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OTTO UK Manages Risk and Increases Efficiencies with SAS13 July 2007 - SAS, the market leader in the new generation of business intelligence software and services, has been selected by OTTO UK, the administrative division of the British mail-order houses Grattan and Freemans, to manage its credit risk operations within a new PC networked environment. SAS will enable OTTO UK to increase productivity and efficiency by decreasing the time taken to make crucial business decisions. Selecting SAS supports OTTO UK’s strategic move to a more advanced way of working. OTTO UK has chosen an advanced credit analytics solution from SAS to increase its client brand satisfaction (Freemans, Grattan, Kaleidoscope, Oli, Montage and Witt), whilst continuing to maintain its low bad-debt rate. The solution will enable its analysts to carry out multiple concurrent requests at any one time, delivering instant data access and increased speed of response. Fixed costs will decrease, as the parallel activity and speed of turn-around means less material to print out, resulting in wastage and disposal rates decreasing. SAS has also developed a bespoke training course on the new solution that will be rolled-out throughout OTTO UK later this year. The company has historically used SAS’ risk solutions for its credit management. The new solution will continue to do this within the modern environment, underpinning the data processing, analytics and reporting for functions such as OTTO UK’s credit and customer scoring, customer purchase authorisation, arrears management and fraud detection and management. Andy Bolton, Head of Risk Management, OTTO UK said of SAS’ selection: "This move has been a significant change affecting all areas of Risk Management’s service to the business. We needed to be sure we could work with a company that we are not only familiar with, but also trust. SAS was the obvious choice; we have been using it for years and we know SAS can deliver both in terms of software and service. SAS has the whole package and I am confident that it can take OTTO UK from where it is now, to where it wants to be." John Dalton, Managing Director SAS UK and Ireland goes on to say: "SAS is extremely proud to play such a pivotal part in the evolution of OTTO UK’s working practices. This is a testament to the strength of our software, as well as our existing relationship with OTTO UK and the trust that it holds in SAS." About OTTO UK OTTO UK was formed in 2001 when two members of the OTTO Group - Grattan (acquired in 1991) and Freemans (acquired in 1999) - were brought together. OTTO UK employs 6,000 people in the UK. It has four main sites in Bradford, Sheffield, Peterborough and London, 15 distribution depots and 25 catalogue discount stores. OTTO UK's brand names in the mail order market are Freemans, Grattan, Oli and Kaleidoscope. Parcelnet is the distribution arm of OTTO UK, delivering parcels for in-house brands and providing delivery services for many third party clients. OTTO UK is a member of the OTTO Group.
SAS is the leader in business intelligence software and services. Customers at 43,000 sites use SAS software to improve performance through insight into vast amounts of data, resulting in faster, more accurate business decisions; more profitable relationships with customers and suppliers; compliance with governmental regulations; research breakthroughs; and better products. Only SAS offers leading data integration, intelligence storage, advanced analytics and business intelligence applications within a comprehensive enterprise intelligence platform. Since 1976, SAS has been giving customers around the world
The Power to Know®
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