Project Cost Effectiveness of Various

Collection Efforts Non-structured data, monthly projections and collection strategy analysis

add value to scoring models. By Richard Buse

I R Strategy, a strategy design and simulation product devel-I oped by Intelligent Results, integrates w i t h the company's I existing I R Modeler product to make collection decisioning

and scoring an affordable, flexible in-house function. Financial data and consumer information remains secure behind a c l i ­ent's firewall. Based on their own data, clients devise their own strategies and scoring models w i t h i n several hours, and models score accounts in minutes. Strategy scenarios project the finan­cial impact o f applying various collection and recovery efforts toward scored accounts.

Intelligent Results, Inc, of Bellevue, Wash., was founded in 2001, and provides a platform of products for strategy creation and simulation, predictive modeling, operational deployment, and closed-loop reporting to the financial services industry.

Features I R Strategy runs on Microsoft Windows, L inux and Solaris workstations or servers, w i t h cost based on a monthly or annu­al licensing fee. The company assists clients in in i t ia l ly develop­ing the data sets that drive scoring models and decision trees. Clients also supply u n i t costs for various collection efforts,

including calls placed by collectors or pre­dictive dialers, phone numbers located by

skip tracing firms, or letters mailed to request payment. I R Strategy incorporates these into its detailed business case simulations.

Scoring model data sets—based on client account records— include historic structured elements, such as the type of debt, balance, age of account, credit grantor and previous actions taken w i t h that account. Non-structured data, gleaned from collector and call center staff notes, also influences scoring models.

That non-structured data includes mentions of job loss, i l l ­ness and other events that affect an individual's ability to make payments, as well as comments regarding that person's respon­siveness to payment requests. Intelligent Results reports that including such non-structured data adds significant predictive value to the scoring process, enabling clients to more effectively devise appropriate collection strategies.

I R Strategy assesses various types of debt, including u t i l i t y charges, bank credit cards and retailer credit cards, w i t h the scoring model automatically building sub-models w i t h i n a par­ticular debt classification.

For increased relevance to agency commission and collector performance assessment standards, I R Strategy provides rank

A m Intelligent Results"

order charts and l i f t curves for any custom models produced on Intelligent Results' software platform, including scored accounts based on 30-day cycles, as well as six-month time spans. Those different time spans also highlight the importance of t iming for launching collection strategies. A n account that scores high in a 30-day cycle, but much lower in a six-month score, presumes that the individual has money now, but may face severe cash flow difficulties w i t h i n six months.

I R Strategy validates all models and allows users to project the cost effectiveness of applying various collection efforts to accounts, such as incurring skip trace service fees to locate work­ing phone numbers or supplementing predictive dialer calls w i t h requests for payment letters. I n addition to assessing the profit­ability of current portfolios, this information lets managers deter­mine what potential account placements are worth pursuing.

I R Strategy offers a fu l l suite of reports for assessing scoring effectiveness, collector productivity, portfolio profitability and overall agency financial performance. I R Strategy data exports to predictive dialers and other collection and recovery applications, as well as to common business applications, including M S Excel.

Support Intelligent Results provides training and init ial support for instal­lation and devising scoring models' data sets. Ongoing service includes data set updates, as well as e-mail and phone support.

Summary W i t h I R Strategy, Intelligent Results transforms collection decisioning and scoring from a generic, high-volume, time-con­suming service provided by outside vendors to a timely, flexible and cost-effective in-house capability. The applications decisioning and model-building process only requires a few hours, allowing clients to develop models and score accounts on an as-needed basis. I R Strategy enables man­agers to devise work strategies that fully capitalize on scoring's predictive value. O n a larger scale, that information drives deci­sions for enhancing overall business efficiency and profitability. I R Strategy deserves serious consideration from any organiza­tion seeking the predictive value of collection scoring.

Intelligent Results, Inc . www.intelligentresults.com 425-455-5100 GCOLLECTION

ADVISOR R e p r i n t e d w i t h p e r m i s s i o n by C o l l e c t i o n A d v i s o r magazine • 8 8 8 . 6 1 0 . 1 1 4 4 • www.collectionadvisor.com