How can businesses leverage service usage data? There\u2019s a right way, and lots of wrong ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the years, DigitalRoute has helped many companies overcome painful, inefficient ways of managing usage data. We\u2019ve collected some of those stories in what we call the \u201cLibrary of Pain\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this edition, we look at a port operator that was being held back by manual data management processes. Unfortunately, this story is not an uncommon one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like the example we present in this story, many companies fail to understand how manual data management directly inhibits their ability to grow. Read this cautionary tale to avoid finding yourself in the Library of Pain yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our story begins in a fictional city which we\u2019ll call Hammerburg. Though relatively small compared to other ports, Hammerburg has a busy harbor where more than a million shipping containers pass through each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we met them, the Port of Hammerburg was getting busier and busier. That growth was supported by increased manufacturing in the area, which meant more inbound and outbound international shipments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While some bigger ports have invested heavily in advanced systems for digitalization and automation, Hammerburg was still largely reliant on manual processes. In fact, their whole operation was built on paper and time stamps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The port charges companies for the amount of time each shipping container spends in storage. This meant when a container came in, a paper was stamped. When the container went out, there was another stamp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This manual process was causing serious pains on an operational level, because someone had to take all the papers, look at each stamp, and input all that data into a big Excel file. We refer to this poor soul as the Excel Guy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Port of Hammerburg was far from alone in this situation. We\u2019ve found teams of Excel Guys toiling away at massive, publicly traded companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The growth in international trade meant that the port was generating more paper and more stamps every month. To keep up, they added more people to their \u201cPrison of Excel\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the Excel files kept growing, so did the frequency of errors. That meant some transactions weren\u2019t billed for, which we often refer to as revenue leakage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the same time, customers were also double billed. Billing errors caused customer complaints, which increased cost related to customer service and resolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That was also true when it came to partner settlement. Resolving disputes with third-party vendors required hours of grueling manual reconciliation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With unhappy customers and partners, pricing negotiations become harder. So, the port\u2019s position to negotiate was weaker, which had a negative impact on growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Manual processes also meant that their billing cycles were slow. Waiting to get paid meant a compromised cash flow. Ultimately, this meant that the port operator had less cash available to invest in growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a paper-driven process, it\u2019s hard to change. Even rolling out a new form meant they had to run all over the place with papers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, what they ended up doing was the opposite of being agile. They didn\u2019t make changes even though they wanted to because it was just too expensive and too hard. They were stuck going round in a maze and needed a way out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n