DST Systems, Inc. (NYSE: DST) is a market leader in work management/customer service solutions as well as in the mutual fund shareholder accounting industry. We initially developed AWD as a tool to help drive profitability in our own customer service outsourcing operation. Our success with the technology led us to begin marketing AWD to outside customers in 1992. Gartner has placed AWD in the "Leaders Quadrant" of BPM vendors displaying an ability to execute and visionary solutions. DST can also offer to host the AWD solution infrastructure as well as provide mailroom, data entry and other busuness process outsourcing services to AWD customers.

Partner Solution Summary
AWD manages business processes - the tasks that need to be performed, the people or automated agents that need to perform those tasks, the rules that govern the tasks, and the data interaction that needs to be processed. AWD combines the proven power of imaging, workflow, and customer service solutions with next-generation application integration tools, robust process analysis, and an intelligent business rules engine. The result is a comprehensive business process management (BPM) solution designed to help you build a better business - with improved productivity, seamless systems integration, accelerated decision-making, and reduced operating costs.

With AWD, companies can interact with customers, agents, and suppliers in their preferred communication channels. AWD automatically captures and stores mail and other paper-based transactions, e-mail, phone calls, Web transactions, and electronic data from other systems, including computer reports and e-commerce engines. AWD applies pre-defined business processes and the staff's skills inventory to the execution of the active work inventory. It also ensures that all information necessary to service the customer and to manage the business is available to the right people at the right time.

It dynamically prioritizes and assigns work to the appropriate resource, and tracks the workflow instance through completion. Specialized business processes are built into AWD, including quality control, rendezvous, skills management, outbound correspondence, and task management.

Modeling and simulation enable business users to design and import new workflows into AWD without custom coding. workflow steps, business rules, user profiles, and index field values are all established and maintained by business users in graphical facilities designed specifically for the type of administration being performed.

AWD's capture solutions support scaleable imaging to improve paper document control, maintain a central repository of all customer communication, and provide a single inventory of all work across the organization.

AWD provides managers the ability to monitor and change all activities of a business process. AWD monitoring tools provide process visibility and allow managers to personalize their reporting and monitoring environments by incorporating user-friendly "dashboard" reporting features.

Modular integration components - AWD is designed to integrate with all aspects of an organization -data structures, business applications, technology infrastructures, and reporting constructs. AWD's service oriented architecture and integration adapters bring desktop integration to the user, bridge disparate applications, and create a virtual process manager.