TELKOM BUSINESS
DIGITAL REPORT 2020
Telkom and Yep!: Transforming into the Platform for SMBs IN ASSOCIATION WITH
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Telkom and Yep!: Transforming into the Platform for SMBs 03
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TELKOM BUSINESS
Lunga Siyo, CEO of Telkom Business and Yep!, reveals the technological and cultural transformation enabling it to become a one-stop platform for SMBs
T
elkom is a diversified group of companies, which started out as an incumbent fixed line operator in South Africa. Over the
years, it has diversified into a mobile business and an IT business, alongside Towers and Property and a network infrastructure business. Lunga Siyo heads 04
up the small and medium business division of the company, which evolved out of its Yellow Pages business. “We had three entities within the group that were servicing these small and medium businesses,” says Siyo. “An IT company, BCX, selling IT solutions, then a fixed line operator selling voice lines and data and broadband. Yellow Pages was selling marketing services and advertising. We’ve combined all of those three entities into one we initially called Telkom SMB.” The organisation has since evolved, however, into a brand known as Yep!. “It’s a marketplace business, in essence,” says Siyo. “We wanted to serve our customers using a digital marketplace rather than physical stores or via telephone, just to make it easier for businesses. Think about a bakery. They want to make sure that they bake cakes, and sell them to
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TELKOM BUSINESS
“ What we needed to do was to first look at legacy systems, look at processes and start automating them” — Lunga Siyo, CEO, Telkom Business and Yep! 06
their customers. They don’t want to be bogged down in administration and the services that enable them such as broadband, telephony, IT. They also want to market themselves.” Yep!’s offering caters to both such impulses, as Siyo explains: “We can create a marketplace for them so that they can drive traffic into their own physical stores, while also creating new revenue streams through digital channels. We started by linking up small businesses with customers. Beyond creating an online store, we were creating an entire ecosystem of products and services
Telkom and Yep! CLICK TO WATCH
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0:30
07 that small businesses could buy from the
do was to first look at legacy systems,
platform itself, starting with connectivity
look at processes and start automating
products, but also looking into adjacent
them. For instance, the credit scoring
solutions such as financial services.”
process previously involved an individ-
Making that a possibility has required
ual taking your details, going to another
internal transformation at the company,
team, looking at the credit check and
which Siyo has overseen. “We wanted
only then could they tell you what kind of
to serve our customers better. Now,
product that you qualify for.”
instead of calling someone at a contact
That process has now been auto-
centre, you can actually go online and
mated through an online, web-based
self service. You can buy more products
platform which relies on APIs to interact
online via an ecommerce platform for
with legacy systems. “These systems
customers.” Another big focus has
have been put in place to make sure
been on improving the capacity to sign
that we can transform ourselves as a
up new customers. “What we needed to
business, but also to transform how our www.t e l k o mbusi ne s s . co. z a
Copyright Š 2020 Accenture. All rights reserved.
EXPERIENCE MATTERS Your customer experience powered by our transformation experience Digital commerce can account for 50% of B2B revenue, but to unlock that revenue, your digital marketplace has to be smart enough to feel simple. B2B buyers think just like consumers—because they are. Accenture has the proven experience to make your user experience matter.
customers interact with us,” Siyo says. The technologies involved in the trans-
has been another cornerstone of the company’s approach, with the use of
formation have been various, but one
robotic process automation (RPA) tech-
of the standout examples has been the
nology widespread.
harnessing of data, whether it be struc-
Accompanying Telkom on its journey
tured customer data or the unstructured
have been a number of key partners.
variety. “Data is key,” says Siyo. “The
BCX, a sister company, is one such
question is how do you pull that together
example, offering extensive IT capa-
and create a view of the customer in
bilities with both homegrown and third
terms of what they have with you, and
party software. “They’re a systems
what they might actually be buying
integrator, but they’ve also developed
elsewhere. That actually allows us to
systems themselves, such as RPA,
create better solutions, or even look at
which we utilise. They’re our technology
products that we can aggregate on their
partner, who works with us to create our
behalf and offer to them.” Automation
platforms.” Consultants Accenture play
E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :
Lunga Siyo Title: CEO
Company: Telkom and Yep!
Industry: eCommerce
Location: South Africa
Lunga Siyo is an experienced business and ecommerce executive leader, an expert in creating, executing and scaling digital as a strategic capability in many organisations. A consummate business leader with extensive experience in Business Management, P&L, Finance & Accounting, Sales & Marketing and an Executive in a listed entity, he holds a Bsc honours in Accounting and is an MBA graduate. www.t e l k o mbusi ne s s . co. z a
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FROM THE INNOVATORS BEHIND BCX WE BRING YOU OUR NEW DIGITAL WING
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Our most important customer is yours.
“ These systems have been put in place to make sure that we can transform ourselves as a business, but also to transform how our customers interact — with us” Lunga Siyo, CEO, Telkom Business and Yep!
a particularly important role in the user
Our customer research approach
experience design process. “Everything
and design philosophy ensured that
that we develop is led by experience
human-centric experiences were
design,” says Siyo. We first listen to the
placed at the core of the Yep! brand
customers and then we design a cus-
and value proposition in this new digi-
tomer journey. Accenture helped us to
tal channel. Accenture is proud to have
develop customer journeys that meet the
contributed in bringing this vision to life
demands of our customers. Most impor-
and leaving a lasting impact in terms of
tantly, we were looking for a partner that
new ways of working and a ‘lean start-
is not just a digital marketing company
up’ culture at Telkom SMB.”
or a consulting firm, but a firm who really
Alongside the introduction of tech-
understands customer service, as they
nology has been an attendant focus
do, and can develop seamless customer
on culture. That cultural evolution has
journeys for our platform.”
also helped to make articulating the
Greg Cress, Digital Innovation and
vision for the introduction of technol-
Client Account Lead for Accenture
ogy easier. “We started implementing
in Africa, adds: “Right from the outset
an agile way of working from a tech
of the project we connected with
development perspective, with daily
Telkom’s vision to build a digital mar-
stand ups, scrums, sprints and all of
ketplace unique to the needs of the
those things,” adds Siyo. “To create a
South African small business owner.
business case, you have to know what www.t e l k o mbusi ne s s . co. z a
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TELKOM BUSINESS
“ We started implementing an agile way of working from a tech development perspective” — Lunga Siyo, CEO, Telkom Business and Yep! 12
Yep! Overview CLICK TO WATCH
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2:55
do on a daily basis? How do you drive proper outputs from your own people that are driven by certain key indicators that would add value to your business? You look at productivity and output.” It’s also provided an opportunity to accelerate Telkom’s approach into ecommerce by virtue of changing consumer patterns in response to COVID 19. Thanks to the changes that have been put in place, Siyo is confident that the company is very ready to thrive, even with the current circumstances. “We’ve become a platform business, completely - aggregating both the demand and supply side. We’re evolving out of being just a normal telco, into a platform you’re developing and how much money
player that is able to help small busi-
you’re going to make out of it before you
nesses scale and grow.” That tallies
can get any capital released to change
with his wider mission to grow the South
the organisation.”
African economy by allowing small busi-
Common to all organisations the
nesses to thrive and contribute more.
world over, COVID-19 has impacted
“Right now they probably contribute
Telkom’s way of working. Remote
around 25% towards our GDP. We think
working has left an impression, with
it should be around 50- 60%, more like
plans to change policies and enable
in developed economies. Large enter-
flexible location and working hours. Siyo
prises don’t drive GDP growth - small
emphasises the fact that this requires a
businesses do.”
change in management style. “How do you manage people that are working virtually instead of focusing on what they www.t e l k o mbusi ne s s . co. z a
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