Fulfillment of telecommunications services involves a series of
supply chain
A supply chain is a complex logistics system that consists of facilities that convert raw materials into finished products and distribute them to end consumers or end customers, while supply chain management deals with the flow of goods in distri ...
activities responsible for assembling and making services available to subscribers. These activities delineate an operational infrastructure whose efficiency relies upon its ability to allow a
communications service provider
A telecommunications company is a kind of electronic communications service provider, more precisely a telecommunications service provider (TSP), that provides telecommunications services such as telephony and data communications access. Many t ...
(CSP) to match the supply of services with demand in an economical way and with consistently high levels of quality and reliability.
To achieve these goals, the design of service fulfillment platforms take into consideration the following:
; Data transparency: Making data available across the enterprise, regardless of source, while keeping it accurate
; Process mechanization/automation: Completing more processes quicker and more successfully for better business performance
; Inventory management: Understanding the status of inventory to ensure supply will be available to meet forecast (or actual) demand
; Asset monetization: Driving enterprise valuation with the efficient use of assets
Processes
The supply chain activities in service fulfillment involve the following processes:
* Service design and cataloging
* Integrated
inventory management
* Network configuration and capacity assignment
* Service order entry, decomposition, workflow tracking and fallout resolution
* Service order activation
Subscriber expectations
Keeping up with increasing subscriber expectations in today's market is not the exclusive domain of
service assurance. Service fulfillment plays a critical role as well in ensuring a "first time right" customer experience.
Customer satisfaction in the telecommunications industry stems from adequate service provisioning, value for money, loyalty and relationship management. An efficient service fulfillment platform automates service order processing to gain speed via flow-through capabilities and to reduce the service order fallout that results from manual processes. This is being recognized by CSPs as they increasingly look to their suppliers for help in achieving higher levels of automation.
OSS Observer, April 2008
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Vendors
Notable global service fulfillment vendors include Netcracker Technology
Netcracker Technology Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of NEC Corporation, is an American-based multinational telecommunications technology company headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. The company specializes in software products and ...
, Comarch
Comarch is a Polish multinational software house and systems integrator based in Kraków, Poland. The company provides services in areas such as telecommunications, finance and banking, services sector and to public administration. Its service ...
, Cisco
Cisco Systems, Inc. (using the trademark Cisco) is an American multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, s ...
, Telcordia
iconectiv supplies communications providers with network planning and management services. The company’s cloud-based information as a service network and operations management and numbering solutions span trusted communications, digital identi ...
(now part of Ericsson), TIBCO, Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent S.A. () was a multinational telecommunications equipment company, headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris, France. The company focused on Fixed line telephone, fixed, Mobile phone, mobile and telecommunications convergence, ...
(now part of Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...
), Amdocs
Amdocs Limited is a multinational telecommunications technology company headquartered in Chesterfield, Missouri. The company specializes in software and services for communications, media and financial services providers and digital enterprise ...
, Oracle
An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination.
Descript ...
, Comptel (now part of Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...
), HP, Tecnotree, Arkipelago and Ericsson
(), commonly known as Ericsson (), is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Ericsson has been a major contributor to the development of the telecommunications industry and is one ...
.
See also
* Service assurance
References
{{Reflist
Telecommunication services