ops Team Leader
"The Accounting Receivables Team is responsible for the processing of all payment transactions of Mobistar customers as well as for collecting all unpaid sales invoices of hardware to the partners (such as Carrefour, Krëfel, Media Markt, Makro and the Mobistar Centers). As a team leader, Barbara Boven heads up a 12-strong team; half of whom work for Credit & Collection. These days the words ‘credit department’ tend to bring to mind ‘crisis’. We had a chat with Barbara about life in the accounting department in these turbulent times. "
It looks like Mobistar is remaining spared for the time being.
“To be honest, we have gone fairly unscathed so far. We are only seeing a change in the sale of mobile phone sets. In the past, people purchased a new set without giving it much thought, whereas these days they seem to take a more cautious approach. We are also seeing that the objectives of sales promotions we are running are not being met in all points of sale. ”
Proactive response to the situation and effective communication
“Once every fortnight, the sales management and financial management teams meet, along with the 3 team leaders of Credit & Collection for the private market, the business market and the partners. This enables them to act in swift response to current events and identify ongoing trends. Especially at times like these, it is important that all parties concerned (sales, customer service and finance) maintain swift and effective communication.”
The impact of the crisis on the go-to-market strategy
“We have not really changed our strategy as such. What we did do was we started taking it into account extemporaneously. Which does not mean that we have changed the way we approach our partners, simply that we are taking their business model into account. The retail trade has been affected by the crisis. We noticed that the volume of retail trade dropped in October/November of last year. From a macro-economic perspective, we saw a 4 to 5 % fall against the previous year. And when you know that your partners count on that margin for their livelihood, a margin that is variable for that matter, you realise they are going to face difficult times.
We are adapting our go-to-market strategy by not pushing the sale of certain phone sets or sales promotions quite as hard for instance. Which in turn is in stark contrast to the success of the iPhone.”
In times of crisis it is not all about the customer …
it is all about cash
“I just read in the press that, for the first time, over 1,000 businesses folded in March 2009. We cannot fail to pick up on that ourselves. Some of them are customers of ours. When companies lay off large numbers of people, we feel it too. A truism that keeps returning: “In times of crisis it is all about cash”. And this holds true today. Companies are certainly not likely to start paying their bills early these days. If anything, they will string out the term of payment as long as possible, and this does not only apply to our sector. All of our network partners are independent entities, small traders. Although it is safe to say they are particularly dynamic in terms of structure and organisation, by the same token they are also highly susceptible to the economic climate on the other. All the more reason for us to closely monitor retail trade volumes. Some of them will get into real trouble if the crisis continues and people start shopping less. This is something we are keen to follow up in a very proactive manner."
In spite of everything, there remains potential for growth
on the Belgian telecom market
“I believe there is still sufficient room for growth in the private market, especially when you look at the success of smartphones and mobile data, for example. However, companies are currently putting off a lot of their investment projects, such as automation projects. Which in turn affects our business as well. For instance, we have noticed that businesses are confining employee travel and tend to opt for video conferencing instead. Which directly impacts on our roaming revenue. And a company laying off 500 employees, obviously means 500 less SIM cards for us… Although they could return to us again as customers at some point in the future, albeit in a different manner, via the residential market, for example.
In the short term, companies will increasingly seek to optimise their costs. They will negotiate discounts, opt for savings in the short term, … although anything beyond that is mere speculation obviously. No one knows when and how the economy will pick up.”
