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Table of Contents
Assignment Cover Sheet ......................................................................................................................... 1
1.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 3
1.1 Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 3
1.2 DATA ............................................................................................................................................ 4
1.2.1 Availability ....................................................................................................................... 4
1.2.2 Customer Satisfaction ..................................................................................................... 4
1.2.3 Market Data .................................................................................................................... 4
2.0 The LM Ericsson-Zain Managed Services Relationship ............................................................... 5
2.1 Characteristics of the relationship.............................................................................................. 5
3.1 Managed Service Strategy .......................................................................................................... 5
3.1.1 Corporate Objectives ...................................................................................................... 6
3.1.2 Environment.................................................................................................................... 6
3.1.3 Service Concept............................................................................................................... 7
3.1.4 Performance objective .................................................................................................... 7
3.1.5 Operation ........................................................................................................................ 7
3.2 Service Delivery.......................................................................................................................... 7
3.2.1 Process ............................................................................................................................ 8
3.2.1 Structure ....................................................................................................................... 11
3.2.3 People ........................................................................................................................... 12
3.2.5 Supply Chain .................................................................................................................. 13
3.2.6 Performance Measurement Systems............................................................................ 14
4.0 Conclusion................................................................................................................................ 15
Apendices
References
2
1.0 Introduction
LM Ericsson is particularly renowned as the top equipment provider in the telecom industry. Of
recent, LM Ericsson took a new approach to doing business, laying emphasis on providing solutions
to the clients rather than just selling hardware. This approach is yielding results. Although total sales
fell by 1% in 2009, indications are that were it not for the growth in the services it would have been
poorer, as equipment sales dwindled seriously but roll-out services (7%), professional services (15%)
and managed services (22%) increased the same year. Ericsson claims to be managing the network
of 370million subscribers now worldwide.
Ericsson officially took over the running of Zain network on the 1st of August, 2009
Managed Services
• Network-led services, focus primarily on creating greater efficiency in managing the network, whether in
terms of third-party maintenance e.g. of an already running network or of building and operating the network
on an outsourced basis.
• Service-led functions include content hosting and can cover introduction of new services.
• Consultancy-led services, which are a newer service-led approaches that respond to the need for business
transformation among the telecoms community, and which include a higher degree of strategic involvement on
the part of the service provider. (Wireless Intelligence, Managed Services Report 2009)
Dominant of all three is the network led services.
1.1 Methodology
Business to Business services require a different approach of assessment especially when the ultimate source of
information of success or failure are the end customers, in this case, the subscribers. In analysing the value of
service for the Zain-Ericsson Managed services three sets of data have been analysed
1. The year on year availability of equipment as recorded by the Zain performance team.
2. The expectations and satisfaction of client managers, gathered with a questionnaire submitted amongst
ten managers across the four domains and commercial departments
3. Growth data obtained from wireless intelligence which gives facts and figures.
Data being analysed are also based on comparison between pre-MS and post-MS i.e. Q3, 2009
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1.2 Data
Having established that the essence of the Managed Service is to:
Improve operational efficiency which in turn should increase the number of connections,
revenue while improving the return on OPEX, performance of the MS is being assessed
based on the following
1.2.1 Availability
Appendix 1 shows the year on year equipment availability with week (22) taken as the
evaluation point. Availability is seen to have reduced marginally between 2009 and 2010
1. 70% of respondents score Ericsson average in meeting the Zain corporate objectives.
2. 90% of respondents think Ericsson has the competence to meet the objectives.
3. 50% think that processes put in place are capable of meeting the objectives.
4. 70% are not aware of SLAs in the domains.
5. 60% of the 70% above think SLAs are properly implemented.
6. 100% Managers rate the following as being most important-
i. Quality of Service
ii. Availability
iii. Cost
7. In terms of importance, respondents rate the performance objective as-
i. Quality of Service- 4/4
ii. Availability 4/4
iii. Cost 3/4
iv. Speed 3/4
v. Flexibility 2/4
8. For how well MS has met those performance objective:
i. Quality of Service- 2/5
ii. Availability 2/5
iii. Cost 1/5
iv. Speed 1/5
v. Flexibility 1/5
In summary, the indication is that while the respondents expect Ericsson as being capable to help
Zain improve its services, efficiency and market share, Ericsson has not been able to meet that
expectation. Respondents also do not believe in the processes put in place and SLAs are either not
clearly spelt out on the onset or not properly communicated amongst.
Revenue- decrease in revenue in Q3 2009 and increase but still shy of Q2 level in Q4 2009
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OPEX- Significant increase in Q3 2009, but increase in Q4 2009
EBITDA margin- steady significant decrease from Q1-Q4 2009 from 35.88 to 18.93%.
LM Ericsson Zain
Mgr Core Mgr Core
Mgr Mgr
Network
Technical
Radio Radio Director
Director
Mgr Mgr
IN/VAS IN/VAS
Mgr Mgr
Facilities Facilities
3rd
Party
Line of visibility
5
LM Ericsson Corporate Zain Corporate
Objectives Objectives
Corporate Objectives
Performance Objective
Service Design
Operations Tasks
Operations
In setting the service strategy, the following have to be taken into cognisance-
3.1.1 Corporate Objectives- In deriving strategy, LM Ericsson needs to establish its expected
market position in terms of technical expertise and “value add” to its own organisation.
However, because of the nature of this relationship, the corporate objective of the client
organisation is as vital in setting the strategy. Clearly the customer does not think the
MS meets the objectives.
3.1.2 Environment- Understanding the context of the environment, the opportunities and
the threats it presents to the service is also a vital factor in defining what value hence,
the service concept is. The operating environment within the country in study (Nigeria)
is also a factor for strategy for MS. While most professional services similar to the MS
will contend mostly with providing the competence and technology required for such
projects, the operating challenges brought about by the absence of infrastructures and
imply that it may be more difficult to meet the expectations of the clients unless very
realistically catered for from the onset. Despite Ericsson having the required
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competences and technologies, these factors may represent threats to the MS
organisation.
3.1.3 Service Concept-Having established the exact nature of the business i.e. operating and
maintaining the network for its clients, the corporate objective and the limitations and
opportunities presented by the environment, the MS leadership has to determine “value
add” to the client and this will encompass what the extent of the service is.
3.1.4 Performance objective- This strategic element would arise from the service concept.
While the service concept defines the nature and extent of the service, the performance
objectives define the priorities for the operation i.e. identifying the match between the
priority needs of the client which are Quality of service, availability and cost and what
forms the organisation’s competence.
Context of the Performance objective for the MS are-:
a. Quality of service to the end users- The subscribers are the ultimate users of the
service and their perceived quality of service should meet the expectation.
b. Availability and Reliability- Money is lost and subscribers could be lost by Zain if the
service is unavailable or unreliable but, Ericsson also loses money through penalties.
c. Cost- The expectation of the MS contract is to derive cost effectiveness for Zain.
d. Speed- Faults being resolved within stipulated time frames, projects and new services
being delivered in timely manner.
e. Flexibility-The MS organisation will have to be able to adapt quickly to changing client
needs.
Identifying these performance objectives helps the MS organisation determine the tasks
required and the priority of such activities. These activities form the operation of the MS
team.
1. Processes
2. People
3. Structure
4. Performance measurement
5. Supply chain.
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3.2.1 Process
The overarching element of these five is the process; the process design is the first stage of
managed service delivery. The Process design takes input from the contract which will
include:
i. The Contract Order Actions
ii. Pre-conditions often the expectations of both parties in the agreement
iii. Post-Conditions
iv. Service Level Agreements (SLAs) or the frameworks required to derive them.
v. Set of tasks within the operations.
vi. The service strategy elements of- corporate objectives, service concept (value) and
performance objectives.
(TM Forum GB942, NGOSS Contracts-Concepts and Principles, release 1.0)
The key here is Total Design of the processes within the service. If the ‘design’ process is
identified in full and early on, the service delivery can be more effectively organized and
controlled from the start. Identifying the stages then allows the technical director to allocate
the time and identify the people needed in this cross-functional/multidisciplinary process.
Shortages in people and other resources can be identified and addressed long before they
become serious problems. (Merry, Managed services outlook, informa telecoms, January
2010).
In designing processes, tasks of the managed service operations can be identified as triggers
or orders covered by the following:-
i. Change Requests- usually to fulfil a business objective of the client company, it may
be initiated by customer (Zain) or the service provider (MS).
ii. Inquiry Tickets-these are enquiries raised by the client such as reports, feedback on
change request and from resolved faults.
iii. Incidence and Problem management- which is the process of handling faults or
problems that occur on the network.
The current process design is such that tasks have been identified with structure and
processes aligned across those tasks, with one point of input for the triggers as depicted in
the Figs 4a, 4b and 4c.
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Front Office
-Evaluates and authorises change
Change
Request
Change
Yes authorisati
on
Vendor Support
-Provides solution where Change Implemented
requested
Front Office
-Receives Inquiry Yes
Do we have the
-Feeds back answer to the
answer?
Answer is provided
client
No
Yes
Back Office
Do we have the -Provides answer to inquiry
answer? -Forwards inquiry to vendor
support if answer is unavailable
Customer No
Service Solution
Request provided
Vendor Support
-Provides solution where
requested
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Problem/trouble report
Front Office
-Receives trouble report
Sends trouble
ticket
Back Office
-Resolves all TTs within stipulated Yes
Are we able to
time frames
resolve internally
Change Implemented
-Escalates knotty issues to
vendor support
No
Solution
provided Customer
Service
Request
Vendor Support
-Provides solution where
requested
Flow through the service with no disruptions, for example a request coming from the
client personnel should be viewed as without interruptions or referrals. A Service
Provider contacted should be able to give response seamlessly even when further
information has to be gathered, this should not be visible to the customer.
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For the Service Providers -
Every staff should take ownership of the part of the process related to them and the
client requester interfacing with them.
Should take a process and not a functional perspective to the entire process.
Understand the whole process.
Understand how individuals and teams fit into the entire process.
(Would include, planning and optimization teams and network operations teams.)
The new process requires the elimination of Front and back office from the point of view of the
client personnel and the introduction of single points of contacts for the various functions. All
customer requests are passed through the personal contacts who serve as service delivery
managers. This requires the building of systems and technology to aid the process and training to
bring out the right competencies of personnel.
The process should also bring in more flexibility and allow greater discretion on the part of the
employees since they would not have to look up to the “big” back office again for support.
These relationships i.e. inter-functional and Client-Service provider has to be guided primarily by
SLAs based on the contract governing the overall relationship.
3.2.1 Structure
“The usual way of describing the two main clusters of operational tasks are, by decisions
concerned with managing the structure and the infrastructure of the operation” (Johnston et
al).
The essence of the process shown above is to ensure a fluid structure where there is flow of
information and tasks. A structure that will help this process design will make use of technology
and location to harness the potential of physical and virtual networks. Noteworthy is the fact
that the vendor support which is not eliminated in the new process but is only invisible to the
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client, is networked virtually to the local teams necessitating the use of technology to connect
all teams.
Encouraging cross-functional and end to end approach to the processes will also require the co-
location of the various functions to encourage flow of information.
3.2.3 People
The greatest challenge in managing a service operation is managing the people; these are
the service providers and the clients. It is possible for a service organisation to invest in
meticulous process design and extensive technology but having failed to invest in its people;
it will not achieve the expected levels of customer satisfaction (Johnston et al).
Issues which affect this factor of service delivery are as follows:
i. The intensity of the service encounter- How involved the customer or its agents are
in the processes of the service. As previously stated the clients are intensely involved
in the processes, this puts the service providers which are the Ericsson employees
under pressure and may also affect adherence to the SLA in the running of the
processes.
ii. The “mood” of the customer- Not forgetting that the Zain organisation directly
interfaces with the subscribers feedbacks as a result of the service being provided to
the end customer may be lash back of aggression or gratitude (as the case may be)
to the Ericsson service providers who are directly responsible for the network that
keeps the subscribers happy or angry.
iii. Also a factor is the competence of the Zain network management team that is
responsible for managing the managed service contract. Incompetent managers on
the side of Zain will slow down decision making and processes as they ask more
questions or could be unnecessarily difficult. On the other hand highly competent
client managers could be assets to the MS team or could become clogs in the wheel
for meeting the objectives of the MS organisation depending on the two earlier
factors of intensity and mood.
i. Clarifying roles- To ensure that service providers act within the agreed upon levels of
service to avoid their hands being forced to act by pressuring client agents. It also
removes the risks of role conflicts or over-dimensioning of the process tasks and role
ambiguity which may affect service quality and attainment of set goals.
ii. Allowing a higher degree of discretion on the part of the employee does not only
ensure flow of the process but also motivates them.
iii. Providing good leadership from senior management (technical director) and the
various functional managers or team leads is also vital to improving the operational
efficiency of the organisation. The attributes that would be expected of the leaders
are:
a. They must be approachable
b. Empathetic
c. Supportive
d. Organised
e. Have knowledge of the role of the team and
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f. Have knowledge of how the team roles fit into the entire organisational
structure, values and objectives.
iv. The use of Service Level Agreements and Work Level Agreements, determine how
the provider and the system behave with regard to the business service. It will also
enrich the transaction with metrics that are essential for the operational use of the
interface and network elements.
Standard SLA metrics include
a. Overall time to execute an order or respond to a service trigger.
b. The feedback level expected.
c. Time to respond to orders.
SLAs can provide consistency and efficiency in delivering the service it allows the
clients personnel to understand how tasks are done allowing them to contribute at
this stage (if they have the competence), rather than intruding in the processes of
the service providers.
ISMs C2
NSN S1 C1
14million
subscribers
Ericsson Zain
GSMS
The success of the service requires that the supply chain be properly managed in terms of elements
such as information and processes. Managers also have to ensure that there is cooperation and
collaboration within the network and 2nd and 3rd party suppliers are given the right information that
is required.
This collaboration, cooperation and information flow are achieved by developing alliances with the
3rd party suppliers, beyond mere contract relationships to ensure that solutions that will improve the
overall service are developed together and both parties owe it to themselves and to the customer to
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make such solution produce the right result. One area of this collaboration is in helping the ISM
companies develop the processes and routines to ensure that there are no down times.
While this alliance is built under the atmosphere of trust, there is the need to also measure the
relationship this could be done with agreed upon SLAs. These will be agreed upon metrics by both
sides to measure their performances. Suffice to say that the norm in strategic and most relationships
is the purchaser measuring the seller, however in a service environment like this it is important that
both sides be measured to ensure that everyone keeps their side of the bargain.
The Operational performance measures are required so as to communicate with the clients on the
performance of the MS. While Financial and External measures are necessary for control and
improvement purposes for the MS and would usually be communicated internally to motivate
employees but not shared with the client.
The essence of performance measurements is defeated if it is not linked with the service strategy.
Earlier on while discussing the service strategy, we established the need to set performance
objectives, these will have to be assigned measurable metrics and compared against such to
determine the overall performance of the MS organisation.
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4.0 Conclusion
From the analysis of the requirements and delivery in the context of the Managed Services, it is
important when operating services to be guided by processes which take an end-to-end approach
are communicated appropriately to both customer and the service providers with the guiding service
levels and agreements, this is how the expectations of the client can be matched with the operations
of the service provider and customer satisfaction is achieved.
15
Appendix 1a Wk 22 2009 Equipment availability report
16
Appendix 1b- Wk 22 2010 Equipment availability report
17
Appendix 2- customer satisfaction survey questionnaire
QUESTIONNAIRE
1. How well do you think the MS meets the corporate objectives of Zain in a scale of 1-5?
(Where scale is available, 1= very poorly, 2=poorly, 3=average, 4= good, 5=excellent)
2. DO you think Ericsson MS has the competence to meet the corporate objectives of Zain? Y-
Yes, N-No
3. Do you think processes put in place are capable of meeting the corporate objectives of Zain?
Y-Yes, N-No
i.
ii.
iii.
7. How important are the following to the Network operations in a scale of 1-4 ( 1=not
necessary, 2= can be lived without, 3= important but may be overlooked in some instances, 4=very
important)
i. Cost
ii. Speed
iv. Flexibility
v. Availability
8. How well do you think the MS meets these objectives in a scale of 1-5(Where scale is available, 1=
very poorly, 2=poorly, 3=average, 4= good, 5=excellent)
i. Cost
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ii. Speed
iv. Flexibility
v. Availability
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Appendix 3
Operator website
(ng.zain.com)
Q1 2009 Q2 2009 Q3 2009 Q4 2009 Q1 2010
Number of Total 15,106,000 14,646,000 14,936,000 14,777,000 18,291,610
Connections
Contract 93,000 55,000 89,000 102,132 ---
Prepaid 15,013,000 14,591,000 14,847,000 17,037,682 ---
2G 15,106,000 14,646,000 14,936,000 14,777,000 18,291,610
GSM 15,106,000 14,646,000 14,936,000 14,777,000 18,291,610
Net Additions Total -2,090,482 -460,000 290,000 -159,000 3,514,610
Contract 7,000 -38,000 34,000 13,132 ---
Prepaid -2,098,000 -422,000 256,000 2,190,682 ---
2G -2,090,482 -460,000 290,000 -159,000 3,514,610
GSM -2,090,482 -460,000 290,000 -159,000 3,514,610
% of Connections Contract 0.62 % 0.38 % 0.60 % 0.69 % ---
Prepaid 99.38 % 99.62 % 99.40 % 115.30 % ---
2G 100.00 % 100.00 % 100.00 % 100.00 % 100.00 %
GSM 100.00 % 100.00 % 100.00 % 100.00 % 100.00 %
Market Share, Total 23.64 % 22.05 % 21.65 % 18.80 % 21.01 %
Connections
Contract 8.84 % 4.88 % 6.94 % 6.81 % ---
Prepaid 23.89 % 22.35 % 21.92 % 21.44 % ---
2G 26.31 % 24.74 % 24.09 % 22.03 % 24.66 %
GSM 26.31 % 24.74 % 24.09 % 22.03 % 24.66 %
Market Share, Net Total -230.39 % -18.26 % 11.20 % -1.66 % 41.58 %
Additions
Contract 7.38 % -50.37 % 22.11 % 6.05 % ---
Prepaid -258.37 % -17.27 % 10.51 % 18.64 % ---
2G -354.25 % -25.79 % 10.29 % -3.14 % 49.47 %
GSM -354.25 % -25.79 % 10.29 % -3.14 % 49.47 %
Growth Rate, Total -12.16 % -3.05 % 1.98 % -1.06 % 23.78 %
Connections
Contract 8.14 % -40.86 % 61.82 % 14.76 % ---
Prepaid -12.26 % -2.81 % 1.75 % 14.76 % ---
2G -12.16 % -3.05 % 1.98 % -1.06 % 23.78 %
GSM -12.16 % -3.05 % 1.98 % -1.06 % 23.78 %
Growth Rate, Total 19.43 % -1.06 % -6.09 % -14.07 % 21.09 %
Connections -
Year on year Contract 43.08 % -25.68 % 8.54 % 18.76 % ---
Prepaid 19.31 % -0.94 % -6.17 % -0.43 % ---
2G 19.43 % -1.06 % -6.09 % -14.07 % 21.09 %
GSM 19.43 % -1.06 % -6.09 % -14.07 % 21.09 %
Market
10.76 % 10.37 % 10.52 % 10.35 % 12.74 %
Penetration
Current rank by Total
3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd
Connections (Country)
Total
7th 7th 8th 9th 6th
(Region)
Total
74th 78th 77th 79th 64th
(World)
2G
3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd
(Country)
2G
7th 7th 7th 8th 6th
(Region)
20
2G (World) 56th 58th 57th 59th 49th
GSM
3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd
(Country)
GSM
7th 7th 7th 8th 6th
(Region)
GSM
56th 58th 57th 59th 49th
(World)
ARPU Total 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 ---
Current rank by Total
2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd ---
ARPU (Country)
Total
43rd 43rd 42nd 41st ---
(Region)
Total
223rd 226th 229th 228th ---
(World)
Revenue Total 356,700,000 323,600,000 305,600,000 320,600,000 ---
Current rank by Total
2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd ---
Revenue (Country)
Total
9th 9th 10th 10th ---
(Region)
Total
101st 113th 124th 121st ---
(World)
OPEX 228,700,000 215,100,000 210,900,000 259,900,000 ---
OPEX / Revenue -
64.45 % 64.51 % 63.87 % 69.73 % ---
Rolling 12 month
CAPEX 170,200,000 87,800,000 98,400,000 --- ---
CAPEX / Revenue
- Rolling 12 53.57 % 48.77 % 46.55 % --- ---
month
Operating Free
-42,200,000 20,700,000 -3,700,000 --- ---
Cash Flow
EBITDA 128,000,000 108,500,000 94,700,000 60,700,000 ---
EBITDA margin 35.88 % 33.53 % 30.99 % 18.93 % ---
21
Appendix 5- Service concept for the Managed Service
Subscribers
No service interruptions
Service Outcome
Efficient resource utilisation
22
References
1. Johnston, R. et al 3ed (2008) Service Operations management :Improving service
delivery London: Prentice Hall.
2. Merry, P 2010 Managed Services Outlook
3. www.wirelessintelligence.com
4. Hollins, B. et al (2002) Managing Service Operations. London. Sage
5. TM Forum GB942, NGOSS Contracts-Concepts and Principles, release 1.0
23