NTT East streamlines order management with Pega

The Business Issue

NTT East is a regional telecommunications provider in Japan. A subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT), it’s the largest telecommunications company in Japan and one of the largest in the world.

NTT East is responsible for providing telecommunications services, including fixed-line telephone, broadband internet, and other related services to the eastern part of Japan. The company's territory includes major cities like Tokyo and surrounding prefectures, and the sheer scale of its business exposed process inefficiencies.

The company processed 8.5 million orders annually, and historically, the order workflow for internet and telephone services relied heavily on manual processes. The back office handled multiple operational tasks, including system input, incomplete application checks, and inventory management. However, inefficiencies began to surface due to:

• Manual system input: Back-office staff manually entered data from sales channels, leading to errors and delays.
• Inadequate communication: Phone and email communications for incomplete applications and inventory checks slowed processes.
• Paper-based operations: Legacy systems heavily relied on paperwork, adding unnecessary complexity.
• Inventory and inquiry overload: The back office was burdened with 80 million inquiries annually, with inefficient methods of checking stock and processing orders.

With increasing demand and operational complexity, NTT East sought a transformative solution to streamline operations, enhance customer experience, and reduce the strain on their back office.

The Solution

NTT East embraced using the Pega Platform™ and Pega Cloud® to revolutionize their operations. The company automated back-end systems using Pega Robotic Process Automation (RPA), driving reliability and straight-through processing. NTT East also built reusable patterns called “Kata-Gami” of workflows, forms, and data – increasing agility and opportunity for reuse.

By leveraging Pega UI, NTT East eliminated errors in Excel forms and achieved a 0% application incompleteness rate. This enhancement bolstered the accuracy of order details and minimized errors caused by manual data entry.

NTT East went further by linking Pega Cloud, RPA, and Pega Digital Messaging Service (DMS), initiating a multi-phased approach to automate key processes, reduce manual tasks, and improve operational efficiency. By converting communications from phone and email to digital messaging via Pega, inquiries were streamlined, improving response times and reducing the need for human intervention.

The integration of chat functionality further improved communication between sales representatives and back-office staff. This facilitated efficient data exchange, reducing the need for paper communication and promoting streamlined interactions.

All of this led to the automation of 120 manual operations and resulted in the elimination of paper-based processes, increased operational efficiency and the ability to handle large volumes of orders.

The Results

NTT East drove remarkable outcomes through its collaboration with Pega:

• One single platform to orchestrate data, user interfaces, and processes
• 120 processes automated in three months
• 1,200 back-office tasks automated
• 0% application incompleteness rate achieved
• Human errors in data entry were eliminated by linking RPA with AI chatbots and automating incomplete application checks
• Significant reduction in paper usage and manual work
• By integrating Pega DMS, inventory checks were completed directly by sales channels, cutting down delays and making responses near-instantaneous.

The success of automating key tasks within the back office has allowed NTT East to scale their Pega automation to new areas, including more complex inquiries, even leveraging Pega Knowledge Buddy to assist employees with manually driven processes.

Inspired by this success, NTT East plans to further expand their automation efforts, incorporating process AI and continuous automation across other business areas.

Watch NTT’s in-depth journey in their PegaWorld session.