The Nextian Quote-to-Cash object model is compatible with widely used CRM industry standards, such as opportunities, quotes, accounts, orders, line items, and more. Beyond these standards, Nextian adds new objects and enhances standard ones to support managing the entire lifecycle of cloud and communications services — from ordering new services and handling changes to managing service cancellations
The key elements of the model include:
Element | Description |
---|---|
Opportunity | A standard CRM opportunity supporting subscription services and widget product prospecting with:
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Quote | A standard CRM quote with:
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Customer Order | Orders are the main vehicle for creating and applying changes to services. A single order may apply to multiple services (e.g., 5 virtual machines or 5 site MPLS network) as well as contain multiple kinds of requests (e.g., cancel one service and replace it with a new one):
More information about orders can be found here. |
Work Order | Work orders are made of tasks (either user-executed or automated) along with their dependencies determining a sequence of actions for delivery:
More information about work orders can be found here. |
Service | Services represent customer-facing [subscription] services (CFS) bringing together customer, product, pricing, elements and other information.
Services are created in the process of order delivery (preexisting services may also be migrated). More information about services can be found here. |
Product | Standard CRM products with additional metadata determining product properties (e.g., is a service or widget, requires location, single or multiple quantity, etc.) used for quoting. |
Price Book Entry (PBE) | Nextian uses custom PBEs (price book entries) defining pricing, work order template and service template on a per operation type (New, Cancel, Re-Term, etc.) and product basis.
More information about product catalog can be found here. |
In short, Nextian QTC process can be visualized as follows:
Services vs. Orders
Services are long-lived objects (their lifespan is determined by how long a customer keeps the subscription). Orders and work orders are short-lived, they are important during their execution time but once completed they matter only for historical reasons. |