Work related entry:
Yesterday, I began my new job at Sprint. My new position is as a Revenue Consultant in the credit strategy department. Here is some terminology that I picked-up on yesterday, and my understanding of the meaning of such terms.
Risk Segmentation: This refers to the general strategy of segmenting the customer base into different categories. The categories reflect different levels of risk that the customer poses to the company. Such risk includes the possibility that the customer will not pay his bill, the possibility that the customer will fraudulantly use the services. Basically, the risk that any customer poses to Sprint is a risk of extra cost and lost revenue.
Lightbridge: This is the third party vendor that 'scores' a potential Sprint PCS customer. The scoring is done via research using the potential customer's social security number, and other information. Sprint utilizes a two-dimensional risk assessment for each customer. One dimension is a statistical score based on the potential customer's credit history. This information is largely obtanied from the national credit bureaus. The other dimension is a score that uses various information to evaluate a potential customer's probability to be fraudulant. The combination of these two parameters places a customer at a certain location on a risk matrix, and into a Sprint defined risk segment.
Risk Segments: Once Lightbridge assigns the potential customer a score from both parameters, it uses a Sprint defined matrix to assign a risk segment. This risk segment is called a credit class at Sprint. Sprint has used statistical research to determine what credit class a potential customer should be assigned, based on the risk the company feels that a potential customer poses according to his Lightbridge scoring. In general, for potential customer's with a 'higher' risk, the company requires that, in order for the customer to open an account, the customer must pay a deposit. In some cases, the customer would also be placed on an automatic spending limit, in which the company would shut off service to the customer if the customer generates charges that go over a pre-defined limit. Both the deposit and the spending limit are designed by Sprint to reduce the possibility that a customer would stop paying his bills, and to prevent a customer that may stop paying his bill from generating a large balance. The deposit also helps to offset unpaid balances in the cases where a customer actually stops paying his bill.
Prime credit classes: There are three credit classes that the company considers 'prime'. For potential customers that fall into one of these segments based on the lightbridge scores, the company does not require a deposit, or assign a spending limit. These credit classes are known to the Sprint billing systems as AA, BA and CC. Based on the parameter that determines the likeliness of Fraud (AirWaves OneScore), the potential customers that fall into these prime segments may need to have their file manually reviewed. In other words, if the statistical credit score is high, but the likely fraud score is also high, the Lightbridge system generates a manual review flag for such potential customers. If the likely fraud score is low, these prime segment customers are automatically granted a prime credit class.
Yesterday, I began my new job at Sprint. My new position is as a Revenue Consultant in the credit strategy department. Here is some terminology that I picked-up on yesterday, and my understanding of the meaning of such terms.
Risk Segmentation: This refers to the general strategy of segmenting the customer base into different categories. The categories reflect different levels of risk that the customer poses to the company. Such risk includes the possibility that the customer will not pay his bill, the possibility that the customer will fraudulantly use the services. Basically, the risk that any customer poses to Sprint is a risk of extra cost and lost revenue.
Lightbridge: This is the third party vendor that 'scores' a potential Sprint PCS customer. The scoring is done via research using the potential customer's social security number, and other information. Sprint utilizes a two-dimensional risk assessment for each customer. One dimension is a statistical score based on the potential customer's credit history. This information is largely obtanied from the national credit bureaus. The other dimension is a score that uses various information to evaluate a potential customer's probability to be fraudulant. The combination of these two parameters places a customer at a certain location on a risk matrix, and into a Sprint defined risk segment.
Risk Segments: Once Lightbridge assigns the potential customer a score from both parameters, it uses a Sprint defined matrix to assign a risk segment. This risk segment is called a credit class at Sprint. Sprint has used statistical research to determine what credit class a potential customer should be assigned, based on the risk the company feels that a potential customer poses according to his Lightbridge scoring. In general, for potential customer's with a 'higher' risk, the company requires that, in order for the customer to open an account, the customer must pay a deposit. In some cases, the customer would also be placed on an automatic spending limit, in which the company would shut off service to the customer if the customer generates charges that go over a pre-defined limit. Both the deposit and the spending limit are designed by Sprint to reduce the possibility that a customer would stop paying his bills, and to prevent a customer that may stop paying his bill from generating a large balance. The deposit also helps to offset unpaid balances in the cases where a customer actually stops paying his bill.
Prime credit classes: There are three credit classes that the company considers 'prime'. For potential customers that fall into one of these segments based on the lightbridge scores, the company does not require a deposit, or assign a spending limit. These credit classes are known to the Sprint billing systems as AA, BA and CC. Based on the parameter that determines the likeliness of Fraud (AirWaves OneScore), the potential customers that fall into these prime segments may need to have their file manually reviewed. In other words, if the statistical credit score is high, but the likely fraud score is also high, the Lightbridge system generates a manual review flag for such potential customers. If the likely fraud score is low, these prime segment customers are automatically granted a prime credit class.
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