E2E Wholesale business automation with 360° operations insight

As wholesale telecom businesses grow, so does the complexity of managing rates, routing, supplier invoices, commercial commitments and partner settlements. For stc Bahrain, rapid business growth called for a more automated, flexible and transparent way to manage wholesale operations.With ZIRA Wholesale Business Revenue Management (WBRM), stc Bahrain transformed key trading, routing, rating and interconnect billing processes, reducing manual work and gaining greater visibility into traffic, commitments, disputes and profitability.

Snapshot

stc Bahrain partnered with ZIRA to modernize its wholesale operations, replace legacy systems and establish a more efficient, insight-driven operating model.

Challenge

Scaling wholesale operations without scaling complexity

Over the years of rapid growth, stc Bahrain's wholesale business experienced increasing operational demands that stretched the capabilities of its legacy solution. Managing diverse supplier rate sheets, complex routing decisions, commercial commitments and invoice reconciliation required a more flexible and automated approach.

The team needed to process rate sheets in different formats and structures, compare supplier rates consistently, manage margins and generate routing recommendations based on least-cost routing, quality of service (QoS), traffic and contractual commitments.

Financial control presented another challenge. Supplier invoices arrived in different formats, including PDFs and scanned documents, with varying templates and item breakdowns. Validating invoices against agreed rates, currencies, traffic volumes and commitments required significant manual effort, while discrepancies needed to be identified, tracked and resolved consistently. At the same time, stc Bahrain wanted stronger insight into revenue and expenses, improved cash-flow forecasting and the flexibility to introduce more sophisticated wholesale agreements. The business needed more than process automation. It needed end-to-end control, reliable financial data and the visibility to make better commercial decisions.

Solution

One integrated platform for smarter wholesale management

stc Bahrain selected ZIRA Wholesale Business Revenue Management (WBRM), comprising ZIRA Trading & Routing Management (TRM) and ZIRA Rating & Billing / Interconnect Billing (ICB), to replace its legacy systems.The solution automated critical wholesale workflows while preserving the flexibility for users to review recommendations, adjust business rules and intervene when needed.

Key capabilities included:

Automated rate-sheet management

Rate sheets could be loaded, converted, validated and mapped automatically, regardless of their original format or structure. Teams could compare supplier rates more efficiently and make better-informed trading decisions.

Intelligent trading and routing control

Rule-based routing recommendations incorporated QoS, traffic parameters, rates and agreement commitments. This enabled the team to assess routing options against business priorities while supporting automated actions when predefined rules or thresholds were met.

Automated rating and interconnect billing

Agreement-based rating and re-rating, flexible billing periods and configurable invoice templates supported complex wholesale charging models. The solution provided greater flexibility in managing traffic charges, recurring charges, discounts and commercial terms.

Automated supplier invoice reconciliation

Supplier invoices could be loaded and processed across different formats, with image recognition and conversion, validation and mapping to the system's reference data. Disputable items could be identified and linked to the corresponding invoices, statements, adjustments and credit/debit notes, supporting more consistent reconciliation and dispute resolution.

360° operational and financial insight

Integrated visibility into traffic, commitments, partner performance, disputes and profitability gave the team a broader view of wholesale business activity. 

Multidimensional revenue-expense reporting

24/7 monitoring, alarms and notifications supported proactive control and more informed decisions. The implementation was completed within the agreed 6 month timeframe, with the integrated solution reaching production readiness and its first parallel run within the agreed schedule and budget.

Results and benefits:

Proactive business control

With ZIRA TRM in place, stc Bahrain overcame key limitations of its legacy system and established a more efficient way to manage its wholesale business.

~70% less manual work

Automation significantly reduced repetitive processing across wholesale operations, including rate-sheet management and supplier invoice reconciliation.

Greater operational efficiency

stc Bahrain reported immediate improvements in the flexibility and efficiency of handling rate sheets, routing orders, traffic and commitments, as well as supplier invoice management.

Improved cash-flow visibility and dispute control

Consistent invoice reconciliation, identification of disputable items and traceability across invoices, adjustments and credit/debit notes strengthened financial control and supported more informed cash-flow forecasting.

360° view of wholesale performance

Connected insight into traffic, commitments, disputes, revenue and partner behavior helped the business assess profitability, monitor agreement fulfillment and identify areas requiring attention.

Greater flexibility for new revenue opportunities

Advanced rating capabilities, configurable commercial terms and automated commitment controls gave stc Bahrain a stronger foundation for managing more complex wholesale agreements and evaluating new monetization opportunities.

Continuous monitoring and control

Rule-based alerts, threshold monitoring and automated actions helped the team identify relevant operational events and respond according to established business rules.