Belgacom: One Step Closer to Your Customers is One Step Ahead of Competition

The Company
Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, Belgacom SA is the leading supplier of global telecommunications solutions in the country. Ownership of Belgacom is divided between the Belgian State (50.1%)and ADSB Telecommunications (49.9%),a consortium comprising three major global telecommunications operators: Ameritech, Singapore Telecom and Tele Danmark. The Belgacom group mainly provides local, regional and international telephone services (voice and data);cellular telephone services; satellite services; leased lines and terminals. At the end of 1998, the company had more than five million telephone and ISDN lines and 18,000 public phones.

The Problem
Belgacom is faced with an increasingly competitive environment arising from deregulation in the European marketplace. More than 40 telecommunications operators are currently active in Belgium and close to 300 companies are in competition with Belgacom in various fields of activity. The company must implement far-reaching measures to respond more efficiently to the changing needs of the market, to improve operational efficiency, and to maximize customer satisfaction -- the ultimate cornerstone of Belgacom 's success. Providing its five million customers with the best possible service is the mission of all members of the Belgacom team.

The Solution: Service Transformation
Belgacom has four primary quality objectives: a constant readiness to listen, scrupulous honoring of commitments, personalization of contacts, and providing the most competitive telecom solutions. The company has implemented fundamental structural reforms in order to meet its quality objectives and further boost its efficiency and competitiveness.

Without dispatcher intervention, Advantex automatically selects the best field resource for each job to be performed the following day, based on priority, skill set, area, and availability. Also, assigned work orders are automatically redistributed when work conditions change to evenly distribute the workload.

Equipped with ruggedized notebooks, field personnel have access to enterprise applications while in the field and can send and receive service order information over the GSM network. The Advantex interface has a dual language customization so that mobile workers can choose to work in Dutch or French.

One component of Belgacom's solution is the Time Reporting feature, which automatically records time sheet information for users in the field. It time-stamps and captures work activities throughout the day.

Phillipe Outtier, Methods &Procedures Engineer, Belgacom notes, "Time Reporting is used as a feedback mechanism for management to identify areas for improvement and is used as a 'coaching' tool to meet corporate objectives." Time Reporting eliminates time-consuming manual paper processes, reduces data entry tasks and is especially important in situations involving overtime. Outtier elaborates, "It provides a mechanism to capture accurate time expended on activities to remove any discrepancies which speeds up the timesheet approval process."

Change Process
Belgacom prepared the organization for a multi-phased implementation, beginning with a pilot for a limited number of field personnel in a limited service territory. This created the opportunity for a greater understanding of the new system across the organization and a chance to test the hardware and host interface. Bex remarks, "Three devices were tested thoroughly which included a combination of ruggedized laptops and Windows CE devices. The end-users made the final choice based on features such as touchscreen, flexibility of in-vehicle removal, ease-of-use, and functionality." The satisfaction and trust of its customers is the driving force behind this radical transformation.

The Search for Wireless Workforce Management
Belgacom began its search for a wireless workforce management system in 1997 commencing with a pre-qualification from potential vendors. After reviewing and short-listing suppliers, and detailed requirements analysis - a collaborative effort by the various divisions -was executed and an Invitation to Tender (ITT) was issued. MDSI ® was contracted in January 1999 to implement its Advantex ™ wireless mobile workforce management solution. Xavier Deladriere, Belgacom's Program Manager, notes, "The major goals of this Workforce Management Project are to improve customer intimacy, reduce missed appointments, and improve productivity in the dispatching centers and the field force."

The Old System
Belgacom's previous proprietary system involved paper-based dispatching and field personnel equipped with GSM phones. Appointments were issued to customers by the call center based on field personnel availability. Dispatchers printed orders for the day and attempted to match work orders to the most suited field personnel. Between 40-50% of the orders for the day were manually distributed to field personnel at the start of their shift leaving them with no indication to what lay ahead for the remainder of the day. Dispatchers had no visibility into the field to balance mobile workers with the workload to optimize resources.

Return on Investment
In Belgium, Service Level Guarantees (SLG) are a tool for setting higher standards of customer care. A commitment to customer responsiveness within a definitive timeframe has put the pressure on companies to be more competitive. Geert Bex, Quality Manager, Belgacom comments, "By managing the workforce more efficiently, especially in terms of meeting appointments on time, the first time, with the right person for the job, we can become even more customer-centric and offer higher levels of personal service."

Building Trust
The pilot system provided the foundation for training personnel on the Advantex system and was fundamental to helping field personnel acquire new skill sets. Armed with these new skills, participants in the pilot shared their knowledge with colleagues to help build trust in the system and validate the benefits of the Advantex solution. Field personnel were able to draw upon the experience of other users to quickly prepare them for the field. In addition, formal classroom training was provided with courses delivered in Dutch and French, supplemented with user manuals. A significant investment in skilled personnel, time, and new technology demonstrates a long-term commitment by Belgacom to its employees and ultimately its customers.

Advantex Today
To date Advantex has been rolled out to approximately 600 mobile customer repair technicians and 100 dispatchers across Belgium. By the end of the multi-phased project, the system will expand to support 4000 multilingual mobile technicians (customer repair, infrastructure repair, provisioning, and leased line technicians) and 350 dispatchers. The implementation of the Advantex solution has streamlined the company's dispatching operations and ultimately improved its ability to respond efficiently to customers' repair requests. Already, Belgacom has displayed higher levels of customer satisfaction and savings.

Continuous Evaluation
Belgacom is moving beyond the basics of wireless workforce management to progressive innovative solutions spurred by technological advances. It is examining a Web-based client interface to provide users with fast and convenient access to applications, content and services. Field personnel will be able to access their working environment from anywhere and at anytime.

Belgacom's future growth will be determined by its readiness and ability to reach world-class efficiency and to maximize the satisfaction of its customers. The best-of-breed Advantex solution is playing a vital role in preparing Belgacom to capitalize on the tremendous opportunities that abound in the rapidly evolving telecommunications sector.