Customer Management

CustomerClosed In the context of the Cloud Monetisation Platform, an individual or organisation who has signed an agreement to take goods and services from a service provider. A customer receives a bill associated with one or more subscriptions, and can be a single end user or a large company with many subscriptions assigned to one agreement. Management allows you to configure parameters used in the process of managing customers. This includes:

Reason types are used to groupClosed In the Customer Manager Platform hierarchy, the highest level of the structure. The group level can be used to group corporates. Groups can hold financial information. reason codes. Reason codes are linked to reason types, for example, a Direct Debit Amendment reason type could be linked to a number reason code.

Reasons are typically used for reporting purposes to identify the source of requests for change. Reason types add an additional layer of classification for workflow events. They are typically the same as or similar to reason codes, but less granular. Reason types are identified by a code (up to six letters) and a short description.

For example:

Reason type: DDAMND Direct Debit Amendment

Associated reason types: DD01 Direct Debit Amend- New Amount, DD02 - Direct Debit Amend - Bank AccountClosed In the Cloud Monetisation Platform, a billing entity that can be used to manage payments on one or more subscriptions or payments for services. An account can hold details such as payments or invoices. Change, DD03 - Direct Debit Amend - Customer Request

You associate a reason code with a reason type when you create or edit the reason code, although this is not a mandatory setting.

To create a reason type, you need to:

  • Provide an alphanumeric reason type code of up to six characters.
  • Provide a meaningful description.

 

Reason categories are used to categorise reason codes to identify the source of change requests and for easy retrieval of reason codes, for example, a Workflow Reasons or Payments Reasons category. When you configure a reason code, the reason category is a mandatory setting.

To create a reason category, you need to:

  • Provide an alphanumeric reason type code of up to six characters.
  • Provide a meaningful description.

You can configure reason codes that can be used against a workflow event type.

For more information, see Workflow Event Types.

Once you have configured reason codes, you can configure a list of reason codes against a workflow event type and this list will be available to all workflow events with that workflow type. This enables users in AgentViewClosed The graphical user interface of the CMP that is typically used by Customer Service Agents to access CMP customer and billing data. In versions prior to CMP 8.0, this was called the CMP GUI. to select a reason code from a drop-down list when they raise a workflow event.

The reason codes are predominantly used for reporting purposes and to identify the source of change requests. Reason codes are identified by an alphanumeric code (up to six characters) and a brief descriptive name.

To configure a reason code, you:

You can define contracts for postpaid customers. Contracts outline the agreementClosed In the Cloud Monetisation Platform, the entity that holds the instructions for generating the bills for one or more subscriptions. including the addresses and how often the bill is generated. to which a customer must adhere for the service provided. CMPClosed Converged Monetisation Platform. The MDS Global product that supports customer care and billing for digital service providers. supports contracts at the agreement and subscriptionClosed A billing entity that incurs a charge. Examples include a network attached device whose usage you want to measure and charge for, or a monthly software subscription level for postpaid subscriptions. Contracts are linked with price plans. Typically, a provider defines a small number of contracts. These can then be associated with multiple different price plans via the Business ConfigurationClosed A module in the CMP Administation console that provides for viewing and modification of business and user applicable system configuration. console. You link a contract to a price plan when creating that price plan and when doing so, the following are defaulted from the contract:

When a price plan with a contract is linked to an agreement this means:

  • All subscriptions on that agreement share the same price plan and contract values regardless of when they join the agreement.

  • Subscriptions on agreement contracts are always associated with that contract even after it expires.

  • Subscriptions on agreement contracts are not allowed direct manipulation of their price plans; this must be done at agreement level.

  • Agreement price plan changes can be scheduled immediately or at a future date. You can cancel a future plan change prior to it taking effect.

Terms and conditions also reside in the price plan. However, these are independent of the contract.

In the Business Configuration console, you can add new contracts, view and/or edit the following settings:

  • Contract Code - A unique alphanumeric code for the contract (View only).

  • Contract Description - A brief meaningful description name for the contract of up to 30 characters.

  • Effective Date - The date from which the contract applies (View only).

  • Term of Contracts - The total duration of the contract in months.

  • Minimum Contract TermClosed The minimum amount of a contract that must be served. If a customer is outside this period, they can change price plan at no charge. If they are under the minimum period, they can change the price plan but may be subject to a one-off administration fee. - The minimum time period (in months) of a contract that must be served. If a customer is outside of this period, they can change their price plan at no charge. If they are under the minimum contract term and outside the early upgrade term, the customer can change their price plan but may be subject to a one-off administration fee.

  • Early Upgrade Term - The period at the start of a contract (in months) during which customers are not allowed to change their price plan.

  • Notice Period - The period of notice (in months) that a customer must give before a new price plan change takes effect.

  • Maximum Termination Fee - Maximum monetary fee that can be applied as a termination fee.

  • Min Period Days Free Termination - Termination fees are charged if the remaining days on a subscription's contract are greater than the termination fee days value.

  • Active - Whether the contract is available to be selected for a price plan.

Occupations refer to the types of jobs or professional roles held by individuals who use or purchase a company’s products or services. This helps to understand your customers' requirements, and tailor their offerings, marketing, and support to better meet their needs.

In CMP, you can add and maintain the occupations typically used by your customers. The occupation is found on the customer's personal address.

To create an occupation, you need:

  • A unique alphanumeric code (all uppercase) for the occupation of up to ten characters.

  • A brief meaningful description of the occupation of up to thirty characters.

Titles are formal prefixes used before a person's name to indicate respect, marital status, professional/academic qualifications, and so on.

In CMP, you can add and maintain the titles that can be assigned to your customers, ensuring standardised and professional communication. Titles are found on the customer's personal address.

Account default values are preconfigured settings or parameters that are automatically applied to an account when it is created.

When creating an account default value, you need to select the level at which account invoices are required. The levels include Group, Corporate, Subscription, or Corporate Detail.

You also should provide the following details:

  • Default Billing Media Code.

  • Currency Code

  • Default Account Type

  • Default Sub Ledger Code

  • Default Payment Terms.

ID Types are the types of customer identification, for example, driving license, passport, that is used when creating an account. To create an ID Type, you need an ID Type Code, and a Description.

Account Serial Validations enable you to define the validation rules that are to be applied when creating account serial numbers.

Industrial classifications are used to categorise businesses based on their primary economic activity, enabling more effective creation and management of business customer profiles. For a telecommunications provider, this supports targeted customer segmentation, allowing for personalised services, tailored offerings, and more strategic marketing aligned with the specific needs of each industry sector.

It is possible to configure Attribute Groups for each level of the hierarchy, for all company numbers that have been configured. The Attribute Group is assigned an ID number (for example: 01, 02, 03 and so on) and also has a configurable description which is used to identify what Attributes that Group relates to.

To create an attribute group, you need:

  • A unique alphanumeric code (all uppercase) for the attribute group of up to six characters.

  • A brief meaningful description of the attribute group of up to thirty characters.

You can define salespersons in CMP. A salesperson is responsible for selling products or services to customers, as well as understanding customer needs in order to present suitable offerings, and close sales to generate revenue for the business.

To create a salesperson, you need to:

  • Provide a salesperson name using a unique alphanumeric code of up to thirty characters.
  • Provide the account with which the salesperson is associated.