Collaborative CRM Distributed Teams

A large telecommunications company's real estate holdings include more than 6 million square feet of property. To aid in its more than 400 real estate-related transactions each year, the company contracted the services of a corporate real estate company and a law firm that specialized in corporate real estate. Real estate transactions significantly differ based on type and circumstances unique to each property and property owner. Legal specialists help ensure that each transaction meets its client's risk preferences. The telecommunications company wanted an information system using the Lotus Notes/Domino messaging platform to link it with the real estate firm and the law firm in order to:

• Capture common transaction information such as property location, transaction type, business unit, "opposing party," and lead contacts.

• Record and report what tasks have been completed, when they were completed, and who completed them.

• Allow ad hoc posting of additional, transaction specific information into a common electronic file.

Team members quickly found that by taking time to update the system they would reduce miscommunications and interruptions and therefore save time overall. Management liked the system because they could track team members' performance, identify processes open to improvement, and identify project delays before they became costly problems.

a. How do these property transactions differ from commodity supply chain transactions?

b. What advantage do the real estate company and the law firm gain by adopting their client's technology platform (Lotus Notes/Domino)?

c. Find a Lotus Notes/Domino product review on the Web, read it, and report your findings to the class. Your presentation should answer the following questions: Who provided the review? What is the reviewer's relationship to the product? What did the reviewer like? What did the reviewer dislike? What competitors were mentioned in the review? How did Lotus Notes/Domino compare?