Telefónica Argentina. Case of success

Context

Telefónica Argentina is a telecommunications company founded in 1990, after the privatization of Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (ENTel).

It is currently one of the two largest operators of telephony and Internet services in the country and is divided into different departments, offering different technology and solutions: voice communications, data, Internet support, fixed-national and international telephony, mobile telephony, TV and Internet access under the Movistar and Tuenti brands.

In addition to telecommunications, its structure includes an insurance administrator under the name of Pléyade Argentina, and the Telefónica Argentina Foundation, which focuses on social collaboration with individuals and corporations.

"The communication channel with our customers is fundamental to be able to bring them offers of services or products and mainly valuable information for the community, such as the number of the gender violence hotline. That information is updated with more data and as needed, we can have that place to establish a specific contact," explained Daniel Engl, digital billing supervisor at Telefónica, who led the project and is part of the team along with Fabio Dolce and Valeria Sagaseta.

The Challenge

Telefónica approaches Ricoh, which previously provided invoice printing under a paper-based printing and distribution solution model, with a need to optimize the process of sending mass mailings to its end-customer portfolio with digital reports and invoicing of their accounts. They had already started to implement a digital distribution process that did not meet their expectations, so Ricoh got involved to optimize and complete the digital transformation and automation of the process.
It was estimated that approximately 8 to 9 million shipments were needed per month. In addition, the client required concrete metrics on the reception and visualization of these shipments by the end customer in each campaign, information that their previous system did not provide. In this context, advanced process automation technology was needed, allowing for a permanent update and thus, a better service and communication offered to its users, without interruption of the communication chain during the transition.

Ricoh, as Telefónica's strategic partner, thoroughly investigated the requirements to be covered at each step of the process, and which technologies could meet these needs to provide an improved billing system. In short, the chosen solution had to meet three variables: estimated immediate implementation time, affordable cost and verifiable effectiveness.
Solution

Solution

Through Ricoh's own development, a Robotic Process Automation solution was implemented, combining analytics technologies, robotics for the processing of the client's mailing campaigns, and additionally the audit reporting of these campaigns. This solution allows the new system to capture data (structured or unstructured), interpret it, generate the necessary reports and follow the mailing process, reducing lead times and speeding up responses.

Specifically, Ricoh implemented a solution based on:

• In-house developed tool for file and information processing and process automation.
• Change from an HTML-based interface to one based on HTML5, which delivers a better experience, fully adaptable to the end user's screen.
• Process security guaranteed by encryption and decryption of information.
• Automated and immediate reporting on campaigns at the time of implementation (along with end-of-campaign and 48-hour reports).
• Mail Relay, which manages the delivery of mails continuously, reporting on the opening and consultation made by each end customer; obtained from a leading provider in the market (Doppler Relay).
• Web platform for consultation of the process and status of campaigns in real time.
• Post-implementation support from RICOH professionals
• Key information instantly available for decision making with Robotic Process Automation technology
• Robotic Process Automation technology

Results

Telefónica Argentina obtained immediate benefits based on process automation: the time to generate and send campaigns to end customers was reduced from 20 days to only 7 days, almost tripling the speed of information output and allowing to reach the target audience of 9 million vouchers per month.

Invoice modification processes were reduced from 30 to 3 days, eliminating passive times and amplifying efficiency; and the reporting system allows them to identify bounced emails to automatically manage a physical invoice, thus integrating all instances of the process and improving customer service conditions.

In addition, the automation of this process optimized internal operations by integrating a modern digital mass communication platform with its printed communication distribution. On the other hand, this technology laid the foundations for the development of a strategy that allows the client to improve its commercial coverage for the sale of products and services.
Results for Ricoh

Right from the start, Ricoh was honored to be considered a strategic partner. The client was already contracting our services in the area of printing and distribution of physical invoicing. Instead of looking for a new supplier, and knowing Ricoh's one-stop-shop characteristic, he had the confidence to approach us with a requirement of this magnitude in a different application area, and leave in our hands the planning and implementation of a key automated system for the operation of his company.

As a result of this excellent collaboration, Telefónica Argentina continues to see Ricoh as a business partner it can count on to provide technology solutions that meet all its needs.

Ricoh Latin America and Telefónica Argentina acting together in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for a better future:

Ricoh is a global company committed to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by solving social problems through business with the sole purpose of achieving economic growth, a better planet and a better society.

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