Page 362 - Handbook of Modern Telecommunications

Network Management and Administration 3-153

When the enterprise sells its products to a partner or supplier, this is done through the enterprise
CRM processes, which act on behalf of the supplier or the enterprise in such cases. Supplier/Partner
(S/P) processes only cover the buying of services by the enterprise.
Principal processes are:

• S/PRM Support and Readiness: These processes are responsible for ensuring that all necessary facil-
ities related to the interaction with suppliers and partners are ready and functioning. Moreover,
these processes are responsible for the resolution of problems related to these facilities.
• S/P Requisition Management: S/P Requisition processes manage requisitions with partners and
suppliers to ensure on-time and correct delivery of the product or service requested by the enter-
prise. According to the appropriate policy and practices of the enterprise, supply chain processes
in SIP may be involved as well as, or instead of, S/P Requisition Management to achieve this. This
process interfaces with the supplier’s CRM process for order handling.
• S/P Problem Reporting and Management: S/P Problem Reporting and Management processes
manage problems associated with supplier/partner interactions, whether identified within the
enterprise or notified by the supplier/partner.
• S/P Performance Management: These processes track, measure, and report the performance of
services or products from suppliers and partners, as well as how this relates to the performance
of the supplier/partner against any contracts or business agreements. They interface with the sup-
plier’s CRM processes of Customer QoS/SLA Management.
• S/P Settlements and Billing Management: Manage all settlements and billing for the enterprise,
including bill validation and verification and payment authorization.
• S/P Interface Management: Manage the contacts between the enterprise and its current or future
suppliers/partners for products or services.

3.6.8 Support Processes Taxonomy

The grouping of support processes, functions, and products is not yet unique. Standard organizations,
industry associations, market research companies, powerful service providers, and suppliers give their
input and recommendations for process, function, and product taxonomies. This segment will intro-
duce a few actionable examples.

3.6.8.1 TMN-OSS Model
Besides the eTOM model, the Telecommunications Management Network (TMN) model is still often
used in the iindustry. Mapping of several Support Processes to the TMN layers is shown in Table 3.6.1.
For all typical TMN layers, typical responsibilities are listed. It is obvious that there is no clear separa-
tion among processes, functions, and responsibilities. This table is useful as an entry point for building
a blueprint of support process hierarchies.

TABl E 3.6.1 Mapping of Several Support Processes to the TMN Layers
Business Management Management Strategic Direction, Planning, Budgeting Services, Service Level
Agreements, Sales, Staffing, Payroll
Services Management Service Order and Activation, Provisioning, Customer Care, Customer Access,
Metrics Reporting, QoS, SLA Monitoring, Assets/Inventory, Performance, Capacity,
Accounting, Billing
Network and Systems Management Network Monitoring, Change Control, Configuration Management, Access Control,
Statistical Data Collection/Analysis, Status Monitoring
Network Element Management Agent/SNMP Manager, Alarms, Notifications, Fault Monitoring, Correlation,
Diagnostics, Element FCAPS