Automated Internet Entry Order System Reduces
Cycle Time & Saves Money

Challenge
A leading provider of all-digital wireless service was limited by its infrastructure.

Nextel's rising growth put greater demand on their existing ordering process.  Indirect dealers and customer service agents found it gradually more difficult to work with the current system because orders took more than one week to process and they were often inaccurate.  Consequently, Nextel's potential growth was limited and customer satisfaction was negative.

The order fulfillment cycle time was inhibited by the procedure for processing orders which included indirect dealers placing orders via fax.  Orders were often lost or difficult to read.  As sales increased, the cycle time increased to over a week, creating indirect dealer and customer dissatisfaction.

Solution
The company needed an integrated system to connect the indirect dealer channel with the order fulfillment staff and they needed to streamline the workflow.

Utilizing data collected during strategy meetings, Integro designed a solution that automated Nextel's order fulfillment processes by allowing their indirect dealers to utilize a secured Web site to place orders, check the status of orders and inventory levels, and create managerial reports.

Results
Integro developed the system in approximately 60 days by implementing a Lotus Notes/Domino solution that streamlined Nextel's workflow process and took advantage of the internet to gather and process orders. 

• Cost savings of over $24 million per year ($10 savings per order assuming current run rate of 200,000 orders per month)
• 1,233% increase over expected order capacity (goal to process 15,000 per month, actually processing over 200,000 per month!)
• Since inception, actual order volume has increased 22,900%!
• System supports 1800 Nationwide Dealers and over 14.4 million Web site hits annually Lower activation error rate (National average is 5-15% vs. this system at 1.4%.)
• Lower error rate translates into reduced customer service cost.  (Customer service calls cost on average $10, so Nextel is saving approximately $72,000 each month through reduced customer service calls.)
• Average cycle time is 3.2 hours with this Extranet solution, versus National average of 3 days. Monthly orders as of January 2001: 200,000

According to Jim Powers, Director of Nextel's Indirect Support Channel, "The gains we have experienced by setting up a centralized activations system have been incredible.  It's allowed us to reduce the cycle time of an order, improve the quality of information to and from our dealers, and substantially increase revenues since we're getting product to the customer faster than the direct channel can."  He adds, "To validate an order by means of an electronic system provides integrity.  We can see what was submitted and then view the information as it goes through queues to completion.  This is much more than an order entry tool - it allows us to efficiently communicate with our dealers, provides a real-time information database and also provides a way to quickly train our new employees and dealers."