Product Management
Problems / Solutions / Benefits
In my career in Product Management there were many problems that I dealt with and provided solutions for that were of tremendous value to my company and our customers as well.
Miscellaneous Parts Incompatibility, increased sales expense, reduced profitability
Problem - Compatibility problems between the thousands of miscellaneous products we sold in support of the large telephone systems and PBXs. In the early days of BellSouth Advanced Systems we no longer had the comfort supplied by Bell Labs when all systems and peripherals were compatible. We were now selling systems manufactured by Northern Telcom, NEC, Tadiran, ITT, TIE that were analog and digital, to name just a few. The peripheral products we also offered ranged from handset cords, external bells and buzzers to battery backup systems, anything that was not manufactured and distributed by the telephone system manufacturer. As the Miscellaneous Products Manager my responsibility was to add the many small products that our customers would like to have as add-ons to their systems. In addition to adding the products I had to ensure each part was compatible with our systems sales, that we could warranty and maintain it, that when we installed the part we were not voiding the manufacturers warranty to BellSouth. Because of the number of parts necessary I was also responsible for the inventory management of the miscellaneous products, so I had to research which products worked on which systems, was there a product available that had multiple system applications and could be installed by our telephone technicians and maintained. Training on the installation process was another issue. The consequences of not addressing these issues were incorrect orders, expensive multiple truck rolls, incorrect or faulty installation, system failures, customer dissatisfaction and cancellation of system sales because it did not work as it was proposed.
Solution - The Miscellaneous Products Guide (originally designed for the sales force but was quickly requested by the installation/maintenance departments) which detailed the parts available, the compatibility with which phone systems and the options available. I designed it to include a compatibility chart for each category including the many options available. I also included the Vendor Representatives contact support numbers as well.
Benefits - Increased order flow, correct installations and improved customer satisfaction. The sale force could accurately propose the correct ancillary part with confidence that it would work as described. The savings in sales and service expenses by eliminating ordering and installation errors resulted in my winning "The Presidents Circle of Excellence" for 1988.
Inventory Management of older equipment, increased warehouse expense, reduced sales revenue
Problem - One of our vendors was constantly upgrading the software and hardware on their hybrid PBX system to the point that we had a huge inventory of old style releases in the warehouse and could not return them because of the contract agreed to. The strength of the system was it versatility for program changes which was also the weakness in the sales, provisioning and installation process. It was taking too long to sale the systems, ship the systems, program the systems on site and install the systems. Add to that the fact that our competitors were working on slimmer margins and small inventory levels so they would be proposing the latest releases. We had to respond with the new releases as well and the older releases remained in the warehouse and on the books. We had to come up with a way to sell the systems at a lower price but reduce the expenses of sales, programming and installation to maintain any acceptable margin.
Solution - I developed the Hybrid 720 PBX which could be sold by our premise sales force and our telemarketing centers as well. The system was packaged with the control unit, cards and telephone sets designed to provide a "squared" telephone system (every set had all lines appearing on it but which ones would ring on the set was selectable). The sales person completed a short program request sheet on which lines would ring on what sets and peripheral devices to be added. The system was then packages together on one pallet, the control units was "staged" at the warehouse (the software module was programmed and tested before shipment) and all tags and labels applied before the unit shipped.
Benefits We gained a wider sales channel by adding the telemarketing sales channel, the unit could be rolled in, plugged up, the station line (which were already installed) attached, the incoming telephone lines connected and the software module installed and turned on. From that point remote maintenance took over the installation verifying all systems were operating as they should. The system was then accepted by the customer and our technicians had completed the installation. The greater benefit was the reduction of old style sets and systems in the warehouse, managing a better product mix of sets and control units of the newer versions. This resulted in a savings of approximately $1,000,000.00 in inventory expenses.
Recombination, increased sales overhead, reduced compensation, reduced sales, reduced revenues
Problem - Recombination of BellSouth and BellSouth Advanced Systems. The unregulated entity of BellSouth Advanced Systems was recombined with the BellSouth Services and BellSouth Business Systems resulting in increased overhead ( sales expenses, Part X Accounting process, network sales taking priority over equipment sales.). At this time compensation to the sales force was changed to only allow compensation of equipment sales as a pull-thru with network sales (ESSX, Centrex, ISDN, etc.). The equipment side was left with add ons and upgrades to existing customer base. If an Account Manager did sell a premise system they had to account for the percentage of time spent on the equipment (Part X) and that affected the compensation they received from the sale.
Solution - The BellSouth "Norstar" Star Club Catalog. The catalog was distributed to over 15,000 Norstar customers detailing the upgrades and add ons available for their phone system as well as the many ancillary devices available (headsets, volume control handsets, voice mail systems, analog adapters, multiple software packages for CTI and ESSX Sales). We even packaged a suitcase training program and went on the road to train the sales people within their office.
Benefits We increased the aftermarket add on sales and upgrades while reducing the sales expense through the addition of The Customer Service Center for customer call in orders. The catalog also increased the expertise level of the sales force that before hand handled only network products (ESSX, Centrex, ISDN, T1 services). Prior to the catalog there was no training provided on customer premise equipment and the value it added to network services sales. Installation and maintenance also benefited by gaining knowledge of the products and the capabilities available. I&M even developed a program that encouraged referrals of customers to the CSC for the add on products. They even referred customers who purchased Norstar systems from other vendors but not under a maintenance contract to call in and request a catalog to be mailed to them. The suitcase system could be used as demo kit by the sales force when making network solution proposals to large customers as well as a customer training tool for installed systems.
