Overview

Profit is determined by two factors: revenue and costs. Although most service providers realize the importance of revenue assurance, it is high time they started focusing on Cost Management as well, to complete the profit equation. In fact, service providers can save up to 5% of their annual revenue through effective cost management, which directly increases their bottom line*. However, this is easier said than done. With the advent of next-generation services and converged networks, operations are becoming increasingly complex, and the number of partners and interconnect carriers is sharply rising. This can often lead to errors that are hard to detect, and directly impact the costs of services. To overcome these challenges, service providers need a robust cost management system that helps them identify the sources of losses and correct those errors.

Lucreta Cost Management System, a Subex ROC Component

Lucreta Cost Management System is a state-of-the-art Revenue Management offering from Subex, which helps service providers effectively monitor and manage the cost of services. Lucreta collects and analyzes information from multiple sources, such as switch, inventory, billing, partner invoices, and financial systems. Any discrepancies identified are automatically reconciled and the root cause of the error is identified. Lucreta also has the ability to automatically initiate payment related disputes based on predefined business rules, and track them to closure. The payment and accrual capability of Lucreta allows the customer to get a detailed view of the sources of hidden costs, trends and risks through a customizable account interface.

Lucreta Functional Overview

Benefits

• Assure interconnection and access costs by reconciling with actual usage
• Save excess pay-outs and recovers overcharged amounts from partners
• Automate the invoice verification process
• Quickly resolve disputes with partners and other service providers
• Optimize leased circuit costs and discover unused circuits and stranded assets
• Identify the business impact of costs; profile partners; and identify trends and risks
• Improve external and internal audit compliance

* According to the Operator Attitudes to Revenue Management 2007 survey conducted by Analysys Mason