Telecom operators have long understood that processing service orders efficiently at scale is critical to their operations. This is why countless funds are invested in making incremental process improvements and staff training to keep workflows running smoothly.
But despite these efforts, most Telcos are still bleeding money through outdated, manual service order management (SOM) systems. These legacy systems / processes slow down fulfillment, introduce costly errors and stretch operational teams to the limit.
What if the real solution isn’t about tweaking processes, but about eliminating a majority of the manual work altogether through end-to-end automation? OSS and BSS platforms like SunVizion Service Order Management are enabling telecom providers to cut costs, improve processing efficiency and re-imagine their entire service fulfillment lifecycle.
The Cost of Manual Service Order Management
There are normally many separate tasks required to complete a service order. Some are standardised. Others allow for variable process flows based on certain conditions or service order parameters.
Manual service order processes come with a hidden price tag on two dimensions. First, it’s the design of the process (needed to launch a new service to market) and secondly, it’s running the process at scale (for the many customers who buy the telco service).
For the former, SunVizion Smart Service Designer enhances service designs by automatically interpreting customer orders and dynamically generating execution plans. This removes complexity and accelerates time-to-market for new services. But we’ll save the details of the design-time aspects of a service order for another article.
It’s the latter that gets the most operator attention. In this article, we’ll focus on the latter too.
Telcos face frequent order delays due to human error, poor coordination between departments and fragmented data systems. These inefficiencies can drive up operational costs through rework, excessive customer support demands and missed SLAs (Service Level Agreement obligations).
Staff often spend significant time reconciling information between CRM, provisioning, inventory and a variety of other systems. This is often known as “swivel chairing,” where an operator needs to switch from one solution to another to complete an end-to-end task.
At these “swivel-points,” any inconsistencies or process fall-outs can have multiple ramifications, including long cycle times, missed deadlines and inconsistent customer experiences. The lack of automation (automation of processes and reconciliation) limits scalability and strains workforce capacity, especially during periods of high demand or new service rollouts – and it’s on initial service rollout when first experiences (customer sentiments) matter most.
By continuing to rely on legacy systems, operators are losing both time and money. In doing so, they’re also risking customer churn by leaving customers dissatisfied.
What Is Automated Service Order Management?
By comparison, and as the name implies, automated service order management refers to the coordinated step-by-step orchestration of the entire order lifecycle, from service request to activation. Instead of relying on static workflows and manual handoffs, automations dynamically manage each step, reducing errors and speeding up delivery. Naturally, not every part of every order is automatable though, but we’ll come back to that shortly.
First, we’ll look at the automation cores that are SOM solutions like SunVizion Service Order Management. This solution can enable telcos to process simple or complex orders in minutes rather than days, automatically validating feasibility, coordinating tasks and triggering network provisioning systems. The benefits are measurable: faster service activation, fewer errors, better coordination / utilisation of resources and lower costs per order.
Remember when we said we’d come back to not being able to automate everything?
It’s true that there are often manual build activities required to onboard some customers. One example is building a new lead-in cable from infrastructure on a pole or in a pit out on the street to a customer’s premises before their service can be activated (over the lead-in). No SOM solution can automate the build activities. Those clearly need technicians, but the SunVizion SOM does automate the management of field-work via work orders.
Once completed, the field workers mark their task as completed and then automations take over again, ensuring all the remaining tasks in the workflow are resolved.
Efficiency Gains Through Workflow Optimisation
A key component of leading automation tools is intelligent workflow management. This allows the automations to handle complex or conditional sequences of activities, not just sequential or simple sequences. Traditional service fulfillment involves multiple steps, including (but not limited to) service design, resource allocation, technician dispatch and provisioning. Each step presents an opportunity for delay or error if not managed properly. Moreover, there are often a variety of parallel activities, different people or systems involved in completing an end-to-end order. Optimal coordination can be extremely difficult for large-scale telcos.
SunVizion Workflow Management enables Telcos to configure and automate these processes too. It offers an adaptable web interface for workforce interaction and integrates seamlessly with other systems. The result is a streamlined process activation engine that ensures accuracy and compliance from start to finish in a customer’s order.
Integration with Service Fulfillment and CRM
It’s rare for an automation to operate in isolation. To be effective, service order management systems will almost always integrate tightly with surrounding systems such as CRM, billing and service fulfillment platforms.
SunVizion Service Fulfillment coordinates every phase of service delivery, ensuring orders are translated into actionable tasks and executed promptly. Meanwhile, SunVizion Billing & CRM synchronises customer data, design / configuration parameters and financial records, ensuring that services are accurately enabled, billed and customers are notified.
By connecting order management with the broader OSS/BSS ecosystem, network operators can largely eliminate data silos and ensure a seamless flow of information. This reduces the risk of failed orders as well as improving reporting for overall operational transparency. The additional benefit of well-linked data is the richer insights that can be derived from them.
Real-World Impact and Results
The transition to automated service order management yields tangible operational and financial benefits. Telcos that have adopted comprehensive SOM platforms like SunVizion report:
- Up to 80% reduction in order processing time
- 60% fewer order fallouts due to improved accuracy
- Significant reduction in manual interventions and field rework
- Enhanced SLA compliance and customer satisfaction
These improvements translate directly into reduced operational expenses, increased service margins and improved agility in launching new offerings.
Why SunVizion?
As described, SunVizion offers a comprehensive suite of OSS/BSS tools purpose-built for telecom service automation. From SunVizion Service Order Management (SOM) to Service Inventory that ensures accurate service modeling to workflow engines that drive efficient fulfillment, every aspect of a service is designed for seamless integration and scalability.
By choosing SunVizion, telecom operators gain access to a future-ready platform that not only reduces costs but also enhances customer experience and operational agility. Please connect with us today to organise a demonstration of how SunVizion solutions can help optimise your service operations.
