4G LTE Network Extension

SITUATION  

Our client, a leading telecommunications provider, designed a free solution for smaller, locally-owned businesses to enhance their 4G LTE wireless coverage in low latency areas. This required a network extender to be installed to a power source, as well as internet and GPS connection. While the product was free, our client still required customer consent to install the product and they lacked the cost-effective, scalable staff necessary to reach their client-base. In addition, they sought to build a productivity based model that would increase customer reach and overall product installations given challenges they had faced around managing the field services workforce in the past. 

 SOLUTION  

In order to effectively meet the customer's needs we implemented a field services management solution in which we:  

• Leveraged a unique milestone-based deployment model, consisting of building out a team that covered three major markets for a three-month pilot program  
• Provided rapid deployment of resources in each market and targeted them to complete the following three major milestones: Selling the product, Installation of the network extender, and Administrative closeout package  
• Provided analytics pertaining to anomalies in each market  
• Captured baseline productivity metrics and developed KPI’s  
• Analyzed and refined milestones for program efficiency  
• Provided collaboration tools to efficiently complete and audit administrative tasks  

RESULT  

This work is primarily seasonal, with summer being the best time to reach the targeted customer base. With the project starting towards the end of the summer and extending for nine months after, we were able to approach 432 businesses across 3 states between two full-time resources and one part-time resource. We maintained a 33% installation success rate and with the enhanced scope of maintenance work added, brought 44 network extenders back online. With our pilot program approach, we were able to intimately learn the business and build a standardized solution with a set of centralized best practices for our regional client team, which previously operated independently within each state. Milestones completed were audited and productivity metrics were reviewed with the client managers weekly via our online web conferencing tools. As a result, this business continues to grow, and the client is looking to add additional headcount for the upcoming peak season.