Dealers and Partners in the U.S. and Canada will have 24/7 Access to Multilingual Sales and Services Training through Mercury University
Arlington, Va. - 21 April, 2008 – Plateau Systems, a leading provider of talent management software, content and services, today announced that Mercury Marine, the world leader in marine propulsion technology, will deploy Plateau’s Talent Management and iContent solutions to provide its dealers and partners with greater access to the most advanced sales and service training programs in the industry. Plateau’s solutions will streamline the delivery and management of Mercury University sales and service training programs across more than 5,000 Mercury Marine dealers and OEM partners throughout the United States and Canada.
“Our dealers and partners are critical to our leadership in the global marine industry,” said Brad Weber, Director of Field Service Development and Operations for Mercury Marine. “Our reputation, along with the reputation of our dealers and partners, relies on our ability to evolve with our industry. By providing the most up to date training around the marine industry through Mercury University, we are arming our dealers and partners with valuable tools and services they need to achieve their business goals. Mercury’s ongoing investment in technologies and services that benefit our dealers and partners is a significant competitive differentiator and a primary reason we have expanded our leadership in this industry.”
Underpinned by Plateau’s Learning Management System, Mercury University will be accessible anytime, anywhere and to any user across Mercury Marine’s extended enterprise. Plateau will allow administrators to track training and course completions and deliver tests and exams to assess knowledge and provide certifications for Mercury’s dealers and OEM partners. This new learning management system will provide Mercury Marine’s dealers and partners with immediate, 24/7 access to the company’s sales and service related training programs, eliminating the delays brought about by differing time zones, business hour availability, and delivery of training disks.
Underscoring its commitment to providing users with anytime, anywhere access to training, Mercury University will deploy Plateau Offline to provide dealers and partners throughout North American with access to learning material even when they are not connected to a network. This option allows users to download and complete course content from their desktops and ensures that the training results will automatically synchronize the next time they reconnect to the system. This feature also allows users to pause training and resume at a later time from that point, without having to reload or restart the course.
Mercury University will utilize Plateau’s popular iContent solution to manage, deliver and track all of its training content across its partners and dealer ecosystem. Through this content-as-a-service offering, partners and dealers will have access to Mercury University’s industry-leading training content anytime, anywhere in a secure, hosted environment.
“Talent management is moving beyond the corporate boundaries of employee training and becoming an important piece of an organization’s extended enterprise,” said Paul Sparta, Chairman and CEO of Plateau. “We understand that dealers and partners are critical to a company’s business, and by giving Mercury University the tools and technology to train and test their business partners, regardless of location, time or on-line status, they can be confident their company’s reputation and products continue to be the best in the industry.”
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About Plateau
Plateau is a leading provider of talent management software, content and services designed to increase workforce productivity and drive business success. Plateau's award-winning software is powering talent management initiatives across some of the world's most successful organizations, including the American Red Cross, General Electric, the Internal Revenue Service, Capital One Services and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Industry analysts at Bersin and other leading information and technology research and advisory firms continue to recognize Plateau's leadership in delivering best-in-class functionality, technology and customer satisfaction. Plateau is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia and has offices across the United States, Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit www.Plateau.com.
About Mercury Marine
Mercury Marine is the world’s leading manufacturer of recreational marine propulsion engines. A $2.3 billion division of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC), Mercury and its 6,200 employees worldwide provide engines, boats, services and parts for recreational, commercial and government marine applications. Mercury’s industry-leading brand portfolio includes Mercury and Mariner outboard engines; Mercury MerCruiser sterndrives and inboard engines; MotorGuide trolling motors; Mercury and Teignbridge propellers; MotoTron electronic controls; Mercury inflatable boats; Mercury SmartCraft electronics; and Mercury and Quicksilver parts and oils. In 2008, Mercury Marine’s OptiMax engine was ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Two-Stroke Outboard Engines" by J.D. Power and Associates for the third consecutive year. More information is available at mercurymarine.com.
