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Value Driven Network - Retail Telecom

Retail Telecom Objectives
It is proposed that most retailers can leverage a change to their telecom strategy to (A) reduce the cost of meeting its current business critical requirements by leveraging a more competitive market place (B) further introduce flexibility to it retail infrastructure, and (C) extend its customer value beyond its core product. In order to realize the noted benefits, it is proposed to execute a supplier search with two integrated desired outcomes. One, identify the updated infrastructure and two, identify value propositions that can be delivered with synergies created between the searching company and the supplier.

Retail Telecom Delivery
The following are the attributes of a supplier that is able to deliver a value driven network. The supplier should have a mix of the following attributes:

1. Core Network Capabilities: The selected supplier(s) will have to minimally meet the core applications network requirements. Typical requirements are driven by payment transactions, security, and network management.

2. Flexibility: Flexibility is defined by the number of options that the company can offer to its franchisees or end retail sites. Specific elements that are used to measure flexibility include:

Number of last mile options: Preferred last mile options include xDSL, VSAT, Dial, Cable, Frame
Estate Reach: The selected supplier should be able to reach a majority of its sites with the preferred technology or an alternate the meets the base requirements.
Product Roadmap: The supplier should be investing in forward looking technologies and be able to speak to how the technology relates to the companies business.
Organizational Flexibility: The supplier should have the organizational capabilities to adapt its business model as the company's offer matures or changes. More specifically, the supplier must have flexibility within its billing and management capabilities.
Barriers to change: The supplier should be able to reduce barriers to future change by minimizing large site investments, reducing the inability to integrate to new last mile types, and being flexible with their contractual terms.

3. Value Propositions: A supplier's value propositions will be measured and assessed based on expected value to the company and / or its customers, probability of deployment, capabilities required to deploy and operate, solution complexity and solution cost. Specific attributes that are used to assess the value propositions include:

Base Telecom Offers: The supplier should be able to offer a number of core telecom services such as open internet and deployment of WIFI capabilities. Additionally and most importantly the supplier should be able to work with the company to define custom solutions if required.
Revenue Sharing: If working with franchisees or marketers the supplier should offer the company a share of the revenue it generates from the franchisee or marketer. One method to improve current relationships with franchisees or marketers is to allow the "customer" the right to govern the dollars generated by the revenue sharing.
Previous Experience with Value Added Services: The supplier should have worked with other customers in the past to deliver value added services or products. Previous experience shows that the company has the capabilities required to work outside of core connectivity services.
Innovation Capabilities: The selected supplier should invest in future technology and bring ideas / opportunities to the company versus having the company invest in all future development.
Partnerships: The selected supplier should have relationships with other technology, service and product firms that the company can leverage.

4. Intangibles: The final area of assessment is intangibles. It is believed that the ideal supplier will not only provide value as defined above but will also excel in areas that are indirectly related to the network.

Previous experience: Has the supplier worked with the company in the past and met the company's expectations?

Financial Health: Is the company solvent, will the company be at risk of ownership change in the future that will impact the line of business, and will the company grow the services that has been selected without the company's investment?

Ease of Termination: Will the company's solution allow for a change in direction in the future with reasonable effort?

Ease of Negotiations: Each supplier will be assessed by Procurement to determine if the company should be easy or difficult to negotiate with.

Hunger: how bad does the supplier want the business? It is believed that a supplier's hunger for the business and previous history are indicators for the success of the future relationship.

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