Transforming telecom: The strategic impact of product catalogs in digital transformation
Digital transformation in the telecommunications industry is crucial for driving revenue growth, improving operational efficiency, and enhancing customer experience. A key aspect of this transformation is product catalog rationalization and simplification. The most common issues with catalog implementation are:
- An excessive number of SKU-based products, which complicates catalog maintenance for product managers and hinders sales agents’ ability to identify suitable offerings. Transformation is necessary before this catalog can be effectively exposed to self-serve customer portals.
- The inability to bundle different product families, making it impossible to bring competitive offers to the market.
- Long sales cycles and/or unorganized service delivery processes due to the lack of optimization of commercial and technical information gathering from the order.
But what makes the product catalog unique, and why does it significantly affect the business? To answer this, let’s first examine the catalog’s role within the organization.
Introduction to telecom product catalog
Communications service providers (CSPs) sell multiple product families to consumers and businesses. Some products are interdependent and cannot be sold separately (e.g., high-speed internet requires connectivity). Many products have a dozen add-ons and price calculation logic. The product configuration also needs to be validated for errors. Another important aspect is that the product catalog is always changing:
- Price adjustments
- Introduction of new product options
- Creation of new bundles
- Launch of new product families
To meet these requirements, the product catalog solution must be modular, adjustable, and capable of supporting business logic to address all aspects of product management. Enterprise Product Catalog within Salesforce Communications Cloud is a leading industry solution that meets the modern demands of telecom product management. These requirements extend beyond commercial considerations; they also encompass the delivery of ordered products and services to customers, requiring additional technical information for the operations team.
Storing commercial and technical information in the same product can significantly complicate product configuration and reduce the catalog’s flexibility. However, this issue can be mitigated by following an approach based on industry best practices, as outlined in the TM Forum’s Information Framework (SID).
Industry-standard frameworks for telecom catalogs
TM Forum is a global industry association for telecom service providers and suppliers. It provides multiple frameworks, blueprints, and standards to guide communications and service providers in their digital transformation journey. One of the TM Forum’s frameworks is Information Framework (SID), which provides a reference information/data model for operations support and business support systems (OSS/BSS).
Without going into the technical details, there are three major catalogs:
- The product catalog, which is used to create quotes and contracts.
- The technical catalog, which provides essential technical information for the fulfillment process and serves as the technical backbone of the product catalog.
- The billing catalog, which is used in charging customers and creating invoices. The product catalog also references the billing catalog.
Business outcomes from catalog transformation
One of the most crucial decisions in the telecom digital transformation process is determining the division between commercial and technical systems, including their respective catalogs. A key goal in product modeling is to minimize friction between these systems and their catalogs. Product managers can use building blocks from the technical catalog to create offers and bundles. This approach ensures that the introduction of new commercial concepts does not disrupt order delivery processes.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for product configuration — every company is unique. It’s essential to strike a balance between various product aspects. For example, if products have too many configurable parameters, they may become too complex to sell. On the other hand, if there are too few, it may be challenging to create competitive offers. Each company must make these decisions based on its specific goals.
When executed properly, telecom companies can achieve the following outcomes:
- Simplified quoting process: Optimized and streamlined quoting and order fulfillment processes by providing “just enough” information for each process step.
- Reduced time to market: Efficiently organized catalog management processes, whether introducing a new commercial product or launching an entirely new product line.
- Business processes optimization: Clear separation and organization of responsibilities between sales and operations teams.
Conclusion
The product catalog plays a major role in the digital transformation of telecom companies. Its creation requires the involvement of sales, operations, product management, and technical teams, as these teams will work with the product model in their day-to-day activities. Therefore, involving all stakeholders during the product modeling phase is essential for ensuring organizational efficiency. Engaging stakeholders and adhering to industry best practices are key to a successful digital transformation.
Slalom is a global consulting firm focused on strategy, technology, and business transformation. Learn more about Slalom’s partnership with Salesforce and reach out today.
