Simulation Modeling for Process Reengineering in the Telecommunications Industry

Motivated by technological innovation and increasingly competitive markets, U S WEST Communications has been reengineering its core service processes to improve customer loyalty, cost effectiveness, and efficiency of services. The operations research modeling group at U S WEST Advanced Technologies has developed a service process simulation model that identifies where and when process reengineering efforts should occur. In a successful implementation, we analyzed the quantitative impact of changes in key process parameters, such as the error rate and staffing level of the service center, in the metropolitan area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. U S WEST is deploying an outgrowth of this process modeling to support process reengineering in other major metropolitan areas in its 14-state region.