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1、Digital CommerceReimagining commerce for telecommunications:Personalizing journeys,transforming experiencesWhitepaperAuthors Jonathan Goldberg and Ziv Dagan-and fellow contributors:Mustafa Oyumi,Alina Liber,Maya Dumanovich.Table of contentsPage0105030204Executive summaryDecreasing basic communicatio

2、n revenuesDependency of products on customer locationSales journeys and customer lifecycle managementRapid technological changesDependencies between products and servicesIntegration and expansionSophisticated price(step/tier)and promotion strategiesCustomers and partners expect connected simplicity

3、in real timeCustomer eligibilityCommitment termsFlexible bundling for digital marketplaceCommunications&media commerce evolution0304080905080911050910101204040608Flexible commerce offering for service providersService provider challenges in an era of changeEvolution of commerce systemsService provid

4、er uniqueness for commerce systemsTable of contentsAmdocs Commerce3Any organization that sells goods or services needs a commerce system that allows customers to review and purchase their offerings,either online or in a bricks-and-mortar physical location.The digital revolution that has occurred ove

5、r the last decade or so has increased customer expectations of easy and seamless online purchase and delivery a phenomenon brought into focus even further by the COVID-19 pandemic.This trend has encouraged the development of new general-purpose commerce engines that support sales of a bewildering va

6、riety of products.Unlike general commerce applications that deal with one-time purchases,the communications&media industry presents unique aspects,requiring specialized knowledge and capabilities from an industry-grade commerce solution.Examples include the dependency of services on the customers lo

7、cation,concepts of commitment terms,promotions,stepped and tiered pricing,managing customers existing products and lifecycle changes,multiple entities playing a part in the interaction(customer,user,home),and dependencies between products.Traditionally,commerce systems in this industry were develope

8、d in-house,or purchased piecemeal from vendors.Furthermore,they typically revolved around silos specific to lines of business(LoB),thereby restricting the ability to market and sell offerings that bundle offerings from multiple LoBs.As communications&media services become commoditized in terms of re

9、venues(ARPU),operators are increasingly looking to broaden their mass-market offerings.This includes establishing partnerships with over-the-top(OTT)providers,or bundling offerings with businesses from other verticals such as home security,home health,connected car,and more.Combined with customer ex

10、pectations for single,simplified touchpoints,this trend requires commerce systems that support flexible pricing models,support zero-touch onboarding of partner products,and offer a streamlined sales and ordering experience.In this paper,we will show how key elements of an advanced commerce software

11、system can assist communications service providers(CSPs)in addressing their needs for the residential/mass market.Such a system provides an end-to-end solution for commerce activities,from the design and creation of offers,through the end-user shopping experience across multiple channels,to delivery

12、 and fulfillment.We will indicate how the system enables attracting new customers,acquisition and delivery of products,handling promotions,using AI to recommend best offerings,bundling offerings with partners products,increasing customer retention,and more.Executive summaryExecutive summaryAmdocs Co

13、mmerce4Lets begin with a short summary of how commerce systems for the communications&media industry have evolved over recent decades.When software systems for ordering and customer care were first introduced,they tended to be tightly coupled to the underlying network services.There would be a silo

14、for PSTN,another silo for dial-up internet,and so forth.This became more complex as communications service providers(CSPs)acquired new lines of business to grow their business.In many cases,the silos were end-to-end,whereby each silo had its own customer management,care,and billing.Silos were genera

15、lly hard-coded,often on legacy mainframes,making it difficult to adjust to new business conditions in a timely manner,or to sell bundles across lines of business.More recently,independent software vendors(ISVs)developed ordering systems based around configurable product catalogs,business rules,and p

16、rocess engines.These applications provided capabilities for defining products and prices dynamically,and bundling across lines of business(LoB).However,such advances in ordering capabilities are not sufficient for the industrys current and evolving needs,as we will see in the following sections.Focu

17、sing on the communication&media industry,we can identify several challenges faced by CSPs,such as increased competition,changing customer demands,regulatory pressures,and technological disruptions.These challenges require them to adapt their strategies,invest in innovation,and improve their operatio

18、nal efficiency.Lets explore some key challenges.Decreasing basic communication revenuesIts widely believed,even if not officially confirmed,that the value and revenues from basic communications services(like Average Revenue Per User ARPU)are on the decline.For example,in 2022 Omdia predicted that AR

19、PU would decline globally in the period 2022-2027.Additionally,mobile service providers need to monetize the large investments that they have made in 5G.As a result,companies are seeking to expand their markets and revenues from additional sources,providing more value and avoiding price wars.There i

20、s a wide variety of addressable markets,including:Partnerships with over-the-top(OTT)providers,such as Netflix,Spotify,Microsoft,Google,etc.Partnerships with specialty lines-of-business providers,such as home security,gaming,home health,connected car,etc.This TM Forum research report provides more d

21、etails on potential new revenue streams.Evolution of commerce systemsService provider challenges in an era of changeEvolution of commerce systemsAmdocs Commerce5Rapid technological changesThe communications&media industry,possibly more than other verticals,is undergoing significant changes due to th

22、e advancement of technology.The emergence of new services,such as cloud computing,Internet of Things,artificial intelligence,5G networks,and low-code/no-code frameworks has increased the demand for high-speed,reliable,and secure connectivity.These technologies enable greater agility and shorter time

23、 to market,helping CSPs to move more quickly and capture market share.Additionally,market perceptions and drives for efficiency are causing CSPs to increase their emphasis on opex as opposed to capex.Furthermore,increasing opex can allow these players to develop additional solutions for sale,as oppo

24、sed to(for example)capex on new network rollout.Such a transition is often referred to as“Telco to Techco”,reflecting the fact that CSPs are looking to offer technology solutions that go beyond communications,such as cloud storage,security protection,and more.These can then be bundled with communica

25、tions offerings,giving the CSP a unique advantage over third-party technological offerings.Some advancements require CSPs to adapt their business models,invest in new infrastructure,and enhance their digital customer experience.In addition,these advancements have contributed to growing competition,s

26、ince new entrants,such as over-the-top players,offer customers low-cost and more innovative solutions.To survive and thrive in this dynamic environment,CSPs need to leverage technology as a strategic asset,as well as a source of competitive advantage.Customers and partners expect connected simplicit

27、y in real time While customers have long expected simplicity in their interactions with CSPs,the same holds true for partners.A partner will likely choose to work with operators who offer zero-touch onboarding and settlement.As a result,commerce applications need to cater to partnerships as well as

28、offering end-customers a seamless experience when ordering and consuming products.These days,we all come to expect the systems to do the heavy lifting for us through automated streamlined flows.Note:Since the focus of this paper is on the mass-market and residential segments,we will not consider the

29、 revenue potential from the business/corporate/government sectors.Service provider challenges in an era of changeAmdocs Commerce6After reviewing advancements in the commerce domain and establishing the specific forces challenging and shaping the communication&media industry lets examine how digital

30、communication service providers differ from their peers in other industries,especially in the area of commerce.We can characterize unique aspects of this industry as:Dependency of products and services on the customers location.For example:Fast internet cannot be offered in a location not covered by

31、 fiber-to-the-home;however,If we have a strong 5G network,we may offer internet services over wireless as an alternative Technical and business dependencies between products,including characteristics of the product.For example:If the customer chooses broadband with 15Mbps bandwidth,we can likely off

32、er HD TV,but not 4K TV Different types of customer journeys.For example:Initial purchase,updating a product,service suspension due to vacation,moving to a new address,service suspension due to collection(dunning),upgrade,and more(collectively known as MACD actions Move,Add,Change,and Disconnect)Mult

33、ifaceted Ecosystem integration Partial list of systems with which a CSP commerce application must integrate:network provisioning,logistics,workforce management,billing and charging,identity management,customer care,and more Commitment terms that govern the relationship between the customer and the C

34、SP(for example,a reduced recurring price if the customer commits to staying with the provider for 2 years)Flexible bundling,including partnerships.For example:Bundling broadband with over-the-top TV streaming supplied by a partner Promotions based on what the customer is ordering and what they alrea

35、dy have.(Note how this differs from bundled offerings,where the discount is already included in the bundle special rate,or promotion for a specific point of sale.)For example:A customer buys or already has the latest iPhone and purchases a second one for 50%off within a given window of time for whic

36、h the promotion is active A customer who purchases a mobile platinum plan in Walmart receives a$10 discount Stepped and tiered pricing,based on quantities that the customer is ordering now and already owns.For example:A family offering with a mix-and-match of plans;buy more,pay lessLets now contrast

37、 these aspects with commerce requirements for the retail market(such as groceries,furniture,electricals,electronics,etc.)and OTT services(such as video streaming,music,cloud storage,etc.):Service provider uniqueness for commerce systemsService provider uniqueness for commerce systemsAmdocs Commerce7

38、IndustryCommunicationsRetail GoodsOTTAspectLong-term relationship with customersInherent in the business modelNo,can be artificially created by membership programsInherent in the business modelSophistication of products and servicesHighGenerally lowLow to mediumInteraction frequencyHighMediumMediumC

39、ustomer journeysBuying goods and services,changing services,suspending or resuming,inquiries,complaints,port in/port out porting services,change address Buying goods,occasionally returning them,complaintsInitiating or terminating service,suspending or resuming,inquiries,complaintsPurchase modelOne-t

40、ime and recurringUsage based Mostly one-time Mostly recurringPromotionsApply to one-off purchases and to ongoing productsTypically one-off,buy item A and get item B reducedNo obvious scopeDependenciesInherent in the business modelNot generally relevantNot generally relevantCommitment TermsInherent i

41、n the business modelNot generally relevantPotentially applicableStepped/Tiered pricingApply to one-off purchases and to ongoing productsTypically one-off,buy 4 items A at lower unit costPotentially applicablePartnershipsEssential in todays market,service providers enable the integration of add-in pr

42、oductsPurely commercial with no enablementWith underlying service providerEcosystemsMany complex integrations to upstream and downstream systems from multiple vendorsFewer and simpler integrationsFewer and simpler integrations The table above illustrates that although communications&media shares som

43、e characteristics with other industries,the confluence of all factors taken together represents a unique challenge for systems that support commerce.In the next section,well see how these can be addressed.Service provider uniqueness for commerce systemsAspectIndustryAmdocs Commerce8Flexible commerce

44、 offering for service providersEnabling CSPs to address the challenges of their unique market,demands a flexible and configurable commerce solution.Lets explore the requisite toolset by revisiting some of the examples,and demonstrating how these can be handled with an advanced commerce application,t

45、ailored for CSPs.Flexible commerce offering for service providersDependency of products on customer location Products supplied over a wireline network will be dependent on the exact capabilities of the underlying network services.For example,an operator can only offer fast internet broadband if the

46、customer resides in an area that has fiber access rolled out.We dont want to offer customers products that we cannot fulfill.For this reason,the commerce system needs to be aware of these capabilities,such as by performing a serviceability check based on customer location.This requires integration w

47、ith provisioning(OSS)systems and catalog mapping between product and service features that are less likely to be available in generalized commerce applications.Dependencies between products and services Product interdependency is a common phenomenon in the communications&media industry.For example,a

48、ny customer who wants 4K TV streaming,will have to choose a higher bandwidth for underlying broadband than if they wanted HD TV.A flexible commerce system tailored for CSPs allows marketers to reflect these dependencies in different ways,such as:Explicitly bundling internet and TV services in dedica

49、ted offerings,ensuring that TV capabilities match the bundled internet Restricting the choice of standalone TV offerings based on the customers existing internet offering Offering upsell of internet bandwidth to support the higher quality TVGeneralized commerce systems may indeed support commercial

50、bundling,but are less likely to be aware of product interdependencies.Amdocs Commerce9Customer eligibilityThe CSP will typically want to ensure that the correct products are made available to eligible customers by defining qualification criteria.For example:Display only pre-paid offerings to custome

51、rs with a low credit rating Hide business offerings from customers in the mass/residential marketIn a commerce application optimized for CSPs,marketing can define qualification rules that utilize data about customers,their products,and more,to filter out ineligible offerings.Sales journeys and custo

52、mer lifecycle managementAs mentioned previously,CSPs must manage a variety of sales journeys to cater to the diverse and shifting customer preferences.This includes accommodating scenarios such as new customer acquisitions,service upgrades,changes in service consumption locations,and ownership chang

53、es,as well as lifecycle events like service cancellations,suspensions,and renewals.Each of the steps in the journey may have a commercial impact that needs to be handled by the operator.For example,if a customer is replacing an offer,it could impact promotion eligibilities and benefits,or in contras

54、t,carry it over to the new offer without impacting the expiration date.Another example relates to price and promotion changes that take effect when services are suspended,differentiating between voluntary and involuntary suspension.Commerce Journeys for CSPs and other verticalsFlexible commerce offe

55、ring for service providersAmdocs Commerce10Commitment termsA common objective for CSPs is to increase customer“stickiness”.One common approach is to offer price reductions in return for a commitment term.For example,offering a reduced recurring fee of$60/month for home internet,if the customer agree

56、s to commit for two years.Clearly,the requirement to encourage customer loyalty is relevant to many service industries.However,outside communications&media,it is not always so easy,practically,for customers to move from one service provider to another.Our industry therefore is an outlier in this res

57、pect,making the ability to offer and to enforce commitment terms particularly relevant to CSP commerce applications.Flexible bundling for digital marketplaceCSPs are expanding into new digital media and tech-service offerings and building partnerships with service providers from adjacent industries.

58、This creates the need to bundle communications&media services.For example:Bundling broadband together with TV provided by an OTT partner,including waiving the price paid for data usage during OTT consumption Bundling communications products with the hardware devices needed to use them Offering disco

59、unts on accessories when purchased together with core communications productsWith flexible bundling,CSPs can combine offerings spanning many fields and domains.Flexible offering and bundling is a powerful tool for marketers and business people,and is a key capability in markets where digital content

60、 and services are becoming increasingly significant.This enables business people and marketers to harness their evolving product portfolio to ensure maximum growth,customer satisfaction,and loyalty.Prepackaged bundle:predefined packages of products and services that are sold as a single unit,usually

61、 at a discounted price Soft prepackaged bundle:packages that allow customers to choose from a set of options within a product category,such as selecting a specific plan and add-on services like OTT Freestyle cart experience:enables customers to create their own combination of products and services f

62、rom different categories,such as mixing and matching devices,plans,accessories,and media servicesFlexible commerce offering for service providersIntegration and expansionA critical challenge for CSPs lies in integrating commerce solutions with various existing systems like billing,care,network provi

63、sioning,logistics,and more.A industry-specific commerce solution should provide a centralized platform for harmonizing product data and facilitate the order process across systems,ensuring consistency and precision.Amdocs Commerce11Commercial bundling as a strategic tool and its options are especial

64、ly relevant for CSPs that provide multiple product lines such as wireless,TV,broadband,and voice.If the business allows it,customers can change a set of products over time.This may include merging existing products into a single bundle,moving from one bundle to another,or splitting a pre-packaged bu

65、ndle into standalone offers.These operations can typically involve special handling of fees and penalties for breaching bundling terms.Such flexibility for customers to manage their product portfolio over time can increase customer satisfaction and stickiness.Sophisticated price(step/tier)and promot

66、ion strategiesCommunications&media commerce solutions should support flexible pricing and promotion strategies like tier/step price,discounts,and free offer promotions according to specific customer context.For example:VIP customers receive a special discount on their mobile plan According to the cu

67、stomer lifecycle journey,a new purchase,upgrade,or replace offer activity triggers a discount Free trial of one month for a specific service when purchased onlineFurthermore,promotional campaigns can be adapted to various customer types,regions,and purchasing behaviors.For these reasons,promotion en

68、gines must be versatile,whereby discounts and offers are applied across different customer journeys and touchpoints.Required Promotion and Discount capabilitiesFlexible commerce offering for service providersAmdocs Commerce12Communications&Media Commerce EvolutionCommunications&media commerce evolut

69、ionLets summarize our assertion.Facing emerging trends and modern technologies,the communications&media industry must adopt commerce systems capable of supporting a variety of complex business scenarios.CSPs who combine advanced technology and focus on component-level reuse across catalog and commer

70、ce domains will increase operational efficiency,increase performance,and reduce siloed systems.As a result,it will empower them to deliver innovative,customer-centric solutions at speed,thereby creating new value,enhancing customer loyalty,and securing a competitive advantage.Modular Commerce and Ca

71、talog Solution Benefits that assist global operators.The specialized nature of the communications&media industry presents significant challenges in managing product catalogs,pricing strategies,sales processes,system integration,and analytics.This sets its commerce experience and demands apart from e

72、ngines in other industries such as retail,consumer goods,utilities,or hospitality.Amdocs CommerceAmdocs helps those who build the future to make it amazing.With our market-leading portfolio of software products and services,we unlock our customers innovative potential,empowering them to provide next

73、-generation communication and media experiences for both the individual end user and large enterprise customers.Our approximately 30,000 employees around the globe are here to accelerate service providers migration to the cloud,enable them to differentiate in the 5G era,and digitalize and automate their operations.Listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market,Amdocs had revenue of$4.89 billion in fiscal 2023.For more information,visit Amdocs at 2024 Amdocs.All rights reserved.