Financial Services

Mobile phone insurance services

To many people, their mobile phone has become an indispensible tool for both personal and business life. For some, the loss or breakage of their mobile phone would be much more than an inconvenience. It could significantly disrupt their work and compromise their ability to earn a living. Given the quantity of personal information and business data on a phone, its loss creates a significant risk of misuse of confidential information and even a possibility of identity theft. And if the phone is working, a dishonest user can run up a huge bill at the owner’s expense.

It is no wonder that mobile phone customers appreciate the benefits of insurance services, especially where these extend beyond device replacement and provide an extended range of benefits and protection.

20:20 Mobile offers a range of services for insurance providers, enhancing the efficiency and profitability of the insurance supply chain.

• 20:20 Mobile’s forward and reverse logistics services are ideally suited to supporting the insurance claims process. We can dispatch replacement devices on a same-day basis, collecting a damaged or broken device if required. Our repair services allow an insurer to provide the option of a lower-cost insurance proposition based on pristine, refurbished replacement handsets.

• As a multi-vendor handset distributor, 20:20 Mobile has access to a wide product range including devices that are no longer current in retailers’ assortments. Since insurance claims often relate to older devices, the ability to replace like-with-like reduces the cost of claims, as the insurer does not always have to offer the latest handset as a replacement.

• We provide a web-based decision-support tool for claims agents, listing the availability of handsets and equal- or higher-value alternatives. This enables agents to mitigate costs and increase customer satisfaction by immediately filling claims from a range of handset models.

• Our call centre agents are under the same roof, and on the same IT system as the handset inventory and the logistics capabilities. This makes for a tightly integrated and responsive service able to own the entire claim cycle.

• As insurance services extend into the realm of device support, agents need access to additional tools and information. Our technical knowledgebase is available for self-service, in-store support and call centre use, so that users’ operational problems can be resolved quickly and conveniently. We have tools to backup and restore settings, applications and content, transitioning the user seamlessly to a new handset. For security, we can “kill” a lost or stolen device remotely if required, wiping out confidential data and putting it out of service.

Supply chain financing

In any business, investors expect management to allocate a firm’s capital to the most productive uses in order to generate the highest possible returns. Increasingly mobile network operators are coming to the conclusion that investing in handset inventory is not the most profitable use of their shareholders’ capital. Consequently, they are seeking ways to take handset inventory off their balance sheets, reducing the demand for working capital and the risk of product obsolescence.

20:20 Mobile offers a unique supply chain programme that allows network operators and most major retailers to outsource the ownership and risk of products throughout the supply chain from the factory gate to the final point of sale. Under this outsourcing programme, the client can continue to benefit from all existing vendor contracts, so handset exclusives and other special terms are still available. The difference is that 20:20 Mobile manages the payment to the vendor, and sells the products to the client upon dispatch from the distribution centre, or at the point of final sale.

The programme allows a client to specify extended payment terms of 60, 90 or 120 days (subject to credit status). Taken in combination with outsourcing inventory management, this facility permits the client to return a significant amount of cash to its balance sheet, with an immediate positive impact on company valuation.

In addition to the one-time cash benefit and associated annual interest expense gain, 20:20 Mobile’s client enjoys ongoing cost and profit advantages.

• Reduction in product obsolescence expense. Network operators typically incur significant unwanted cost through stock obsolescence and unbudgeted device subsidy. As the owner of the stock and the associated risk, 20:20 Mobile takes care of that expense line.

• Reduction in operating expense. With more than two decades’ experience of efficiently managing mobile phone logistics, 20:20 Mobile would expect to deliver valuable cost savings in warehousing and distribution.

• Improved service levels and higher sales. 20:20 Mobile will normally carry proportionately more inventory in the normal course of business than a network operator, due to the need to service un-forecasted demand from multiple sales channels. This means fewer out-of-stock situations for the client, and fewer lost sales.

• Lower product costs. Pooling of product spend results in bigger discounts on product purchases. Combining the purchasing power of the client and 20:20 Mobile can yield important savings in the cost of goods.

• Headcount reductions. In the course of implementing an outsourced product supply chain there is the potential for personnel transfer and consequent reduction in the client’s headcount and payroll cost.