Delivering the best of IBM
Chip Schneider, partner in IBM Global Business Services (GBS), worked alongside T-Mobile to bring about what he calls a “cognitive process transformation” with data analytics, artificial intelligence and cognitive cloud.
IBM was chosen by T-Mobile as their strategic partner to deliver the programs and projects to propel T-Mobile forward with back-office functions like financing in supply chain.
“That’s a broad statement but it’s a pretty broad goal,” says Schneider. “T-Mobile have been really challenging us to bring the best of IBM to them, and especially for our guidance in supply chain transformation.”
IBM has been a partner with Sprint for a number of years so when T-Mobile and Sprint merged last year, it was an opportunity for IBM to showcase their expertise.
“We operate as an open book with our clients and especially key clients like T-Mobile,” says Schneider. “We share perspectives from our knowledge and experience in the telco and media industries worldwide.”
Schneider is enthused when discussing the working relationship between IBM and T-Mobile, saying there is “always an air of excitement” and “they’re so willing to listen”.
“T-Mobile asked us to make the work we do for them ‘palatable and meaningful’,” says Schneider. “That means bringing industry leadership, functional leadership in finance, supply chain customer management, and the technical aspects of hybrid cloud, cognitive and machine learning, data intelligent workflows, and blockchain. We had to make sure it's not just us talking to them, but us working together with them.”
Of course, the benefits of a close, collaborative relationship like this work for both parties, especially when digital transformation is accelerated by a pandemic.
“That changed everything,” adds Glenn Finch, Global Leader Big Data & Analytics at IBM. “2020 was a matter of survival for most companies with a focus on business continuity and cost reduction. So you saw this radical growth in back office transformation, in front office transformation, and then this this unprecedented growth in data. We are a hybrid cloud and AI company. That's exactly what the market wants right now.”
Finch explains how companies were faced with a critical cloud decision and turned to IBM as a trusted, reliable partner.
“When clients were having to bet their careers, they bet on us,” says Finch. “Our AI and hybrid cloud resonates so perfectly in a market like this.
“When we go into a process and we drive a bunch of AI into it, we're shrinking cycle time by 80 to 90%, we’re cutting costs by 50 to 60%, and NPS scores are going up by 10 to 20 points. Sometimes clients think that can’t be right as it sounds too good to be true.”
Schneider emphasises the importance T-Mobile placed on not only transforming the technology but also empowering individuals.
“T-Mobile are hyper focused on ensuring that not only their customers feel the human connection, but also employees,” says Schneider. “And so our job is to take the data – internal and external – and present it back to them and say, ‘Hey, here's what I found’. It's really like building a colleague for them to help drive their strategic decisions on their supply chain.”
