Ericsson

1. Mobile is a highly competitive business, and mobile consumers have choices – in their service provider, devices, packages, bundles
and a vast array of applications.There is money to be made by providing choice, of course, and lots of it. So to stay compelling,
mobile operators must continuously offer new and interesting service packages. Further, they need to do this without having to
spend months developing complex, service-specific, back-office processes.
We are not just talking about ordinary data and voice services, delivering defined bytes of data or numbers of text messages.
Today’s operator must offer a host of over-the-top services supplied by a multitude of business partners, and at the same time they
must foster an exclusive one-stop-shopping relationship with the consumer.
Mobile Order Management:
Time is Money
By Laurie Spiegel, 25 June 2013

2. Introducing compelling new products is not exactly easy. ETIS, the Global IT Association for Telecommunications, has observed,
“The product launch often involves many dedicated OSSs and BSSs and their different product data models and processes that
are not designed to co-operate for product composition. The technical aspect (managed in the OSS) is very often a constraint to
the flexible definition of new commercial offerings.”
This helps explain why it can take the typical mobile operator six months or more to launch a service. But in a hypercompetitive
market, can you afford to move that slowly?
The faster a mobile operator can launch a service, the faster it can start driving revenue, attracting and retaining customers, and
keeping up with – or getting ahead of – the competition. Think how different your business would be if you could launch a new offer
in less than a week, for example.
That kind of speed may sound impossibly fast. But take a look at other industries that have tackled this very same problem with
great success.
imagine if you could reduce the time
to launch a new service...
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
New Service LaunchTime
BEFORE
AFTER

3. Consider the toy company Lego in its approach to creating a new series of products. According to the World Street Journal, “Lego
Chief Executive Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, didn’t want his designers reinventing the wheel every time they created a new collection.
When he took the helm in 2004, designers would dream up ideas and get whatever materials they needed to turn the vision into
reality. That business model was steering the family-owned company toward bankruptcy. Seven years later, Lego posted nearly
$1 billion in operating profit for 2011. To achieve that, complexity had to be reduced, so the number of bricks and other building
materials was reduced to a collection of 2,700 pieces that today make up Lego’s ‘system of play.’” (World Street Journal Online
12/19/2012)
With the Lego approach, boxed building kits filled with a variety of components are offered to the marketplace suiting the buyers’
preference for size and cost or desire to build standard themes such as The Hobbit.
Since the dawn of the industrial revolution, efficient production of goods has been enabled through standardization. Production
time has been reduced by orders of magnitude and retooling to accommodate new product rollout is done quickly, with minimal
cost. The key is in development and reuse of a wide variety of components used in the tools, in the product itself and even in
packaging and distribution.
In creating new services, mobile operators can also dynamically assemble and execute new product offerings from proven
components, while still fostering differentiation and collaboration. We have seen operators launch new service packages in days
rather than months, engaging customers and providing faster time to revenue.
Rethinking order management
The trick to achieving this objective is to rethink the process of order management – from service creation through order fulfillment.
As in the Lego model, the ideal strategy begins with the ability to reuse proven and tested components that the operator can
quickly assemble to create and deliver new product offerings.
Several important requirements are placed on the process.
On the development end, it is vital that the product conform to all technical specifications and meet any third-party requirements.
Flexibility is paramount so that new products can be created by taking existing components and modifying whichever specifications
need to be changed.
On the service delivery end, the product needs to be able to extend into other OSS/BSS platforms. As an example, to provision
the new service, downstream systems must consistently collect information about the operator’s network capabilities, and then
automatically coordinate that infrastructure for the customer order.

4. Complex services have to be mapped to a growing array of sophisticated databases, application servers, user devices and third-
party processes, to deliver a multitude of dynamic, ever-changing features with expected reliability. As in the Lego example, this
calls for more consistent structures and dynamic processes to coordinate the many changing parts.
When new components need to be created, the ability to easily plug the new component into the ecosystem is vital. “Designers
don’t always find what they are looking for in the existing system of play. Such was the case with a character from The Hobbit
named Bombur, a dwarf with a distinctive braided beard. To bring Bombur to life, a designer sculpted his beard by hand from
malleable clay, baked and sanded it and brought it to the molding factory. Then the tiny beard was fully integrated into the larger
system so that it will fit with pieces made 30 years ago and in 30 years to come. KimYde, Lego’s design director, calls the system
of play ‘our jewel’ and a ‘holy shrine to protect.’”
In polishing the product for final delivery to the customer, the service provider must allow customization and personalization by the
end user. The automotive industry smartly learned to create a limited set of production cars and then to enable the local dealership
to add custom bundles of features at the point of sale. Likewise, the Lego builder can use the kit to build a standard model by
following the rules. But the kit also allows the user to make customizations unleashing the builder’s creativity.
Applying key principles
These same principles can be easily applied to OSS/BSS. They are based on practices that many industries have followed for
decades, even including the flexibility to choose suppliers at the time of the order. The approach calls for component-based
building blocks, libraries of building blocks and standardized ways to assemble and deliver the results. This provides a consistent
process of assembly, instead of a siloed, “start from scratch” development process every time there is a need to support a new
technology, widget or partner.
quick launch of new services
Idea-to-Implementation
Create building blocks for every part of the service lifecycle:
Lead-to-Cash Trouble-to-Resolution
ENABLE
Prepare to offer service
ACQUIRE
Connect customers and bill
RETAIN
Assure customer services

5. The component-based approach addresses four key goals that must be met for fast service creation and delivery:
> Efficient operational processes across all products. The approach enables consistent end-to-end processes throughout the
lifecycle, from enabling the service to acquiring and retaining the customer.
> Maximum reuse of data and processes. Rapid innovation is enabled by reuse of building blocks within fulfillment, assurance and
billing, along with the ability to view/browse/select through a centralized catalog.
> Flexibility to enable multiple business models. The service provider can rely on third parties for content and other innovative
services.
> Exposing needs to the widest community of partners, suppliers and developers. This is achieved through maximum exposure
of processes and products using web services and standardized APIs.
This approach is even more compelling because it allows real-time assembly of components at the moment an order is received.
Each component is called upon at the appropriate time to provide its self-contained information or to control a specific process.
Imagine a manufacturing operation that allows for the instantaneous change-out of a product or component wherever and
whenever that component is used. While this may be impossible for manufacturing, it is more than just possible for OSS/BSS. In
fact, it has been proven to work in the real world, and work well.
The result is fast product development, fast launch, fast fulfillment and the ability to quickly and accurately make changes across
multiple products and processes as the need arises.
dynamically assemble components
into new products
Catalog
Fulfillment
Assurance
Billing
Catalog
Fulfillment
Assurance
Billing
Catalog
Fulfillment
Assurance
Billing
Product BProduct A Product C

6. The need for speed
Operators are not the only ones interested in speed. While consumers want choice, they also want speed in service delivery.
Operators that provide an easy-to-use, self-service portal can allow customers to choose and personalize their service. The
customer can even find a list of offers recommended specifically for them, appearing on their portal based on their current
subscriptions and usage patterns. This gives customers the power and flexibility to purchase communications services that meet
their individual needs.
Once the customer has made a selection or changed a feature, the component-based approach provides near-instant turn up, so
they can begin enjoying their service immediately. Reports of customers having a mobile service feature appear on their device
while they waited for their receipt to be printed are true. In addition, the customer can quickly access billing and order status
information through a self-care portal, instead of waiting on hold for a call center operator.
Enterprises are also becoming more demanding and looking for personalized services that will help them to achieve their working
environment goals. The ideal mobile order management strategy lets mobile operators provide enterprise customers with this same
ability to quickly customize and turn up services. For example, an insurance company can push out a new sales tool app to its
agents’ tablets and smartphones, a travel-concierge app to C-level executives and a calendaring app to all employees.
satisfy consumer and enterprise demands
Pay
Modify
Fin
d
Select
MeetEmploye
e
Needs
Per
sonalizeServices
Administer Efficiently
Inquire
Use Configu
re
consumer enterprise

7. The strategy also gives enterprises the option of providing employees with self-service provisioning of apps on their choice of
mobile devices. Through a self-service portal, employees find the device and option appropriate for them and quickly place an
order using features that bring value to the business. “Bring your own device” can also be supported. This frees administrative staff
to focus on other tasks, such as projects that will generate revenue to the company.
Enterprise administrators can still maintain control with the ability to easily view pre-defined service packages, create custom
features and administer their use by employees. By targeting options to select groups, they ensure that the right features are
available to the right employees, and can also save money by eliminating underutilized subscriptions.
One thing is certain. The easier it gets for the customer, the harder and more complicated it gets for the operator. Mobile
personalization has its price, and without the proper systems, structure and control, it can be a real headache.
For operators and their customers, time is money. That’s why rethinking mobile order management benefits both parties.
Build with components today
Consumers have many choices in selecting mobile service providers. They choose based on prior experience and
recommendations − from friends, relatives and coworkers. To prosper into the future, operators need to offer a wide array of
interesting services, including applications from other suppliers, allow both enterprises and consumers to easily pick and choose
features, and be able to quickly fill an order and turn on selections.
happier customers
More Options and Control
Single provider
Support any device
Easy access to plans
Personalization
Defined quality of service
Cost control

8. That’s a tall order, but it’s worth the effort and investment because it means faster
time to market and faster time to revenue – potentially as much as two financial
quarters. The operator also becomes more nimble from a competitive and marketplace
perspective because it can respond to changing customer needs and wants much
more quickly than it could before, and faster than its competitors with rigid OSS/BSS
systems.
It’s all possible with an end-to-end solution that uses and reuses proven components,
creating a ‘system of play’ that allows easy access and quick configuration to an ever-
changing array of compelling offers. “On opening day for ‘The Hobbit’ in the U.S., the
Lego kit to build Bilbo Baggins’s cottage—with 652 tiny plastic pieces and a $70 price
tag—had sold out on the company’s website.”
So, as you can see time is money. Maybe it’s time to snap together some new service
offerings your customers want just as badly.
Learn more about how to rethink mobile order management and launch your mobile
services faster.
© Ericsson 2015
Laurie Spiegel
Laurie Spiegel is Product
Marketing Director of
Operations Support Systems
at Ericsson, focused on lead-
to-cash software solutions
for greater service agility.
Her expertise in technology,
operations, and systems
comes from her many
years leading consulting
engagements and helping
clients develop, assess, and
execute new strategies such
as automating processes to
support next-gen broadband
services.
About the authors