Should Granitecom invest in moving to a new base of operation and purchase equipment for a new call centre?

Introduction 

Granitecom is a company which provides mobile, landline and internet services to a customer base that cuts across the private and corporate sectors. In an attempt to make their services unique and stand out from competition the firm has opened new regional offices to offer personalized services to both new and existing customers. This modification has significantly increased pressure especially in the Helpdesk as more queries and complaints have come up as a result of the influx of their customer base. Granitecom has over the past received approximately 0.1 % of complaints, however over the past 12 months the firm complaints raised to over 5% a figure which is taking its toll on the company’s reputation in the telecommunication market space. Granitecom deduced the reasons for the increase in complaints were as follows: 

Poor communication between regional offices 

Delays in handling customer inquiries 

Poor call management systems 

Executive Summary 

The problems being faced by Granitecom must be addressed immediately in commitment to the firm’s vision which is “ Lead in Service” . The following solutions have been seen to solve the problem. 

Centralizing the Customer Help Desk 

Appointing help desk services to a third party provider 

Thorough Analysis proved the first solution to be the best for Option for Granitecom 

Project Definition 

Scope 

Granitecom aim to centralize all of its Help Desk Functions in one location. 

Priorities 

In an attempt to achieve its scope the following priorities have to be met; establishment of the Help Desk premise and telecommunication infrastructure, Shifting to the new central location, Creating Customer services and procedures and develop a computer system to handle customer files 

Work Break-down Structure 

Milestones 

The project will be divided into five major milestones which will be composed of the critical project activities. The Milestones for the project are as follows; 

Acquiring a base of operation and telecommunication infrastructure 

Relocation to the new facility 

Creating Service Procedures 

Development of a Computer Management Program 

Communication of new procedures 

Deliverables 

The following are the deliverables for each of the following milestones; 

In acquiring a base of operation and telecommunication infrastructure, the firm will consider options like renting out or acquiring an operational center as well as the equipment needed. 

Relocation to the new facilities will result in the physical migration from the old base of operation to the new business front 

New protocols of operation in terms of services offered to customers shall be developed and decided upon at this level 

A computer program will be expected which will manage the call center operations such as handling customer files, storage and resource allocation\ 

An awareness campaign to train staff on how to use the new system will be put in place as well an encouragement strategy to help customers start using the new platform 

Limits 

The project is limited to Establishing a call center defining its operation procedures and sensitizing the firm’s client base and staff on its use. Thus it is limited to these sole functions without compromise. 

Technical Requirements 

The project will involve the following technical requirements; 

Moving services to aid in relocation and setting up of the new center of operation 

Software development team to design and develop a management software 

Training and awareness campaign members 

Organizational Chart 

Responsibility Matrix 

Gantt Chart 

Risk Identification 

Settting up the above mentioned project will predispose it to the following risks 

Failure of service 

The robust management system may be prone to software failures as the whole system is systematically arranged into different modules all of which come together to form its basis of operation (Jerome & Cara, 2006). A failure in service for instance in the communication’s area would render the whole system unusable disrupting the Granitecom’s services 

Distributed Help Environment Failure 

The distribution of activities regardless of being in a central location may breakdown especially due to software failure (Gray & Larson, 2018) this may arise as a result of shortage of technical experts especially since the firm is carrying out such an activity for the first time ( Reinertsen 1997). 

Inaccurate Records 

Client service records may be innacurate hence portray the wrong information, such records may not be ported over as they may lead to compromising decisions regarding the significance of the operational center (Wheelwright et al. 1992) 

Risk Severity Matrix 

Failure Mode Effect Analysis 

Severity 

Priority

Likelihood

Risk priority number = (RPN = Severity*Priority*Likelihood) 

Slack 

Total slack time for the project is 30 days 

Cost Resource Allocation 

Phase cost Resource Allocation

Benefit Analysis

Cost 

Conclusions 

Granitecom can go ahead and make the investment of moving to a new base of operation and purchase equipment for a new call center. This decision is inspired by the fact that total project benefits analysis outweigh the cost of investment. In addition considering the increase in revenue, ease of operations, customer and employee satisfaction and motivation, it is evident that the project is worth investing in. 

References 

Gray, C., & Larson, E. (2018).  Project management . New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education. 

Jerome, J. G.; Cara, R. F.; (2006). Project management, Encyclopedia of Pharmaceutical Technology, pp. 3015-3026 

Wheelwright, S.C.; Clark, K.B (1992). . Revolutionizing Product Development ; Free 

Press: New York, 

Reinertsen, D.G. (1997). Managing the Design Factory; Free Press: New York,