1. Improve the efficiency, productivity, suspense tracking, and performance of their escrow management processes
2. Allow for offshore staffing
3. Track the quantity and quality of work performed by each employee and department

Reasons.
The information was managed in a mainframe system that was missing functionality. Any requested upgrades to the system were either not possible or required long delays before implementation.

Vision.
Darin Lenger, Assistant Vice President of Escrow Management Services for CitiMortgage told us they wanted a workflow tool for all functions in escrow management setup and audit.

Solution Provided.
Crowell Solutions provided CitiMortgage with a web-based database application written to their specifications. The application is deployed via their corporate intranet. As new loans are booked they are loaded into the application and then routed to the appropriate work queues for setup, audit, tax audit, and suspense. The application is scalable and supports more than 100 concurrent users. Users are assigned roles that allow them to perform specific functions. Analytical reports were developed that monitor work queues, inventory levels, and the performance of each employee.

Result.
The web user interface allows for offshore staffing which is critical to CitiMortgage's plans. In addition to outsourcing data entry tasks to India, CitiMortgage has also used the web interface to outsource work to Assurant Insurance, a vendor in the USA.

• More than 1,000,000 accounts valued at $68 billion have been setup and audited to date as of Dec. 2006
• CitiMortgage saves $100,000 a year by using the system for outsourcing
• Mr. Lenger says, "Where CitiMortgage really saves is on real estate, equipment, phones, etc. Without question CitiMortgage’s quality and efficiency has improved which reduces the cost of tax penalties, cancelled insurance, etc. CitiMortgage has better control of each process which keeps all the outside auditors and regulators happy. All of this is worth something but there is no way to determine how much."

• INMOR Capital Investments Corporation
  Web Site & Database Development Project

  Situation.
  INMOR Capital Investments Corporation’s main business is to strategically invest in short-term real estate development projects. They specialize in highly profitable residential housing projects, multifamily units, commercial buildings, and condo conversions.

  Critical Issues.
  INMOR wanted to accomplish three main goals:

  1. Support their corporate image with a web site
  2. Educate clients about their offerings
  3. Gather survey information from prospects and clients

  Reasons.
  INMOR was dissatisfied with the appearance of their existing web site. It was difficult to navigate, did not serve as an information gathering tool, and their previous web development company was slow in responding to INMOR's requests.

  Vision.
  Tim Chatman of INMOR told us he needed a way to retrieve survey information gathered from the web site, enter and delete investment opportunity information and change product images.

  Solution Provided.
  Crowell Solutions provided INMOR with an attractive and functional Internet presence. We developed a database that is integrated with their web site that captures information from the survey section and displays information about investment opportunities.

  We created an administration section of the web site that:

  • Requires a valid user ID and password to access
  • Provides reports of survey information
  • Has a data entry screen used to enter and delete investment opportunity data
  • Has an image manager that allows project images to be changed

  Result.
  INMOR accomplished its main goals:

  1. Supporting their corporate image with a web site
  2. Educating clients about their offerings
  3. Gathering survey information from prospects and clients

• Kahn Mechanical Contractors, Inc.
  Sales Tax Reporting Add-On

  Situation.
  Kahn Mechanical Contractors has been serving Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex businesses since 1974, designing, installing, and servicing mechanical systems for their commercial and industrial clients. Their primary goal is to provide solutions to each customer’s indoor air comfort needs.

  Critical Issues.
  Kahn Mechanical Contractors wanted to be able to report on the sales tax they had collected within a specific time period.

  Reasons.
  Their billing system provided reporting of the sales tax that was billed, but not of sales tax that was received. In order to calculate the sales tax they received, they had to review each account and manually calculate the total.

  Vision.
  Josh Kahn, Vice President of Service for Kahn Mechanical Contractors, told me that for state government purposes, they needed to be able to report on the sales tax they had collected in a specific date frame.

  Solution Provided.
  Crowell Solutions analyzed their billing system and discovered the way the system stored tax information. Then we developed a Sales Tax Received reporting tool. The reporting tool has a Windows user interface and allows Kahn Mechanical Contractors staff to input date range criteria that narrows the results that are returned. Sales tax received is subtotaled for each customer with a grand to total at the end of the report.

  Result.
  Kahn Mechanical Contractors saves time and avoids frustration by using the sales tax reporting add-on.