We make technology useable

3

Some companies have clearly identified
the value of the product information while
others deliver only a minimum of what is
required.
The value of Product Information
Technical product information of today rep-
resents an enormous global business. The
estimated value of the product information
business is over 250 Billion US$ annually.
However, the purpose of product informa-
tion is not clear to all companies. The main
purposes of the product information are to:
• Train and instruct target groups to
carry out different tasks with specified
quality in shortest possible time
• Represent a product with a set image,
quality level, features etc
• Fulfill legal and/or market requirements
Some companies have clearly identified the
value of product information while others
deliver only a minimum of what is required.
To demonstrate the value of product infor-
mation and why you should never lean back
but continuously try to improve the product
information, we give you the following case
studies:
A car manufacturer launches a new car
model on the global market. The sales for
the next 7 years before replacing the car
with a new car platform, facelifts not in-
cluded, will be approximately 300 000 cars
annually. This represents 2 100 000 cars on
the global market. The car needs one yearly
service/inspection. The total life time of the
car is 15 years.
There will be 31 500 000 service visits
through the life cycle of that car model. By
improving the service method and product
information for carrying out the service by
2 min/service, totally 525 man years are
saved. Note that this is only for one car
model.
A mobile phone manufacturer launches a
new phone model on the global market. The
sales for the next 2 years before replacing
the phone with the next model will be ap-
proximately 25 000 000 mobile phones an-
nually. This represents 50 000 000 mobile
phones on the global market.
Approximately 40% of the phones generate
one support call to the call center during its
life cycle. By improving the access to the
right information for the call center to solve
the customer’s problem by 30 sec/call, a to-
tal of 83 man years for one phone model
are saved.
The end customer will experience not only
cost savings, but also improved service and
hopefully improve the loyalty for the product
brand.
 Measure the value of information
The most important part of the product in-
formation process is to define the product
information goals together with measurable
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
Typical KPIs of the product information de-
liverables are:
The KPIs must be clearly defined in order
for us to continuously measure both the ef-
fect and the value of product information
together with our customers. We also strive
to identify areas of improvement continu-
ously.

• Time to market

Define the product information goals

• Time to access the right information
based on different cases

together with measurable • Time to understand and act upon un-

derstanding

Key Performance Indicators. • Cost per information item


Our long experience in this area has
resulted in an efficient method to
improve product information.
User Centered Information Design
Many companies today focus on informa-
tion management mainly from a production
point of view. They tend to forget to continu-
ously challenge the Key Performance Indica-
tors (KPIs) for their product information on
the market. In the same way you focus on
delivering competitive products, it is also im-
portant to develop the right level of product
information to support and help understand
your product.
Your product information should be:
• Accessible – in shortest possible time
• Understandable – innovative including
multimedia to train & instruct the target
group
• Flexible – online & offline media,
interactive and printable, based on the
end-user’s needs
• Standardized – future proof with a
single source approach
Sigma Kudos has much experience in de-
veloping product information focused on
improving KPIs like time to access and
understand the information in order to per-
form a task fast and correct.
Our long experience in this area has re-
sulted in an efficient method to improve
product information: User Centered Infor-
mation Design. The method is divided into
different phases to methodically study and
improve KPIs for the product information
deliverables.
• User research.
Collect real-life data about how the us-
ers of the existing product information
actually use it in an everyday context,
based on the existing KPIs.
• Usability assessment.
Assess the usability of the product
information.
• Workflow analysis and usage definition.
Analyze the steps that users take to
complete defined tasks. Use this data
to create optimized workflows that
deliver efficiency, speed and pleasure
of use.
• Interface design.
Design the structure and operation of
a user interface to meet the specified
usability requirements for a service or
information set.
• Information architecture and visual
design.
Design the architecture and appear-
ance of the information product to
reach improved KPIs.

We develop the most appropriate
media mix and information products in
order to support your end users.
Information Formats
Product information users have various
backgrounds and various needs depend-
ing on education, experience and current
needs. Depending on your industry and
area of application, the requirements, stan-
dards and usage of the product information
will vary.
At Sigma Kudos, we believe that the added
value of the information depends on its ap-
propriateness. End users of the product
information require different information
in different situations and from various
sources. Therefore, each user group must
have the correct mix of information sourc-
es, which often leads to various media and
various types of product information.
In some cases, information needs to be
delivered proactively (e.g. train future us-
ers through an e-learning presentation or
provide an installation manual that is to be
read prior to an installation), and in some
cases information is sought reactively (e.g.
consult a manual or a support center to
troubleshoot a problem).
We develop the most appropriate media
mix and information products in order to
support your end users, and their various
needs. Naturally, this leads to information
products that are user specific, but often
also in a variety of media, such as online
documentation and e-learning presenta-
tions. E-learning provides a great opportuni-
ty for cost-efficient instruction and training
and is becoming a common complement
to traditional documentation.
Depending on the situation, we develop
various e-learning products that range from
stand alone tutorials to SCORM-compliant
complete training programs.
The goal with e-learning is often to trans-
form information to knowledge or action as
efficiently as possible, but there are other
reasons as well: E-learning can also be an
effective means to increase revenue. A
complete sales force or retailer network
may be instantly updated on new products
and updates, and by better understanding
the competitive advantages of your prod-
uct, the sales force will be more efficient.
 Managed Services for Product Information
Many companies today, offering technical
products with demand for product sup-
port, face new challenges to keep up and
improve efficient product information deliv-
erables.
Product ranges are expanding and individ-
ual products tend to be more modularized,
offering customized solutions where each
delivered product is considered as an indi-
Additionally, Sigma Kudos has developed a
state of the art software platform, DocFac-
tory, enabling fast deployment of our cus-
tomer’s assignments, extensive control of
the process including information manage-
ment, translation management, scheduling
and publishing of the information on differ-
ent media from one single source.
With our Managed Services for product in-

Managed Services includes a new
vidual unit. There is also higher demand for
quicker time to market and global deliver-
ies with translation and localization needs
formation, we offer an end-to-end solution,
state of the art product information deliv-
erables with shorter lead time and lower

generation of product information as a consequence. Choosing a professional

partner to focus on state of the art product
information deliverables is the key to keep
cost, while you as a customer focus on
your core business.

deliverables challenging existing KPIs up with market demands for competitive

product support.

significantly. Sigma Kudos has, with its long experience

within product information, built up a first
class Managed Services offer to enable
our customers to focus on their main task
where we ensure that their products are
supported with competitive product infor-
mation. Managed Services includes a new
generation of product information deliver-
ables challenging existing KPIs significantly.
It also includes extensive process control in
developing product information based on a
global network of experts including you as
a customer, our global resources and our
certified partner network.
 Customized Services
For customers who prefer to manage their
product information internally, but who wish
to maximize their flexibility or obtain special-
ized expertise, Sigma Kudos offers a range
of Customized Services. Through our global
network we are able to support you with first
class services where we strive for operational
and co-operational excellence in all our assign-
ments.
Information Management is a set of services
that supports Information Development, fo-
cusing on processes and tools for information
production, administration and distribution.
Embedded Design and automotive diagnosis
is our service area for the after-market, espe-
cially in the automotive area. It is an integral
part of our offerings as end-to-end supplier
in this segment, since all after market infor-

We are able to support you with
The three core services at Sigma Kudos are
Information Development, Information Man-
agement and Embedded Design.
mation is channeled through embedded sys-
tems.

first class services where we strive Information Development is at the center of

for operational and co-operational

our services. Our professional consultants
are experts in making your products useable
through its entire lifecycle. Their mission is to

excellence in all our assignments.

combine different media in order to train or in-
struct the end-users performing their tasks in
shortest possible time.

Information Development is our core
business at Sigma Kudos.
Information Development
Sigma Kudos’ ambition is to design informa-
tion from a holistic business perspective.
It is essential to give customers and end
users proper product knowledge. Product
knowledge boosts the perceived value of
the product. Customers and end-users favor
products and systems they understand and
regard as valuable.
The output of information development may
be customer product information, market-
ing product information, learning solutions
and internal product information. We take
responsibility for parts of or all product infor-
mation supply within a company.
Information development is our core busi-
ness at Sigma Kudos. At any given time, we
operate and execute several assignments
for the most demanding companies of the
world. At Sigma Kudos we develop product
information for our customers, aiming not
only to produce the information, but also to
develop methods and tools for retrieving the
highest possible efficiency within our proj-
ects.
The information produced in these projects
enhances the usability and understanding of
the product described. It reduces the over-
all costs for our customers by ensuring that
correct and consistent information is used
where applicable.

We implement solutions that support
the entire lifecycle from creation to
publishing and distribution.
Information Management
Sigma Kudos’ team of Information Manage-
ment consultants provides highly qualified
services to improve our customers’ informa-
tion logistics. We implement solutions that
support the entire lifecycle from creation to
publishing and distribution.
Our goal is to help our customers rationalize
their information logistics processes with
reduced lead times, minimized costs and,
as a result, better information quality.
Our developers, analysts, system architects
and project managers have profound knowl-
edge of information structures, administra-
tion processes, international standards and
market-leading tools for information manage-
ment. Typical assignments for Sigma Kudos
include analysis and pilot studies of informa-
tion and systems, as well as implementa-
tion and integration of content management
systems to serve business needs.
Sigma Kudos’ customers require systems
that can handle large volumes of informa-
tion produced and used by many people
around the world. The solutions we imple-
ment often include multilingual support and
support for translation. Our customers have
very high demands on information quality
and security.
Their information must be managed and ar-
chived for a long time. Our customers want
to benefit from single-source publishing:
reusing information in different documents
and publishing the same information parallel
in different formats.
Our services within Information Manage-
ment are:
• Implementation of content manage-
ment systems and document manage-
ment systems
• Analysis and review of processes for
information logistics
• Requirement specification
• Design of information structure
• Template design and implementation
• Design of work procedures
• Training in tools and techniques
• Implementation of translation manage-
ment solutions
• Software development

We work for customers with high
demands regarding lead time and
cutting-edge technology.
Embedded Design
Sigma Kudos is a supplier within embedded
design specializing in the automotive indus-
try. We work for customers with high de-
mands regarding lead time and cutting-edge
technology. By working with customers
who operate in the most competitive and
demanding business environments, we are
equipped to meet all kinds of customers.
In a world of large global customers and
complex technologies, Sigma Kudos will be
your assistant in areas that we have focused
on and become experts in. One such area is
diagnostics and diagnosis.
Within embedded design we work with the
research and development (R&D) area, as
well as the production- and after-market de-
partments. By working through the whole
process from idea to production and after
market, we are able to facilitate knowledge
exchange between different areas, shorten
lead times, and develop products that have
high serviceability and are easy to put into
production.
Within the R&D area we are specialized in
system- and function development, inte-
gration and project management. During
Sigma Kudos extensive experience in dis-
tributed functions we have, amongst others,
managed system integration for automotive
platforms, defined diagnostic functions for
engines and electrical system, as well as de-
veloped end-to-end processes, documents
and tools needed for test and verification.
Within the production area we develop soft-
ware tools and services that verify the func-
tion of the product, as well as the quality
of the final assembly. The software tools
are also used to download software into the
product.
Within the after-market area we develop di-
agnostics tools for workshops, produce fault
tracing information, perform pre-studies on
how diagnostics should be used to support
the workshop technician, and make recom-
mendations to R&D by specifying which di-
agnostic functions should be implemented
to support the workshop.

Sigma Kudos has pursued a long-
term strategy of becoming a global
supplier to our customers.
Global Operations & Global Delivery
Sigma Kudos’ customers are often large
companies in competitive business seg-
ments, companies that are truly global or
becoming global. Sigma Kudos has pursued
a long-term strategy of becoming a global
supplier to our customers. Globalization at
Sigma Kudos is twofold: a Global-Local pres-
ence and offshore production.
Sigma Kudos often works as an integral
part of our customers’ operations, in close
co-operation with R&D departments. There-
fore, we pursue a strategy of having our main
sites close to our customers’ R&D premises.
We do not hesitate to open an office where
there is a demand for our services– which
we have proven several times in the past.
This is the Global-Local strategy.
The offshore strategy is Sigma Kudos’
strong capability and track record for using
and integrating our global resources as part
of Sigma Kudos deliveries. We have routines
and processes that simplify the transfer of
part of the work to a location with access
to skilled personnel, good management as
well as cost advantages.
As a result of this strategy, our offices are
globally synchronized for any assignment,
offering all our customers a large pool of
very skilled personnel, no matter if deliver-
ing locally or globally.
The globally synchronized capabilities are
explored whenever Sigma Kudos takes on a
project and where some of the work can be
separated from the local site.
 Complete approach to quality
Sigma Kudos has an unwavering commit-
ment to high quality standards, continuous
improvement and flawless service execution.
Building on this commitment, we rigorously
apply ISO management systems to drive our
operations.
At the heart of our company culture is Sigma
Kudos Management System, (SKMS). It pro-
vides the framework for managing and moni-
Sigma Kudos is certified against ISO 9001
standard since 1997, and according to the en-
vironmental standard ISO 14001 since 2000.
Sigma Kudos is one of the first companies
in Sweden to achieve the highly acclaimed
Information Security Management System,
ISO27001:2005 certification.
Together the three standards provide a com-
prehensive QES (Quality Environment, Securi-

At the heart of our company culture
toring quality, environmental and information
security throughout Sigma Kudos. The SKMS
meets and is certified against all require-
ty) governance program, which demonstrates
how we continuously strive to maintain the
quality and improve our services.

is Sigma Kudos Management ments of the International Standards Orga-

nization’s quality management systems (ISO

System.
9001), environmental management systems
(ISO 14001) and information security man-
agement systems (ISO 27001) standards.

SKMS addresses all aspects of quality,

environmental management and informa-
tion security, from managing customer
relationships to service delivery. It helps
ensure that Sigma Kudos offices have the
skills, procedures and systems to perform
and deliver services of the highest quality.
We monitor our performance through the
management system goals and key perfor-
mance indicators.

Corporate Responsibility is one of
the key priorities for our company
and it is fully integrated into the way
Sigma Kudos does business.
Corporate Social Responsibility
“Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a
concept whereby organizations consider the
interests of society by taking responsibility
for the impact of their activities on custom-
ers, employees, shareholders, communities
and the environment in all aspects of their
operations. This obligation is seen to extend
beyond the statutory obligation to comply
with legislation and sees organizations vol-
untarily taking further steps to improve the
quality of life for employees and their fami-
lies as well as for the local community and
society at large.” Wikipedia, February 2008.
CSR concentrates on non-financial societal
activities.
Our employees depend on our business.
Customers, suppliers and the local commu-
nity are all affected by us and what we do.
Our services, and the way we make them,
have an impact on the environment.
Sigma Kudos approach to CSR is founded
on the principle that the interest of the en-
vironment, customers and society at large
are best served through the efficient, effec-
tive and proper operation of our business.
Therefore CSR is one of the key priorities
for our company and it is fully integrated
into the way Sigma Kudos does business.
CSR is achieved through a clear strategic
focus on providing excellent customer ser-
vice, strong financial and environmental per-
formance and by effectively managing the
relationships we have with our employees,
customers, suppliers and society.
Successful progress in each of these areas
provides benefits for all. Hence we believe
that we will be more successful in achieving
our corporate objectives by being a respon-
sible business.
Sigma Kudos works hard to fulfill its respon-
sibilities and is continuously looking for ways
to improve its overall performance.

Improvement and agility are our
spirit and driver in all assignments.
Facts about Sigma Kudos
Sigma Kudos is one of the global leading
suppliers of information logistics solutions
and product information. Our customers are
global leaders, at the cutting edge of the
telecom, software, automotive and industry
sectors.
We have a wealth of experience in manag-
ing our clients’ needs for efficient end-to-end
solutions within our scope of information lo-
gistics.
Improvement and agility are our spirit and
driver in all assignments. Because our clients
work in a highly competitive global market,
we offer a seamless global operating model
and strive for operational excellence and co-
operational excellence in order to outperform
our clients’ high expectations and demands.
We work with information, its architecture
and with the design and delivery of content.
We develop software solutions for informa-
tion management, produce effective infor-
mation, diagnostic and training material us-
ing superior processes, tools and methods
with outstanding results.
Sigma Kudos currently employs some 500
highly talented and dedicated people glob-
ally, with offices in Sweden, Finland, France,
Germany, Hungary, Ukraine, China, India and
Malaysia.
Sigma Kudos is a member of the Sigma
Group, listed on the OMX Stockholm Stock
Exchange, with about 1500 employees.
 China
Beijing
Sigma Kudos China
2809 Silver Tower, #2
East Third-Ring North Road
ChaoYang District, Beijing, 100027
P.R. China
中国北京朝阳区东三环北路2号
南银大厦 2809
100027
Tel: +86 10 6410 7991/7992
E-mail: china@sigmakudos.com
Shanghai
Sigma Kudos China
Room 3902, Nanzheng Plaza
580, Nanjing Road (W)
200041 Shanghai, P.R of China
上海市南京西路580号南证大厦3902室
Tel: +86 10 6410 7991/7992
E-mail: china@sigmakudos.com
Finland
Helsinki
Sigma Kudos Finland Oy
Valimotie 16
00380 Helsinki
Finland
Tel: +358 9 2273 984
Fax: +358 9 3405 942
E-mail: finland@sigmakudos.com
Tampere
Sigma Kudos Finland Oy
33100 Tampere
Finland
Tel: +358 9 2273 984
Fax: +358 9 3405 942
Our offices E-mail: finland@sigmakudos.com
France
Grenoble
Sigma Kudos France S.A.S.
Le Mermoz
7, rue Etienne de la Boetie
38320 Eybens
France
Tel: +33 (0)4 76 24 92 92
Fax: +33 (0)4 76 24 34 64
E-mail: france@sigmakudos.com
Germany
Düsseldorf
Sigma Kudos Deutschland GmbH
Muendelheimer Weg 52
40472 Düsseldorf
Germany
Tel: +49 211 2006 7970
Fax: +49 211 2006 7971
E-mail: germany@sigmakudos.com
Hungary
Budapest
Sigma Kudos Hungary Ltd.
H-1139 Budapest
Váci út 81., CenterPoint 2. 3rd floor
Hungary
Tel: +36 1 215 7553
Fax: +36 1 215 7666
E-mail: hungary@sigmakudos.com
Debrecen
Sigma Kudos Hungary Ltd.
H-4024 Debrecen,
Szent Anna street 39-41
Hungary
Tel: +36 525 37 652
Fax: +36 525 37 653
E-mail: hungary@sigmakudos.com
India
Bangalore
Sigma Kudos India
Kheny Chambers, 1st Floor,
Swedish Trade Council block
4/2, Cunningham Road
Bangalore – 560 052, India
E-mail: india@sigmakudos.com
Ukraine
Kharkiv
Sigma Kudos Ukraine
1, Ac. Proskura str.
61085, Kharkiv
Ukraine
Tel: +380 57 716 45 85
Fax: +380 57 760 32 40
E-mail: ukraine@sigmakudos.com
Odesa
Sigma Kudos Ukraine
48, Kuznechnaya str.
65045, Odesa
Ukraine
Tel: + 380 482 496 640
E-mail: ukraine@sigmakudos.com
 Sweden
Göteborg
Sigma Kudos Sweden AB
Lindholmspiren 9, vån 5
417 56 Göteborg
Sweden
Tel: +46 (0) 31 779 47 00
Fax: +46 (0) 31 779 07 83
E-mail: sweden@sigmakudos.com
Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur
Lot G-4 Incubator 1,
Technology Park Malaysia
Bukit Jalil, 57000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +60 (3) 8996 7542
Fax: +60 (3) 8994 6082
E-mail: malaysia@sigmakudos.com

Karlskrona
Sigma Kudos Sweden AB
Ronnebygatan 48-50
371 34 Karlskrona
Sweden
Mobile: +46 761 18 15 69
E-mail: sweden@sigmakudos.com

Karlstad
Sigma Kudos Sweden AB
Kungsgatan 12
652 24 Karlstad
Sweden
Tel: +46 (0) 54 13 04 41
Fax: +46 (0) 54 18 04 40
E-mail: sweden@sigmakudos.com

Linköping
Sigma Kudos Sweden AB
Teknikringen 10
583 30 Linköping
Sweden
Tel: +46 (0) 70 6011918
E-mail: sweden@sigmakudos.com
Malmö
Sigma Kudos Sweden AB
Dockplatsen 1

Our offices
211 19 Malmö
Sweden
Tel: +46 (0) 40-662 20 00
Fax: +46 (0) 40-662 20 95
E-mail: sweden@sigmakudos.com

Stockholm
Sigma Kudos Sweden AB
Kista Science Tower
164 51 Kista, Sweden
Tel: +46 (0) 8 553 350 00
Fax: +46 (0) 8 553 350 60
E-mail: sweden@sigmakudos.com

Växjö
Sigma Kudos Sweden AB
Reveljgränd 5
352 36 Växjö
Sweden
Tel: +46 (0) 470 71 81 40
Fax: +46 (0) 470 76 57 54
E-mail: sweden@sigmakudos.com
www.sigmakudos.com