How To Solve 4 Really Tough Siebel Application Challenges ebook

an aMind Solutions Telecom eBook

www.aMindSolutions.com

How to Solve 4 Really Tough Siebel

Application Challenges

aMind Solutions Telecom eBook How to Solve 4 Really Tough Siebel Application Challenges

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IntroductionSiebel is a really powerful CRM platform. That’s why it’s used by many of the largest Telecommunications companies around the world. And that’s why you’re still using it to manage some of your most important and often complex business processes. But… Siebel can be notoriously slow and difficult even for your best experts to develop and deliver new applications.

We’ve heard from many of you that what you really want is to:

• Run Siebel processes much faster

• Introduce new products and offers more quickly

• Extend Siebel processes to other channels. Your customers, partners and field-based sales and services staff

• Make it easier to build and manage applications

In the following pages we’ll quickly describe 4 common Siebel challenges and then showcase 4 real world, in-production, examples of how we solved those challenges for 4 well-known Telecommunications companies and how you can too…


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Problem 1:

Order Management Performance

At the core of every Telecommunications Company is your Call Center. And at the core of that Call Center is your Siebel CRM system and the underlying Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) processes and the supporting Enterprise Product Catalog. Processing new customer orders, or modifying an existing customer’s services, typically requires a call center agent to launch a Siebel application, flip through dozens of screens, gather information from multiple systems, oh and all the while reducing call times and achieving customer satisfaction goals. Yeah right…

Here’s the Problem:• Call Center staff spend too much time in slow, cumbersome order capture process in Siebel

• Siebel Order Management performance is at the core of all Siebel apps – SFA, call center, partners, retail, etc., so inefficient order processing drags everything down

• Siebel Configurator, while powerful, is slow and cumbersome to use

• Move, Add, Change, Delete (MACD) processes in Siebel can be really slow and no amount of tuning has made them work efficiently

• Call Center agent efficiency is low, processes are error prone and the system overall is cumbersome to work with

High agent turnover, coupled with the complexity of the applications requires extensive training, further increasing costs.

Sound Familiar?That’s the challenge that Global Village Telecom, a rapidly growing fixed and satellite carrier in Brazil was facing. Turn the page to learn how they solved their order management performance challenges.


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Order Management Solution & Case StudyAfter conducting a thorough analysis of potential options, GVT concluded the aMind Web Framework provided the only viable solution to enable both the process optimization (reduced call handle times) and the multi-channel capabilities it needed.

Results:• All products are configured at the same time on a

single consolidated screen enabling the user to move back and forth between products and services at any time while maintaining great performance

• Updated rolled-up pricing is available on that same screen, avoiding round trips to multiple quote and order screens

• Adding optional products and services can be done directly from the configuration screen

• Long-running operations are performed in the background; no need for users to wait

• Caching in the aMind Web Framework eliminated many repeated database access steps

Success Metrics90% reduction in order screens!

50% improvement in offer configuration steps

50% decrease in average system response times

40% reduction in overall call center training requirements

Related Case Study“The system is simple and fully integrated with Siebel 8.1. The user performs only 6 steps to provision a sales order and the orders automatically flow through to our billing/provisioning systems, eliminating duplicate data entry.”

GVT Download

http://www.amindsolutions.com/products-and-services/products/amind-web-framework/

http://www.amindsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/aMind_CS_GVT.pdf


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Problem 2:

New Product Introductions

The Telecommunications market is one of the most dynamic when it comes to market conditions driving the need to quickly change prices, or deliver new offerings. Telecom Marketing teams unfortunately often have their hands tied by antiquated and highly complex pricing, provisioning and billing systems that more often than not require highly skilled application developers to write complex programs to stitch together bundled offers.

And telecom services aren’t simple products to configure and change, as many factors such as tariffs, service availability, and distribution channel constraints can affect and influence offerings. And that doesn’t begin to address the monumentally complex challenge of configuring, pricing and bundling ‘triple-play’ offers managed and provisioned by completely different infrastructure and systems! And many times one or more of those triple play products may be sourced from a partner, or marketed by yet other partners. It doesn’t get much more complex.

When did the 3 Ps of Marketing, Pricing, Packaging and Promotion, change from being an administrative task taking a few days by marketers, to a multi-month complex systems programming project for overworked Siebel IT departments? There has to be a better way…

And for Level 3 Communications, a global Tier 1 Internet Service Provider, there was a better way. Turn the page to learn how they solved their new their product introduction challenges.


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Product Introduction Solution & Case StudyLevel 3 Communications, one of only six Tier 1 Internet Services Providers in the world, set out to implement fully integrated end-to-end business support systems (BSS) and operational support systems (OSS) to optimize their product introduction process. Having successfully acquired 10 companies over the span of a few years, Level 3, using the aMind Web Framework, integrated all of the company’s products into a single, integrated offering, consolidating multiple IT systems, reducing operational costs, and streamlining new product introductions and offers.

Results:• Launch new bundles in days vs. months

• All products were implemented into a framework model within Siebel, merging overlapping products into one simplified offering model

• Created standard definitions for complex bundles enabling rapid packaging and rollout of new product offerings

• Streamlined product introduction process through a two-phase Sales and Order Management configuration process, significantly reducing complexity and adding pricing and delivery flexibility

• Dramatically reduced the time, cost and staff required to plan, price, configure and then introduce new products and offers by making product introductions an administrative task for Marketing and Operations vs. a complex programming project for IT

• Reduced time to market for new product introductions from 4 months to 2 weeks, with no direct IT involvement required

Success Metrics85% improvement in cost and time to market for new product introductions!

95% reduction in quoting time for new customers

40% decrease in product configuration and order error rates

Lower long term cost of ownership and better management of IT resources

Related Case Study

“Engaging aMind has been the best decision we made in deploying our networks order entry solution.” Level 3

Download

http://www.amindsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/aMind_CS_Level3.pdf


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Problem 3:

Multi-Channel Deployment

One of the more exciting aspects of marketing and selling Telecommunication services is the array of channels through which those services can be marketed and sold. Beyond the call center there are business and technology partners, eCommerce websites providing self-service and most recently, mobile sales teams. And while selling through multiple channels may be exciting for Marketing and Sales executives, it can be down right frightening for the IT team who need to make it work. Siebel is a very powerful CRM system, but extending Siebel order management processes beyond a Telecommunication Company’s call center has proven to require some serious heavy lifting that has tripped up some of the best and cost them dearly in time, money and sometimes even careers.

At the heart of the problem is the need to orchestrate multiple information sources and processes. Product Catalog, pricing, and ordering processes, typically in Siebel, then need to interoperate seamlessly with billing, customer information systems and serviceability platforms. And we’re no longer dealing in a world of data records, multi-channel deployment now also needs to incorporate imagery, maps, even video, media that Siebel doesn’t do well.

Then once you orchestrate the systems you need to publish not just the data, but that actual Siebel processes out to those channels be it your self-service website, partner portals, retail stores and yes now even mobile devices.

Is it even possible?As a matter of fact it is for many aMind customers including Swisscom, the leading telecom service provider in Switzerland. Turn the page to learn more about how Swisscom went multi-channel and made an entire country happy.


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Multi-Channel Deployment Solution & Case StudySwisscom, Switzerland’s telecommunications leader, set out to establish a multi-channel ordering application for their “New-Stack for Fiber” transformational IT program. Swisscom started with its web channel to provide a critical enabler to reach its strategic goals of providing superior customer service, reducing operational costs, and increasing sales through widespread adoption of the new fiber-based products. The specific challenges Swisscom planned to address were centered on its customers; namely to increase user performance and to improve the user experience on its customer service and Swisscom Shop e-commerce websites.

Based on the significant and measurable success of the initial e-Commerce deployment, Swisscom extended the same aMind developed order management processes to their 110 corporate retail stores enabling Swisscom customers, partners, call center and retail staff to all work in the same highly optimized, extended application.

Results:• Delivered a common, consistent order experience

across e-Commerce, self-service, call center and mobile devices in retail stores

• Produced major improvements in user-perceived performance, especially for bundled product offerings

• Ability to support advanced order types (e.g. copper to fiber and bundles) across channels

• Improved performance optimization through parallel Siebel product configurators (VoIP, Internet, TV); asynchronous pre-loading, pricing, eligibility check, bundle discounts, and self-installation equipment options

Success Metrics85% improvement in order process navigation and interaction by customers!

80% reduction in end-to-end order capture time from 10 to 2 minutes

50% improvement in system response time through background processing

90% reduction in database interactions eliminating data access delays

Related Case Study

Swisscom Download

“The solution aMind designed is Fast-designed for customer-perceived performance; Cool-allowing fully customized user experience and customer attractive design; and Flexible-enabling business agility.”

http://www.amindsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/aMind_CS_Swisscom.pdf


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Problem 4:

Enterprise Product Catalog

If there’s one thing that operates at the core of every Telecommunication Company, it’s the system(s) that manage the crown jewels, the company’s catalog of products. Unfortunately for the majority of Telecommunications companies ‘catalog’ ends up being plural. With the continued expansion of product lines (can you say Triple Play?) each product line typically brings along with it it’s own infrastructure, provisioning and yes, it’s own product catalog.

Managing and synchronizing disparate catalogs by itself is a major challenge, but then extend that formula another magnitude by including all of the different channels that those products need to be configured and ordered through. Oh and don’t forget the other matrix of downstream billing, provisioning and operational systems that also need to be updated and synchronized.

N catalogs x N APIs x N backend integrations = ?

It’s no wonder that it often takes months just to release a new product offering or bundle at many Telecommunications companies today. Time to market flies out the window, partners get frustrated as competitive offerings attract away prospects, and business is impacted as customers defect.

Time to get out your plumbing diagram?While it may seem an impossible challenge, implementing an Enterprise Product Catalog is not only possible but was just what was needed at Time Warner Cable. Turn the page to learn how they solved their product catalog congestion.


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Enterprise Product Catalog Solution & Case StudyTime Warner Cable, the second-largest cable operator in the United States, was struggling with a proliferation of dispersed product catalogs that served the company’s different ordering channels and supported a multitude of channel-specific offers and promotions for TV, Internet, home phone and wireless.

aMind’s Enterprise Product and Offer Catalog implementation, provides a common interface on the front end to consuming applications and provides an enterprise offer catalog in Siebel for centralized and non-duplicated maintenance. New products and offers can now be introduced in a few days instead of months across all of Time Warner Cable’s business channels.

Results:• Rolled out to 31 Time Warner Cable divisions across

9 US regions to multiple sales, eCommerce, retail and partner channels all operating against a single Enterprise Product Catalog

• Consolidated 10 separate product line catalogs into a single Enterprise Product Catalog while enabling different offer code mappings for affiliates, eliminating the possibility of duplicate offers

• Sales automation reduced operational costs by $30M per year while providing a better customer experience

• Consolidation of offers reduced IT costs by over $15M per year

• Opportunity for targeted offers drove 20% increase in total orders

• Offer visibility across channels resulted in better sales alignment

• An administrative task for Marketing and operations vs. a complex programming project for IT

• Reduced time to market for new product introductions from 4 months to 2 weeks, with no direct IT involvement required

Success Metrics20% increase in total orders significantly increased revenue

$45M reduction in combined first year operational costs

Efficient offer management aligned with Sales objectives

Reduced time to market from 4 months to 2 weeks

Related Case Study

Time Warner Cable Download

http://www.amindsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/aMind_CS_TWC.pdf


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ClosingIn closing, we hope you found one or more of the Siebel challenges and solutions of interest and a practical example of how Siebel really can be optimized and extended to add significant value to your company and your customers.

As we’ve described in this eBook, we really understand Siebel… after all we helped build it! The founders and members of the team at aMind actually developed the Order Management function that you’re likely using in your Siebel instance today. Who better to understand how to optimize Siebel than the people who helped develop it!

Our platforms are designed and proven to meet Telecommunication business scale and volumes. Companies like Time Warner Cable, AT&T, Level 3, Swisscom, GVT and dozens of others process millions of order transactions every day through the aMind Web Framework software.

It’s probably no surprise we’re a Gold Certified Oracle Siebel Consulting and Software Partner. We specialize in Siebel and we’re really good at what we do. Ask our customers.

With Telecommunication customers from Europe to Asia Pacific to South America to North America and the United States we’re a global business. We have no borders.

And just as we were able to help the Telecommunications companies described in this eBook, we’re here to help you too.

http://www.amindsolutions.com/products-and-services/products/amind-web-framework/

Siebel. Optimized. Extended.

aMind Solutions is the leading provider of technology and services for Oracle Siebel CRM solutions. By optimizing and extending Oracle Siebel, aMind Solutions helps companies deliver a world-class, seamless customer experience across all touch points – web, partner portal, contact center, point of sale, retail, mobile, and more.

aMind Solutions 5000 Executive Parkway, Suite 495 San Ramon, CA 94583

1.925.804.6139 [email protected] www.aMindSolutions.com

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