How to reduce costs and improve the relevance of information transmitted to clients?

This mission was part of a worldwide project driven by the General Management of a global leader in telecommunication equipment. The company wanted to optimise the production of their technical documentation. Our two-fold aim was cutting costs and improving user satisfaction.

Technical documentation is sometimes viewed as a product accessory and neglected by management. This is a mistake! In order to produce a relevant documentation, involving numerous departments is necessary: product, research and development, quality, after-sales, editing, publishing, logistics, information systems, etc. The procurement department is also involved as  publication  and distribution (physical or electronic) are often outsourced. Reorganising those complex processes and optimising procurement were thus the first cost-saving levers.

The content and structure of the documents were analysed to determine if the layers of information accumulated over the years were still relevant for the customers. A detailed, large-scale customer survey was carried out to:

• determine the perceived quality of the documentation,
• understand the way it is used,
• validate the proposed changes.

This is the best way to ensure a customer-centric approach.

We analysed the process from end to end. We discovered that the actual budget for technical documentation was 3 to 4 times higher than the initial estimates. Thanks to a  thorough re-examination of all costs (internal and external) we identified overall savings of more than 35%.

Phases of the project:

1. Make an inventory of all the documents produced;
2. Understand the internal perception of their value;
3. Analyse the dysfunctions in the production process;
4. Evaluate the cost-cutting opportunities;
5. Review/perform a customer survey of major telecommunications operators in North America and Europe;
6. Draft an operational action plan encompassing both cost and customer value dimensions.