Westminster City Council
“Oracle technology and our unique partnership with Vertex and Capgemini allow us to re-engineer service provision around the needs of the citizens and businesses of Westminster while delivering continuous improvements in cost and quality.” -- Simon Milton, Leader, Westminster City Council
Download as PDFThe challenge
One of London’s largest city councils, Westminster City Council governs more than 220,000 residents and 47,000 businesses that collectively generate 2.2 per cent of the United Kingdom’s GDP. Westminster is set to transform service delivery while saving an estimated £35 million over 10 years. To achieve this, Westminster City Council installed Oracle E-Business Suite to provide multi-channel delivery of services in a way that addresses the needs of its diverse business and residential communities.
The solution
Working with Oracle partners Vertex and Capgemini, the Council has created a model for transforming customer service that has attracted interest from other councils, government departments, private sector companies, and major European cities. The initiative is one of the first to combine public and private sector expertise and is one of the UK’s largest local government outsourcing contracts.
Using Oracle’s customer relationship management (CRM) solution, Westminster has increased customer satisfaction rates from 54 per cent to 90 per cent in 12 months. Multi-channel service delivery, with businesses and residents accessing services by telephone, fax, letter, email or from the Council’s web site, suits the varied needs of the borough. As an example, parking fines can now be paid online.
The 10-year, £240 million partnership, now in its second year, combines Vertex’s expertise in business process outsourcing with the Council’s knowledge of the needs of its residential and business population. Capgemini’s collaborative approach and experience in successfully delivering joint projects ensured a smooth transition to Oracle without loss of customer service. Vertex handles 66 services across seven departments using Oracle CRM. Oracle’s scalable, adaptable infrastructure gives Westminster the potential to cut customer service costs and generate further revenue by operating a shared services platform with neighbouring councils.
Value delivered
Westminster recently earned Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) rating of excellent from the Audit Commission. Only 22 out of the 150 largest councils in England achieved this top rating. CPA evaluates how well core services are delivered and how well each council is run. The excellent CPA rating demonstrates how successfully Westminster is combining Oracle technology with its own expertise and that of its partners to provide services that compare with the best available in the public and private sectors.
