Streamlining Logistics and Fulfillment for a Telecommunications Giant
Project Facts
Client: Major telecommunications and media company
Project goal: Simplify logistics and fulfillment processes
Team: 7 TNG experts
Implementation: from May 2024 onwards
Key achievements: streamlined configuration model, 80% reduction in time required to introduce new devices
The Situation
We recently reached an important milestone in a client project. For a major telecommunications and media company, we transformed the logistics and fulfillment processes responsible for shipping internet and TV devices to their customers and provisioning them in back-end systems. The client's existing configuration model was complex, with over 20 software artifacts containing hard-coded special logic for individual devices. This lead to errors and inefficiencies, making it difficult to determine the contents of a delivery to a customer.
Our Target
Our goal was to simplify the configuration model, making it more transparent, scalable, and efficient. A team of 7 TNG consultants aimed to reduce the time required to introduce new devices and improve the overall efficiency of the logistics and fulfillment processes.
Our Approach
We employed an iterative approach, starting with a draft of the new configuration and gradually refining it to cover all necessary use cases. In the process, we:
removed outdated use cases,
iteratively extended the new configuration concept to match individual aspects of the use case, and eventually
transferred hard-coded configurations from individual artifacts to one centralized configuration.
We took a refactoring approach, working mostly "behind the scenes" to improve the processes without requiring the client to adapt to new systems or procedures. This approach allowed us to achieve the improvements without causing significant disruptions or adjustment periods.
The Result
The result is a streamlined configuration model that is logical, easy to understand, and closely aligned with the client's business processes. We achieved an impressive 80% reduction in the time required to introduce new devices. For instance, using the new configuration model, we introduced two new WIFI routers in just a few days. Our client has reported positive feedback on the ease of modifying the configuration, which is particularly helpful when it comes to adjusting the configuration to requests of the business departments on short notice. We are currently working on developing a graphical user interface that will enable the client's departments to modify the configuration in real-time, further enhancing the efficiency and scalability of their logistics and fulfillment processes.