working hard to make the business more customer-focussed and have investigated a variety of means to do this. “Working closely with Siemens we were able to introduce a number of cross-business techniques to make us more efficient and to provide better products and services for our customers. “Winning these awards is testament to the hard work put in by NS&I and Siemens staff at our four offices across the UK and is a satisfying reflection of the fact that we are getting there in our aim to be one hundred per cent customer-focussed.” ENDS Notes to editors NS&I's remit is to raise cost-effective funding for the government to reduce the cost to the taxpayer of government borrowing. It is one of the UK's largest savings and investments providers, with £67 billion invested and is unique in that it provides retail savings and investments which are 100% secure, backed by HM Treasury. The Financial Innovation Awards, run by the Institute of Financial Services, took place on 24 November at the Guildhall in the City of London. Now in their seventh year, the awards recognise and applaud the innovators who meet and exceed the evolving needs of their customers and drive their businesses forward.
Media team The numbers below are for media use only. Customers wishing to contact NS&I can find details here.
|
|
Search |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
