Ooredoo Embraces Digitization and Cutting-Edge Mobile Technology to Transform the Customer Onboarding Experience

Ooredoo has transformed customer onboarding, using Kofax solutions to drive completely digital, highly automated contract processing. Today, the company can get customers up-and-running with a new mobile phone subscription in just minutes, and simultaneously cut operating costs and ensure full compliance with strict information-sharing laws.

In Algeria alone, Ooredoo processes approximately 5 million new mobile contracts every year. As contract activation is one of the very first interactions that new customers will have with a telecommunications provider, making the right impression is critical to gaining their trust. However, Ooredoo found that relying on manual, paper-driven methods to capture customers’ data and activate their contracts slowed onboarding and threatened to tarnish satisfaction.

Previously, when customers applied for a new contract they had to fill out paper forms at our points-of-sale and provide supporting proof of identity, such as their driver’s license. Sales teams manually keyed the information into a separate application to program the new SIM card, then activated it.

Separately, in order to import the customer contract information into its back-end Oracle Siebel Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, Ooredoo had to schedule weekly document collections from its points-of-sale.

Drivers collected the paper applications and transported them to a central service bureau to be scanned and indexed; administrative teams then manually entered the data into Siebel CRM. It could take up to three weeks for customer information to be entered into back-end systems, and reliance on manual data entry heightened the risk of error.

Imed Soussou, Chief Technology Officer at Ooredoo, said, “The manual approach to contract processing incurred high costs and manpower, and there was a risk of documents getting lost. It was also time-consuming to import contracts to the back office.”

 In addition to slowing response to customers, the lengthy cycle times put Ooredoo at risk of non-compliance with strict government regulations around information sharing. In the wake of the Algerian Civil War during the 1990s, the government put in place a number of strict security and counter-terrorism measures.

Imed Soussou noted, “We have to follow strict regulations around managing the customer contract lifecycle. One such regulation requires us to ensure that customer contract information is entered into our systems within a certain number of days after a sale has been made.

The government performs regular audits to verify that providers are performing their due diligence around storing customer information. As it could sometimes take weeks between contract activation and entry of customer information into Ooredoo’s back-end systems, there was a risk that the requested data would be unavailable in the event of an audit. While Ooredoo had never encountered such a problem, it was keen to mitigate the risk, as non-compliance could result in hefty fines and even withdrawal of the company’s operating license.

To deliver more responsive customer service and strengthen regulatory compliance, Ooredoo embarked on a project to automate and digitize the entire customer onboarding process. The company partnered with CaptureDoc to roll out a new document capture and management platform, built on Kofax solutions, across its network of stores and merchandising partner locations.

Imed Soussou remarked, “We chose Kofax because it gave us the flexibility to cover the end-to-end capture and activation process from a single platform. We currently have more than 250 people—both direct employees and partners—using the system, and we expect this number to grow to between 2,000 and 3,000 users in the next two years.”

Today, when a customer comes into store, sales teams help them complete an electronic application form—via desktop computer at Ooredoo stores and via tablet device at partner shops. The new digital onboarding approach is enabled by Kofax SignDoc technology, which allows the company to capture customers’ electronic signatures on signing pads and tablet screens.

Once a customer has signed their contract, sales teams capture an electronic copy of supporting identification documents—with scanners or directly from tablet devices. Both the application form and digitized ID documents are then uploaded to a back-end database and Siebel CRM, using the Kofax Mobile Capture Platform. Simultaneously, the customer’s personal details are automatically transmitted to a separate application used for SIM card programming, and the SIM is activated over GSM network.

“With Kofax solutions, we have eliminated the manual effort that used to be involved with completing and processing contracts,” said Imed Soussou. “Today, customers can work with our sales representatives and partners to complete and sign the contract electronically, and it is sent in real time to our content management systems, with no manual intervention.”

With Kofax SignDoc, Ooredoo can complete the application process even when there is no internet connection—a key benefit in a country like Algeria, where internet connectivity can often be unreliable. Once the customer’s e-signature has been captured, the contract document is sealed electronically. If there is no internet connection, the contract will remain encrypted and stored locally on the desktop or tablet at the point-of-sale until connectivity is restored. Once a connection is available, the document is automatically uploaded to back-end systems.

Behind the scenes, Ooredoo uses Kofax Analytics for Capture to track and measure key metrics related to the customer onboarding process. This enables the company to keep a close watch on the status of every contract application, and spot opportunities to boost process efficiency and accuracy.

Ooredoo has also established a series of alerts that flag up any issues with the capture process and measure sales performance in stores. For example, when a store reaches a specific threshold of new products sold, the system creates an alert that will trigger administrative teams to send congratulations and a thank-you note to the sales team. Acknowledging sales achievements in this way helps Ooredoo to keep sellers motivated and encourages them to hit their targets, driving sales and revenues.

The new, all-digital approach has transformed the customer experience at Ooredoo. With significantly faster contract processing and service activation customers can get up-and running with their new mobile service in just minutes.

“Automating our processes makes us more efficient, helping improve the customer experience, reducing the cost and time of processing contracts, and enabling us to deliver consistent service whatever the channel,” noted Imed Soussou.

What’s more, Ooredoo is gaining much richer insight into its customers, helping the company deliver more personalised service.

Imed Soussou explained, “With real-time customer information, we can understand better our customers and their needs from the very first day of their lifecycle at Ooredoo. As a result, we can personalise our outreach in the call center, at sales points and through marketing campaigns—shaping a very good customer experience that strengthens our standing in the market.”

In addition, improved information control puts Ooredoo in a much stronger position when it comes to responding to regulators’ audit requests. While in the past it could take up to three weeks to enter new customer information into our back-end systems, today the entire process takes no more than two or three minutes.

Additionally, Ooredoo has almost entirely eliminated the risk of incorrect or inconsistent data being entered into business systems. As a result, the company can rest assured that it has accurate, complete customer data to hand during audits and when authorities make an actual request for information, minimizing the risk and cost of non-compliance.

Embracing digitization and cutting-edge mobile technology sets Ooredoo apart from competitors as an innovator that is ready to meet the needs of modern consumers. And the company’s investment appears to be paying off: group revenue is up by two percent in the first quarter of 2017 and net profit has risen by 3 percent during the same period. Equally impressively, Ooredoo’s customer base in Algeria grew by five percent to reach more than 14 million customers.

Imed Soussou concluded, “We have received positive feedback from customers who have been very impressed by the innovations we are introducing. With support from our partners Kofax and CaptureDoc we are shaping an efficient and agile business that is ready to adapt as customer demands and market conditions change—keeping us on track for success.”