Revenue assurance is a term usually, but not always, employed in the telecommunications industry. It refers to a process of identifying profit “leakages” through data analysis and improvement of processes that affect revenue and cash flow. Due to the all-encompassing nature of it, there is a need for coordination across all departments within the business: marketing, IT, finance and human resources among many. The average profit “leakage”, not including fraud-related events, has been hypothesized at anywhere from 1% to 20% of total business revenues. This being the case, it is financially prudent for any telecommunications business to employ it as a first line defense against this reduction in profits. Here is a simple plan to jumpstart this process:
Step 1: Put Revenue Assurance First
Let’s face it, without clear, written business goals and priorities the best-made plans often falter. The smartest way to let the process of it work for you is to organize a dedicated Revenue Assurance Department. This will ensure that there is coordination and cooperation between business units; particularly between Finance and Technology, but also including Marketing, Human Resources and others.
Step 2: Use Every Possible Angle
In order to get the most from your assurance plan, you need to make sure you are analyzing every possible source of revenue. This includes looking at data to assure billing accuracy, determine network-to-bill reconciliation, practice credit control and control of product margins, determine and control dealer commission costs and employ Mobile Virtual Network Operators analytics. Deploying a data analysis program that can scrutinize and evaluate all of these different data sets would be the optimal tool to begin your analysis.
Step 3: Team Training
First, the team selected to run your Revenue Assurance Department should consist of highly trained individuals who have an ability to analyze revenue streams. Ideally, at least one team member should be certified by the Global Assurance Revenue Professional Association, but all members should be technology and data-savvy.
Step 4: Create a Sub-Team
It is a good idea to have buy-in from all of your departments. To this end, it is in your best interest to gather team members with a working knowledge of the data to assist the Assurance Revenue Department on an as needed basis. These team members can brainstorm possible revenue opportunities based on the results of data analysis or help from team employees to get a more fundamental understanding of the origin of the data. Certain revenue assurance software that is highly visual can allow less-skilled individuals access to the data and give you greater ability to include input from team members from other departments.
