Multiplus Fidelidade Chooses Oracle’s Technological Platform

SAO PAULO -

- Technology to Link Loyalty Programs From Companies in Different Industries, Including TAM Fidelidade

Multiplus Fidelidade, the new business unit at TAM (NYSE: TAM; Bovespa: TAMM4), and Oracle have signed a contract to implement the technological platform using the Oracle Siebel Call Center and Oracle Siebel CRM Loyalty solutions, which will link the loyalty programs of companies representing diverse industries — from an airline company to gas stations, phone companies, supermarkets, hotels, bookstores, movie theaters, banks, credit cards, internet service providers, automobile manufacturers, and more — and integrate them into a network of loyalty initiative programs.

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“We decided to invest in a top quality global technology that has been proven to have the flexibility and versatility to efficiently manage the network of Multiplus Fidelidade programs, which has several companies across different industries as members, and each one of them with their own regulations,” states Libano Barroso, TAM’s Vice President of Finances, Management and IT, explaining the reasons that led them to choose the Oracle platform. He adds that another decisive factor was the platform’s scalability; it is able to handle the fast, strong growth expected as partners join the program and consumers become Multiplus Fidelidade members.

The Multiplus Fidelidade Operations Director, Luiz Eduardo Ritzmann, confirms that the technologies of 13 companies that participated in the selection process were evaluated, requiring the analysis of 110 technical requirements. “We came to the conclusion that the loyalty programs platform developed by Oracle with globally proven effectiveness, including those developed for airline companies, is the most appropriate due to its flexibility, which allows the connectivity of all programs belonging to the Multiplus Fidelidade network,” he says. Oracle’s global operation was another relevant attribute, considering that in the first quarter of 2010 TAM will complete the membership process with the Star Alliance, the largest global commercial aviation alliance.

This flexibility will allow Multiplus Fidelidade members to concentrate on a single points account that will accumulate with airline ticket purchases as well as daily spending with gas stations, cell phone companies, supermarkets and bookstores that participate in the network, as well as companies in other industries. Consumers may access Multiplus Fidelidade via the internet to redeem accumulated points for rewards offered by the participating companies’ loyalty programs — from TAM Viagens tours to products and services from the other partners.

According to Ritzmann, the other decisive factor in the decision process, the Oracle platform’s scalability, allows “the number of partners in the network and especially the number of Multiplus Fidelidade members to be multiplied without limiting its future expansion.” The TAM Fidelidade program alone, which will continue being TAM’s frequent fliers program, currently, has 5.9 million members.

Oracle Siebel CRM Loyalty is a scalable open solution based on market standards and guarantees flexibility and agility in the inclusion of new partners, in addition to ensuring a 360 degree view of the client by complete client mapping of transaction history, services required, purchases made, preferences, etc. “TAM is our first client in the aviation industry. The airline’s proposal is innovative and will ensure a qualitative boost for the company with respect to its clients,” says Elisabete Waller, Vice President of Oracle Applications in Brazil. “We offer a complete solution, recognized by independent research institutes like Gartner and Forrester, who consider Oracle a leader in the CRM industry.”

More information about Multiplus Fidelidade is available at www.multiplusfidelidade.com.br.

About TAM

TAM (www.tam.com.br) has been the leader in the domestic Brazilian market since July 2003, and closed last May with a 44.9% market share. The company operates flights to 42 Brazilian destinations. It serves 79 different destinations in the domestic market through commercial agreements with regional companies. Among Brazilian airline companies that operate international flights, TAM’s market share was 86.8% in May. Its international operations include its own flights to 18 destinations in the United States, Europe and South America: New York, Miami and Orlando (USA), Paris (France), London (England), Milan (Italy), Frankfurt (Germany), Madrid (Spain), Buenos Aires and Bariloche (Argentina), Cochabamba and Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Bolivia), Santiago (Chile), Asuncion and Ciudad del Este (Paraguay), Montevideo (Uruguay), Caracas (Venezuela) and Lima (Peru). Additionally, it has codeshare agreements with international airline companies that allow passengers to travel to another 64 destinations in the USA, South America and Europe. A pioneer in its launching of the “Fidelity” [Loyalty] Program for a Brazilian airline, TAM today has 5.9 million members and has already issued 8.3 million tickets through points redemption.

Source: TAM

Libano Miranda Barroso, TAM Investor Relations, +55-11-5582-9715, fax, +55-11-5582-8149, invest at tam.com.br; Photo: NewsCom: https://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080221/SPTH002LOGO