Customer engineering: the necessary interface between the sales network and the back office
From the wholesale customer engineering department, our main task, together with the rest of the Wholesale Management team, is to reach commercial agreements that benefit the company, seeking maximum customer satisfaction while maintaining a demanding level of quality in all our processes.
More specifically, our department specialises in leading the entire pre-sales process: defining business strategies, designing services and specific solutions for customers, preparing technical and financial proposals, accompanying and supporting the sales department, and drafting contracts. All of this is done in a coordinated and cross-functional manner with multiple areas, both within our department and with many other colleagues.
What are the pillars on which this work is based?
We need two main pillars on which to base ourselves, pivoting on a dual technical and business profile. We must have a very solid technical foundation, combined with financial and investment analysis knowledge that allows us to properly evaluate different opportunities.
At the same time, a broad and deep business vision is essential, and finally, I would add that above all else, a fundamental characteristic is to be flexible, agile and reliable in the face of different and increasingly changing situations.
Are there differences depending on the type of company being supported?
Yes, within the Wholesale Department we work with many operators and, as they are very heterogeneous, their needs are also very diverse. Within the customer management department, we are more specialised in connectivity services, and although it is true that there is a common thread in the specific needs of each operator, the scope of application or end customers to whom the services provided are directed are very different.
And depending on size?
Indeed, volume is very relevant, as we prepare offers ranging from a single connectivity service for a medium-sized operator or one with a very specific need, to offers that require thousands of connectivity services to cover the general needs of a larger operator. This means that the offers are completely different in many aspects, both technical and in terms of business conditions.
What are the particularities of this engineering work compared to other types? How important is this work for the companies you work for?
Customer engineering work, and in line with what I mentioned earlier, I believe that, within the pre-sales process, it is the necessary interface between the sales network and the companies’ back office, so that one of its main characteristics is being able to coexist in both the technical and business worlds, with sufficient expertise to understand and propose technical solutions to customer demands, as well as analyse business cases, price positioning and propose negotiation strategies.
Additionally, I would like to add that within this pre-sales role, engineering areas can have different leadership roles, from leading pre-sales, taking on a more prominent role in the end-to-end process, that is, from the moment a customer’s need is detected until a service agreement covering that need is signed, to a more niche role focused on preparing the technical-economic offer as another element in the chain.
What are the benefits?
Our main objectives are aimed at maximising revenue, cash flow and margin from wholesale service sales, seeking sustainable agreements that benefit all parties.
What types of professional profiles are there?
We are a diverse group with both technical and business profiles. From engineers to business graduates. We also have to be reasonably well versed in legal matters as we are involved in drafting contracts.
On a personal level, my main role is to support my team in achieving all the objectives we set ourselves. A fantastic group of professionals and colleagues that I couldn’t be prouder to belong to.
