Qmuzik`s TalkWyz electronic vending solution delivers for MTN Uganda

Issued by Qmuzik
Johannesburg, 15 Sep 2005

The solution, part of the TalkWyz range of voucher management and distribution and prepaid top-up products, provides a fully integrated solution that caters for general consumers, corporations and potential distribution partners, and has enabled MTN Uganda to entrench itself in all of its critical markets.

Utilising TalkWyz has allowed MTN Uganda to save significant printing and distribution costs (from the move from physical to virtual/electronic vouchers) and, importantly, has eliminated a number of security issues related to the distribution and management of physical vouchers.

MTN Uganda`s clients - both dealers and subscribers - now enjoy a safer and more efficient service offering from the cellular network operator. In addition, MTN Uganda is able to accommodate the market demand for flexible airtime purchases.

By focusing on the business needs of MTN Uganda, the TalkWyz solution was able to provide a solution that dealt with its immediate requirements and its future growth needs.

Hannes Pienaar, Business Development Manager for the TalkWyz suite of products, says: "The TalkWyz solution includes the necessary features and functionality required by the telecommunications industry with the robustness of Qmuzik`s ERP competence.

"This ultimately means that the management of this complex distribution system is comprehensive and facilitates the ability to realise operational cost savings as well as cost-effectively allowing MTN Uganda to meet its sales and customer service objectives. The TalkWyz product is flexible and scalable in addressing future demands such as voucherless recharging."

The solution will provide full financial system functionality as well as:

* Management and tracking of physical vouchers from creation to activation with full audit controls
* Management and distribution of electronic vouchers from product creation to activation through TalkWyzPRO (PC-based) and HandWyz (Ingenico handheld terminal)
* Financial management of external companies (debtors and creditors) involved in voucher manufacturing and distribution
* Integration of TalkWyz into the current financial system and the prepaid system
* Comprehensive control and forecasting capabilities due to the reporting capabilities of the software suite

Voucher Management

The introduction of electronic voucher management systems has raised the automation of prepaid service management to that of other operational support systems (OSSs). The current manual process of managing and distributing prepaid vouchers and service has proved wholly inadequate in the face of growing subscriber numbers. Consequently, service providers have to contend with reduced service levels and fraudulent activity at multiple levels of the distribution chain.

Typically, an effective solution consists of two parts:

1. Physical and electronic voucher management This supports and manages the traditional method of prepaid recharge and has been well accepted in the marketplace. The system handles the lifecycle management of physical and electronic vouchers. It requires a pre-generated random PIN number and interfaces to the IN prepaid system to load the vouchers and to receive voucher activation records. Electronic voucher distribution, which handles the physical and electronic voucher management, also distributes electronic vouchers. It offers network, dial-up and radio-pad connectivity to the distribution points, dealers and retail aggregators. The system also provides a detailed audit, security and rollback functionality.

2. Virtual recharge or balance top-up This method dispenses with vouchers and directly increases the subscriber balance by any amount. This is done from any location, eg where an appropriate point of sales (POS) device is located, third-parties, retail aggregators or banks.

To achieve this, the voucher management system is enhanced to handle virtual recharge. It enables operators to manage and track physical vouchers, and to manage and distribute electronic vouchers, from creation to activation. The system`s reporting and forecasting capabilities also provide comprehensive operational and financial controls.

Qmuzik

Qmuzik is a South African software development house that specialises in the development of the following solutions:

* Integrated Business solution (ERP)
* E-procurement and distribution (TalkWyz)
* Supply chain solution.

TalkWyz

The TalkWyz suite of products assist mobile telecommunication operators to deliver high levels of efficiency in the complex arena of mobile prepay.

Editorial contacts