PLT offers a wide range of professional services to select, plan, launch and maximize the value created from telecom services. The range of services offered encompass:
New Service Market Entry Business Planning
Adding to the suite of services offered by a company is fraught with complexity. For example, how will existing customers respond to solicitations for the new service? How will the existing products and services be supported? What is the opportunity cost of dedicating scarce resources to the delivery of those new services effect both on near term income and long term profitability? Creating the plan to balance the conflicting needs of new product market development and existing product revenue protection is in equal parts, science and art. PLT’s consultants have a wealth of relevant experience in numerous industries and geographical markets to provide for the seamless addition of new services or entry into new markets.
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Company and Line of Business Restructuring
The employment of a multi-disciplinary approach to solve concurrent and diverse business problems for businesses which are under performing with the goal of restoring them to long term fiscal health. PLT's scope of work typically entails repositioning the product or service offered to maximize potential income; restructure business operations to reduce the cost of doing business and re-engineering processes, systems and the scope of individuals’ responsibilities to deliver a sustainable long term margin.
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Orderly Market Exit
Where the products or services offered by a part of the business no longer fit with the long-term strategic development plans for the company, the task is protect the value of the business, while positioning it for an expeditious sale. Such an effort requires hands-on management which must balance sales, which maximize the value of the asset and project management to plan for an orderly asset sale. Plus, soft skills to retain key employees and "anchor" customers during the transition.
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Technology Performance Evaluation
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported that as of December, 2005 almost 50m US residents were high-speed Internet subscribers. 54% of them accessed the Internet via cable and 39% via DSL. The report may be downloaded here. This is the result of many years of capital investment by cable television and local exchange operators. However, as the OECD observed, only 17% of the US’ residents were broadband subscribers compared to 22% of Canada’s. The FCC reported that by mid-2005, almost 80% of all LEC exchange lines could receive DSL and 91% of CATV’s customers could receive high-speed Internet service. A copy of the report may be downloaded here. The problem of poor high-speed Internet access is concentrated in those communities beyond the economic reach of DSL and cable. To offer affordable universal service in these areas requires creative use of some of the newer access applications. For example, wireless or Broadband over Powerline (BPL). PLT’s consultants have recently completed the only empirical evaluation of BPL’s applicability in a typical rural electricity distribution system. And, determined on behalf of the State of Florida the business case to offer high-speed Internet service to almost 200,000 residents in eight of the most rural counties in NW Florida. To learn more about the BPL study, click here. For more on the work undertaken in Florida, click here.
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Program Management
Well conceived business ideas are not sufficient to ensure economic success. Of equal value is proficient execution. Execution that closely aligns capital expense and operating costs to sales. And, therefore will reduce the total capital required and thus the interval between launch and becoming cash-flow positive.
Core to the efficient use of capital is systems integration which means maximizing the total value created from:
- the use of existing resources that would otherwise be idle
- outsourced non-core functions, that might eventually be brought in-house as the business needs dictate
- timing the purchase of new capabilities to maximize total return on investment and while avoiding purchase decisions that will proscribe the organizations ability to quickly respond to customers wants.
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Decision analytical tool development
Reaching the decision that strikes the optimum balance between maximizing the return of existing resources and securing additional means of production is always complex. PLT’s consultants have leveraged years of experience in running businesses of all sizes in all market conditions to develop a three stage analytical framework employing probabilistic modeling that offers the means to:
- Establish which of the many resource and market considerations will have the greatest effect on the outcome. The “fatal flaw” analysis.
- Develop the baseline analysis, “top down” to crystallize the issues and suggest the approach most likely to have the desired outcome.
- Create the “bottom’s up” analysis to create a business management tool with the means to change decision drivers and gauge the effect on the outcome.
Probabilistic modeling is the use of statistics to rank which of a series of outcomes is most likely when the range of outcomes is subject to a wide range of inputs.
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Feasibility Assessment
Too often, the desires and objectives for a business either cannot be met by the technology employed or, fail to fully employ that technology's potential. In either instance, the result is a higher than necessary capital cost.
To avoid this all too common pitfall in the delivery of high-speed Internet service, PLT's consultants have developed a comprehensive technology evaluation methodology that will enable the operator to cost effectively offer the leading edge of high-speed Internet and related services. |
