Connector Enterprise streamlines data exchange in PTK Centertel

PTK Centertel was established in December 1991 as Poland's first analogue mobile telephony operator. The company was later renamed as Idea Centertel (after launching the digital GMS network), Idea (from deploying the dual-band network) and finally branded as Orange.

Since 2005, PTK Centertel has been operating the Orange brand, one of the signature brands owned by the France Télécom Group. With well over 131 million users and customers, the Group leads the global market of telecommunications operators.

PTK Centertel trades in: mobile phones and accessories, starter packs; pre-paid phones with top-up credits as scratch cards, and electronic top-up credits supported by website services. The sales of products and services is done through stores (retail sale) and a distribution network (sales to retailers). The exclusive owner of PTK Centertel is Telekomunikacja Polska SA.

Before: "manual" data exchange

PTK Centertel is involved in a regular daily exchange of large data volumes covering the distribution of pre-paid products, including financial and material settlements with business partners. This exchange process used to be held with excel files and electronically by e-mail. It made great demands on time and human resources of the company and hindered effective data validation. For this reason, the manual calculation and analysis engaged additional resources needed to handle issues going several accounting periods back. With a view to boosting such operation, curbing data exchange costs and bettering the relationships with distributors, the company decided to go for the implementation of an automatic reporting system.

The choice of a well-tested solution

Having scrutinized a number of solutions available on the market, PTK Centertel decided to implement a platform from Asseco Business Solutions - Connector Enterprise. The solution was expected to handle communication and integration processes, as well as matching and deduplication of records and analysis of data on distributors' resale and inventories.

The strong points of Asseco BS were impressive references and a broad range of features conforming to the PTK's needs, and last but not least, comparatively short implementation time, which directly translated into the lower costs of the would-be user's involvement. Moreover, the cooperation with Asseco Business Solutions promised the desirable security level of data storage and transmission.

The implementation

The deployment proper was preceded by a thorough pre-implementation analysis and preparation of PTK Centertel and its cooperating distributors for the project. The analysis identified the actual scale of implementation and the scope and rules of data exchange. It also helped pin down the method of supplying master data for the PTK's range of products. The process assumed that no records of the company's points of sale were to be maintained, and hence there was the necessity of building such a database by means of deduplication processes and mechanisms.

During the implementation, the involved parties discussed business processes pursued by the PTK Centertel's distributors with regard to client reporting.

Keeping the implementation schedule was attainable owing to the proper preparation of the distributors by PTK Centertel. Prior agreements and careful planning secured strong distributor's commitment, which was confirmed by Asseco BS. A demanding, yet compelling challenge of the project was the implementation at one distributor operating country-wide, whose branches were equipped with different operating systems.

Initially, Asseco BS provided PTK Centertel with a reporting tool with embedded, model reports and analyses. The next step was to identify the needs and configure and adjust the reports to the final and best-fitting form. The analytical model was built based on such dimensions as the range of products, points of sale, distributor branches, geographical location, time and dedicated measurements.

"The whole solution has been implemented by Asseco Business Solutions SA in accordance with the time and functional schedule, and in line with the top implementation and security standards. Now, the entire solution is being maintained (full outsourcing option) and developed by Asseco Business Solutions SA, which guarantees that the acquired Connector Enterprise platform is and will remain a comprehensive and up-to-date communication and analytical tool" - from the testimonial by PTK Centertel.

After: professional data delivery from distributors

The deployed Connector Enterprise platform allowed quick and error-free delivery of data from PTK to its distributors, along with their ongoing support (each distributor has an individual maintenance operator in Asseco BS). As regards the system maintenance, the process is put in place of cleansing and deduplicating the point of sale data arriving from distributors' branches and of creating an exhaustive file of PTK Centertel's points of sale. This file is a voluminous collection of unique records, which include traditional shops, newsagent stores, gas stations, ATMs, websites - that is any place where the end customer can buy products from PTK Centertel. Also reports are regularly modified and adjusted to the PTK Centertel's needs.

Business benefits

The implemented solution has considerably improved communication between PTK Centertel and its cooperating distributors. It has contributed to the reduction of operating costs, also the number of errors accompanying any manual data transfer has shrunk.

The company has obtained a rich and reliable source of knowledge on the movement of goods in the distribution chain and on-the-fly access to information about business partners' products and inventories. It is also able to review data on sales by its distributors and gauge the potential of selected points of sale.

Connector Enterprise has also enabled quick and reliable settlement of distributors' accounts based on the actual sales to points of sale and including any relevant indicators. Moreover, PTK Centertel has got hold of an important analytical tool capable of performing various analyses, including a geographical one covering the full database of its own outlets.

Development plans

Connector Enterprise is constantly developed by Asseco Business Solutions to meet the needs of PTK Centertel, both in terms of functions and use. In order to better the quality and level of validation of processed data, new functions are added that will benefit the distributors and PTK' users. Asseco BS is also constantly absorbed in the development of the reporting layer, involving not only the adjustment of current reports, but also the testing and updating the existing version of the reporting environment.