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Core Communications
By
Mike
Coffee
And it’s not one PBX; it’s 5,000 PBXs.
And it’s not just about the PBX. It is a
distributed call center that must handle
millions of calls every day.
Just a few years ago, Deppon’s op-
erations were based on legacy TDM tele-
com. The company knew that it had to
soon make the switch to all-IP telephony
but wanted to fully benefit from the func-
tional advantages offered by IP telephony
in addition to the dramatic cost savings.
There were some considerations
that had to be taken into account.
For example, unlike the habit of U.S.
consumers who go online first, Dep-
pon’s customers still prefer to pick up
the phone and call to track their pack-
age, which translates into hundreds
of thousands of calls every day just
for tracking inquiries. And since China
is a country of 1.3 billion people, and
more than 23 provinces, the call center
agents must handle the languages spoken
by its 56 recognized ethnic groups – not a
one-size-fits-all situation.
For Deppon, dramatic improve-
ments in the caller experience was a
top consideration. This meant a smooth
transition from TDM to IP was (and is)
essential. And despite its enormous size,
the system must support personalized
customer service.
Other requirements included simplified
toll-free intra-company communications,
cost-effective fax, and the system had to
be easy-to-install and maintain.
The enormity and diversity of this com-
munications problem suggested that a
fully distributed system was required to al-
low regional differences and languages to
be supported. This decision then spawned
additional requirements, including cloud-
based management of the entire system
was deemed essential. The offices had to
be capable of being easily integrated for
intra-enterprise communications and man-
agement, and support for mobile users
must be included.
Since the total requirement is for 5,000
call centers, call-center features are critical:
• Call pop-up
• Group pick-up
• Call queuing
• Agent assignment by manager
• Agent binding for repeat callers
• Call logging
• Call recording/playback
• Call-detail recording
• Open REST API
The selected solution is shown in the
diagram below. The central element is ei-
ther the OM20 or OM50 PBX by New Rock
Technologies and NetGen Communica-
tions. These products are known for their
ideal feature profile with exceptionally low
prices and high capacities for the price.
Note that the PBXs are the core ele-
ments of the system, with the surrounding
software all included, effectively making it a
part of the PBX core features. And, if that’s
not enough, the PBXs all have a no-charge
REST API, allowing the value-adding chan-
nel or end user to add unique and propri-
etary value such as, for example, support
for VXML or access of Web Services. In this
case, Deppon uses the unit’s XML interface
for configuration and problem resolution.
Deppon’s multi-location deployment case study
W
hat can a $550 MSRP PBX do for a logistics
company with 6,000 operational facilities,
10,000 retail locations and 120,000
employees? The company is Deppon Logistics,
Ltd., Shanghai, one of the largest logistics
companies in China.
A PBX System of
Staggering
Proportions
Channel
Vision
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May - June, 2017
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