At a Glance
- A telecommunications service provider in Asia had to improve its efficiency to remain competitive in its home country due to increased competition and industry expansion.
- Renoir was tasked with designing, enhancing, and implementing improved processes, practices, and control methodologies to improve productivity and revenue levels over a nine-month period.
- By the end of the project, the company had significantly improved its sales growth by optimising its distribution channels through business partners and distributors in the home country.
Background
The telecommunications industry comprises the companies and regulatory bodies responsible for providing the services and infrastructure needed to transmit signals, messages, and data.
The pace of telecommunications innovation and development in any given region is driven by significant changes in technology, customer demand and local regulation. As of 2022, the global telecommunications services market was valued at US$1,805 billion, and is expected to continue growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.2% from 2023 to 2030.
Given the current fast-paced and technologically ambitious climate, telecommunications is one of the most important industries of the 21st century. Our client is one of the largest telecommunications service providers in Asia, operating the largest mobile network in its home country with millions of subscribers. They are a subsidiary of a listed group with market presence in telecommunications, digital, financial and IT services.
Analysis
The telecommunications industry has expanded significantly over the last few decades, challenging the major players in the market to improve their efficiency to remain competitive.
Our client was facing a similar situation in their home country. They engaged Renoir to carry out an initial assessment of the performance levels of their various sales and distribution channels.
Renoir was then tasked with developing, enhancing, and implementing improved processes, practices, and control methodologies to improve productivity and revenue levels over a nine-month period. Project activities included:
- Corporate and small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
- Sales through partner organisations and external distribution outlets
- Exploring a new direct door-to-door sales approach
- Defining, developing and installing a standard regional marketing materials Management Control System (MCS) across all regions.
Project Approach
The project started with Renoir’s Focus Process and Implementation approach. This approach has been developed, tested and proven over hundreds of successful assignments for global clients. All of these assignments achieved consistent and sustainable results.
This process helped our client’s employees, distributors, and business partners to learn and understand the solutions being implemented. It encouraged them to commit to and take ownership of these solutions while maintaining the necessary discipline.
To achieve maximum impact and buy-in, we set up Management Action Teams (MATs). These teams enabled direct engagement with the sales team during the process improvement implementation.
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Implementation
Corporate and SME
The objective was to develop and implement the Corporate and SME Sales Management Control System (MCS). The aim was to increase the productivity of the sales force.
Issues: From the initial assessment phase, the direct sales areas focused on basic planning and short-term control issues. This resulted in occasional disconnected and disjointed processes, that hampered efforts to organise and monitor the various sales teams. Account allocation was unclear, and people tended to take long routes, spending more time travelling than with customers.
Solution: Existing processes were mapped, critiqued, and improved. Accounts were allocated to specific areas within geographical territories, and visit targets were introduced with a requirement to contact customers and schedule appointments in advance. Performance was monitored through weekly team meetings, and any issues were addressed promptly.
External distribution
The objective was to develop and implement a Sales Management Control System (MCS) to effectively manage the performance of distributors. The MCS was to be rolled out to 32 distributors and 12 business partners across the home country to improve charge card and starter pack sales.
Issues: Sub-optimal performance was observed in the planning and capacity loading of the sales representatives linked to the partners. Shortcomings were also identified in the short-term push to achieve sales targets. Training needs were identified, particularly in relation to knowledge gaps on specific products in the sales portfolio.
Solution: Following the implementation of improved processes and control measures, a four-week pilot of the “To Be” situation was conducted with a selected distributor. This allowed route rescheduling and workload balancing exercises to be tested, fine-tuned and validated in a controlled environment. Having secured buy-in from all parties as a result of the successful implementation, a challenging programme was subsequently planned and executed.
This involved the subsequent preparation, implementation, and follow-up of over one hundred different geographical locations across the country in the final six months of the project. A team of audit staff was trained on the newly implemented processes and systems. A detailed plan was developed over several months to monitor ongoing compliance, understanding, and usage, to ensure long-term sustainability.
Door-to-Door
The objective was to design and develop a door-to-door sales Management Control System (MCS).
Solution: An initial pilot was launched to test the structure and solution before proceeding with a national rollout of the entire door-to-door structure. A new sales channel was set up to exploit the domestic, non-commercial market.
Key focus areas included people, processes, practices, productivity, promotions, and presence (covering logistics and stock movement).
Results
“It has been a very positive experience to have Renoir’s objective viewpoints shared with us over the last months. If you are looking for operational step-change improvements within a relatively short period of time, aligned closely to your overall objective and culture, I would not hesitate to recommend Renoir.”
-Group Chief Executive Officer
Product sales at business partners increased by
250%
Actual sales visits to corporates and SMEs increased by
100%
New SME sales increased by
40%
External distribution like-for-like sales increased by
10%
Total door-to-door conversion rate exceeded
10%
There was a significant increase in the productivity of SME sales representatives, from four visits per representative per day to nine visits per day. Another achievement was the improvement in sales representatives’ adherence to their designated territories, reducing the percentage of out-of-territory sales from 41% to 9% by the end of the project.
For distributors, this project resulted in a 10.6% increase in cumulative sales to a total of US$27 million, compared to a base of US$25 million. This equates to an estimated annualised benefit of US$8 million. Business partners experienced a 167% increase in product sales over a six-month period compared to the baseline.
A new department of over 75 people was also successfully established, and fully operational within four months. In addition, a hub-based approach reached over 75,000 homes with a 9% conversion rate, increasing to 11% in the last four weeks. A new telemarketing function has also been established to drive pipeline sales.
*We have been intentionally omitted client-specific details to maintain strict confidentiality.
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