Developed and introduced a BtoB sales support tool using chatbots into our company.

SoftBank Technology Corp. Shinichi Ata SBT We would like to inform you that we have developed ``365 Activity Report BOT'' and introduced it into our company to improve sales productivity as part of work style reform.
This chatbot is an early adopter of the Skype for Business Bot Framework (Preview), which was announced at the developer event "Build 2017" held by Microsoft Corporation in the United States on May 11, Japan time, and is designed to be used for activities used by sales. You can easily register your sales activities to Dynamics 365 (*2) just by talking to the reporting chatbot.
SBT will take the lead in implementing this tool in-house. Using the know-how we gained, we will improve it for commercialization and start offering it to customers in July as an optional service for Dynamics 365 handled by SBT.

• *1 According to our research. Comparative verification of two sales activity reports: one registered from a web browser on our PC and one registered from a smartphone app.
• *2 Microsoft Dynamics 365 is an integrated and intelligent business application equipped with CRM (Customer Relationship Management)/SFA (Sales Activity Support) and ERP (Line of Business) functions.

Background of development and introduction

The size of the domestic CRM (*3) market is increasing year by year, and improving relationships with customers in sales activities is expected to become even more important. However, on the other hand, after implementing the CRM/SFA (*4) system, customers have told us, ``If you have another appointment immediately after a visit, there will be a delay in registering in CRM.'' ``In order to register in CRM in real time. There were opinions that there were cases where CRM was not fully utilized due to environmental reasons, and that it had an impact on the way they worked, such as, ``I have to use a computer and I have to go back to the office and I can't go straight home.''
In response to these opinions, SBT developed the ``Dynamics 365 Activity Report BOT'' with the belief that improving the registration method in the customer management system would help improve CRM utilization and work styles. This chatbot can also shorten CRM registration time, improving overall sales productivity. SBT thought that the chatbot it had developed could contribute to work style reform and decided to introduce it into its own company.

• *3 Abbreviation for Customer Relationship Management, which involves sharing and managing contact information such as customer information and business negotiation status among all departments that have the opportunity to interact with customers, mainly using information systems. This is a method that allows you to provide detailed responses tailored to the customer and build good long-term relationships.
• *4 Abbreviation for Sales Force Automation. It is a system that manages sales processes and progress to improve the efficiency of sales activities as a whole.

overview
Dynamics 365 activity reporting BOT is a new tool that uses Skype for Business BOT Framework (Preview), which was announced by Microsoft Corporation in the United States on May 11, Japan time. It is integrated with Dynamics 365, and registration to Dynamics 365 will start just by talking to the activity reporting chatbot on Skype for Business Online. The chatbot automatically navigates through report items and prompts for input, so you can easily select the visit records to report and record the necessary input items in Dynamics 365 by speaking or typing. Since it can be used from a smartphone or tablet, registration can be done immediately after a meeting with a customer, and information can be shared between sales representatives.
This allows sales staff to reduce the time they spend returning to the office and searching for and registering input items themselves, improving sales productivity.

About future developments
While proceeding with the operation in-house, we will accumulate know-how and begin offering it to customers in July as an optional service of Dynamics 365 handled by SBT.

Going forward, SBT will continue to pursue the theme of "Each employee can live a fulfilling life," and by ensuring that employees maintain good physical and mental health and find their work rewarding, each employee will be able to play an active role and improve their skills. We are promoting work style reform with the aim of creating new added value through our strengths.

Exhibited at de:code 2017
At de:code 2017, which SBT supports as a diamond sponsor, we will introduce and demonstrate the "Dynamics 365 Activity Report BOT".

■ Lecture content

Lecture title	Achieving sales productivity improvement solutions with Dynamics 365 and Skype for Business Online and how to utilize BOT technology
Lecture summary	"Work style reform" has become a keyword in business these days. “Increasing productivity” is an important approach to essential improvement. Improving productivity in Japan, which is said to be at the lowest level among developed countries, is a truly urgent task for companies. In this session, we will explain specifically how productivity can be improved by using solutions centered on Dynamics 365, including ways to achieve this. We will also introduce how to utilize Office 365 / Skype for Business Online to maximize its effectiveness, as well as the architecture and development methods of extended solutions using BOT technology.
Lecture date and time	5/24 (Tue) 10:50 - 11:40 / Venue Room L (Rhododendron)
Speakers	SoftBank Technology Corp. Technology Supervisor Cloud Solution Headquarters Manager Ryo Nishitani <Profile> At SoftBank Technology, he is in charge of CRM solution business using Dynamics CRM. We propose, design, and deploy high-quality CRM solutions centered on Dynamics CRM. In the past, he worked at a foreign software vendor and was involved in technical awareness activities related to the Windows platform in general, and has advanced knowledge of development and infrastructure.

■ de:code 2017 overview

Date and Time	May 23, 2017 (Tuesday) 9:30 - 20:30 (Reception scheduled to start at 8:30) Wednesday, May 24, 2017 9:30 - 18:30 (Reception scheduled to start at 9:00)
venue	The Prince Park Tower Tokyo
Entry fee	Paid/Advance registration required
Official site	https://www.microsoft.com/ja-jp/events/decode/2017/

• *Company names, product names, and service names mentioned in this release are trademarks or registered trademarks of our company or each company or organization.