Once upon a time, I took part in a very interesting conversation about next generation trends regarding billing and ERP solutions. During this discussion, the billing expert interlocutor claimed that both prepaid to postpaid and fixed to mobile convergence are and will continue to be the major issue for the near future. He also foresaw the expansion of IT in order to incorporate the capabilities of the Intelligent Network, as well as the opportunities that will arise for the Telecommunication industry from the micropayments and the cloud services.
On the other hand, the ERP expert alleged that the major issue for the years to come will be the extended implementation of the RFID technology in the Supply Chain ecosystem, and the consolidation of all ERP platforms accross the multiple business entities of the large european groups of telecommunication companies.
Well, although I found all these hot topics very interesting at the moment, I had the idea of asking a really common question: What would actually be the future for the Accounts Receivable area? What would they really think about the future trends of the Collection management, Bad Debt administration, Price Plans capabilities, Overdue Interest Management, Credit Scoring and so forth.
I was suprised when the billing expert said that the AR capabilities were not actually part of a convergent billing solution, whereas the ERP expert insisted that for the telecommunication industry AR is commonly part of the billing solution.
It seems that AR is a grey zone, although receivables are one of key elements of revenues, and IT systems capabilities are supposed to enhance revenue management and bottomline EBITDA.
To me, Convergent Billing Solutions offer Revenue Management capabilities which go beyond the traditional billing field.
Furthemore, Revenue Management makes use of rich, detailed billing data to support Revenue and Credit management business processes.
Also, increased Customer insight can be leveraged to personalize Credit/Revenue Management processes.
Nevetheless, for large Telcommunication Operators with diversity in their activities (such as incumbent operators), a seperate distinct AR outside the billing could be the financial hub, as there are customers that do not fall into the traditional telecommunication customer category.
Moreover, Convergent Billing additional AR modules often need serious customization in order to meet Telcos specific needs.
And just to be on the right side: according to some IT strategies, Best-of-Breed & Best-in-Class applications are not always part of a Convergent Billing Solution.
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