Digital Transformation Model to Reduce Telecom O2A Cycle Time by 70%
In this article, we will take a look at the increasing inefficiencies in Telecom’s O2A process and how Digital Service Providers (DSPs)could possibly reduce the order to activation cycle time. This article further gives an idea of managed transformation enablers and how they are distinctly positioned to address all the challenges in the DSP’s O2A process.
Today’s digital world demands faster delivery in an environment where customer expectations are leading operator strategies. As a result, Digital service providers (DSPs) have to opt for a journey of transformation in order to deliver services efficiently and optimize their order to activate (O2A) process. Companies wish to deliver services more rapidly in order to improve customer experience and retain more satisfied customers. But they tend to face challenges with increasing inefficiencies in the O2A process out of which few are listed below.
Ø Complex ecosystem: Multiple siloed CRM, ordering, billing and activation systems
Ø Multiple roles/teams: Traverse through 15 to 20 roles to complete a single order which increases the cycle time
Ø High amount of manual tasks: Multiple hand-offs resulting in increased delays and complexities
Ø E2E Order Ownership and Visibility: No end-to-end ownership of order completion and lack of end-to-end order tracking tools
Business impacts
The hurdles in the O2A process impacts the DSPs’ business in various ways which includes
a. Delayed revenue realization
b. High operational expenditure (OpEx) due to inefficiencies in Service Delivery
c. Longer cycle time and missed due dates leading to poor customer experience
Hence, DSPs must assess various transformation approaches and choose the right one amid them, which could provide long term benefits.
Typical approaches
Listed below are the typical approaches that are currently employed by DSPs for a vital O2A process transformation.
1. Outsourcing operations: Outsource the entire process to a third party and give them full ownership. Though this helps in saving cost, this method lacks long term sustainable benefits and has no guaranteed process transformation
2. Leverage external consultants: To analyze and recommend improvement ideas. However, many of these ideas never get implemented due to a lack of active participation from the Operations team.
3. Managed transformation model: Partner work together with the DSP to optimize and transform operations holistically. This involves the Operations team’s active participation in the ongoing process improvements.
Of these three different approaches, the managed transformation model promises long term and sustainable business benefits such as the reduction of cycle times, accelerated revenue, enhanced customer experiences, and significant operating expenses (OpEx) savings.
Managed digital transformation
A managed transformation model is where the operations and transformation initiatives are actioned side by side along with the active participation of the Operations team, which leads to continuous improvement. The adoption of various enablers by the transformation team helps in identifying automation and process optimization opportunities. This results in the seamless integration of transformation changes into operations.
The following three enablers are suggested for adoption by the firms, which results in end-to-end process visibility, increased efficiency, and improvement.
1. Agile work cell — Transform multiple function-based teams into goal-oriented scrum teams which helps in reducing rework, queue wait-times, and 70% of the touchpoints in the O2A process. The Agile work cell team manages each order end to end, which ensures better control, transparency, and eliminates messy handoffs.
2. Process optimization and automation — Analyze and obtain insights on the performance of the process using Process Mining, identify factors that elongate cycle time, and implement improvement opportunities. The key steps in increasing automation potential include leveraging Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Hyperautomation techniques.
3. Operational accountability- Build the right tools such as an order visibility dashboard and performance tracker which could provide actionable insights for the Agile work cell and continually improve the reporting process.
Key takeaways
In the end, every organization wants to perform better, attract, and retain more satisfied customers and stand out in the competitive market. The managed transformation enablers perform well in this regard, with which the DSPs can
· Drastically reduce the O2A cycle time by up to 70%
· Achieve OpEx savings of up to 50%
· Enhance customer experience and win new business
· Double the productivity with goal-oriented scrum teams
Source/Reference:https://www.prodapt.com/en/insights/managed-digital-transformation-to-reduce-dsps-o2a-cycle-time/
Hence, DSPs must assess various transformation approaches and choose the right one amid them, which could provide long term benefits.
