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Q & A

 

How did a mid-sized, multi-location customer service fulfillment company improve management of its network, get better performance from its vendors, and reduce costs by 60%, all at the same time?

 

By engaging Source Loop to conduct its Comprehensive Telecom Operations Assessment, this firm became empowered to better understand its business, which subsequently led to decisions and actions resulting in tangible savings; improved business processes; and superior service and vendor management.

 

Our Client Gained Greater Understanding of:

 

  • Relative cost position of current contracts vs. current market for similar services.
  • Its inept business practices & processes and how to turn them into areas of strength with effective and efficient best practices.
  • Improving network operational and cost performance by either optimization or migration to new services.
  • Improving its vendor management through active dialog and development and analysis of vendor metrics.

 

See the comparison chart below for an assessment of service deliverables.

 

Comprehensive Assessments  

 

Our Assessment product provides a comprehensive look at four primary areas of the enterprise telecom environment:

 

1.      Cost Management

2.      Operations Management

3.      Supplier Management

4.      Network Management

 

Assessment Dimensions

 

There are five distinct areas of interest that we look to when evaluating telecom operations:

 

Performance: What is the current performance level? How well is performance being managed by the organization?

 

Tools: Is the organization utilizing the proper tools required to achieve superior performance?

 

Risk Mitigation: What is the current level of exposure to risk for the organization? Is the organization managing risk effectively?

 

Capabilities: What is the organization’s current capability relative to best-in-class capabilities? How do we get to best-in-class capabilities as soon as possible?

 

Information: Does the organization have access to the right information necessary to make the best decisions in terms of managing its operations? If so, are the best decisions being made?

 

Assessment Coverage Areas

 

Cost Management  

 

Within the Cost Management portion of the assessment, Source Loop analyzes the following aspects of an organization's telecom environment:

 

Performance

• Service cost and Ts/Cs benchmarking

• Service cost analysis and forecasting

• Analyze service cost optimization opportunities

• Review and analysis of Cost Management goals / objectives

 

Tools

• Analysis of tools used to manage network costs

• Review and documentation of key processes

 

Risk Mitigation

• Analysis of flexibility and protection provided by existing contracts

• Review of accounting processes, policies, controls, etc.

 

Capabilities

• Analysis of resources, skill sets, etc.

• Analysis of core processes followed

• Analysis of major activities performed (i.e. invoice processing, inventory mgmt, charge back, validation, etc.)

 

Information

• Review of data sources, formats, access and level of detail of information used to manage costs

• Review/analysis of reporting applications

 

Back To Comprehensive Assessments>>

 

Operations Management  

 

Within the Operations Management portion of the assessment, Source Loop analyzes the following aspects of an organization's telecom environment:

 

Performance

• Analyze and assess ability to support business requirements

• Review and analysis of operations goals / objectives

 

Tools

• Review and analysis of key tools used to manage operations i.e. order management, inventory, trouble management, etc.

• Review and documentation of key processes

 

Risk Mitigation

• Review and analysis of key controls in place

 

Capabilities

• Analysis of resources, skill sets, etc.

• Analysis of core processes followed

• Analysis of major activities performed

 

Information

• Assessment of adequacy of information to manage operations activities

 

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Supplier Management  

 

Within the Supplier Management portion of the assessment, Source Loop analyzes the following aspects of an organization's telecom environment:

 

Performance

• Review of metrics used to manage supplier performance

• Review of processes used to manage suppliers

• Review and analysis of Supplier Management goals / objectives

 

Tools

• Analysis of tools / processes used to manage suppliers and agreements i.e. scorecards, network performance monitoring, etc.

Risk Mitigation:

• Analysis and assessment of supplier diversity, competitive environment, supplier continuity risks, etc.

Capabilities:

• Analysis of resources, skill sets, etc.

• Analysis of core processes followed

• Analysis of major activities performed i.e. scorecard development, vendor meetings, escalations, etc.

 

Information

• Assessment of adequacy of information to support supplier management activities

 

Back To Comprehensive Assessments >>

 

Network Management  

 

Within the Network Management portion of the assessment, Source Loop analyzes the following aspects of an organization's telecom environment:

 

Performance

• Analyze and assess ability to support business requirements

• Review and analysis of network goals & objectives i.e. SLA targets, delivery intervals, etc.

• Analyze service cost optimization opportunities

 

Tools

• Review and analysis of key tools used to manage network i.e. network performance management / monitoring, QoS management devices, etc.

• Review and documentation of key network processes

 

Risk Mitigation

• Assessment of network redundancy/diversity at key sites for key applications, etc.

• High level review of disaster recovery/business continuity plans

Capabilities:

• Analysis of resources, skill sets, etc.

• Analysis of core processes followed

• Analysis of major activities performed

 

Information

• Review of data sources, formats, access and level of detail of information used to manage network

 

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Quick Look Assessment

 

The Quick Look Assessment is designed to cover the same areas as the Comprehensive Assessment but does so in an expedited manner and with less detailed deliverables. For a comparison of deliverables for each Assessment product, please click here.

 

Custom Assessments

 

In order to meet the unique needs of all customers, Source Loop will also create custom assessments which consist of any combination of a subset of our assessment modules (Cost Management, Supplier Management, Operations Management and Network Management). Additionally, Source Loop will work with prospective clients to design a customized scope of work to address unique situations.

 

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