Enhancing partner experiences with standardized APIs

Investing in partner experiences

Our client’s nationwide network of sales and service locations encompasses partnerships with a broad range of consumer technology and big-box retailers. Within these partnerships, the organization was experiencing a competitive disadvantage due to non-standardized activation platforms, which led to

• Inefficient processes

• Hesitation to offer our client’s service

• Poor customer experiences

• Difficulties onboarding new partners

In addition, the existing process to create and maintain custom APIs per retailer was costly and difficult to scale. Our client wanted a unified service layer that was applicable and repeatable. With an easier onboarding process, retailers could more easily activate new services for client’s customers, keeping people happy while creating a new revenue stream.

Standardizing the API environment

Logic20/20’s high-velocity team leveraged Agile and DevOps to deliver a library of standardized APIs and a secure, stateless, performant architecture layer for retailers to activate and upgrade cellular service for new and existing customers. We provided unified API experiences for post-paid and prepaid services, enabling retailers to offer both services to the customer from their portal seamlessly.

We deployed Java-based microservices on the Kubernetes platform. Using a design-first approach, we followed the product roadmap to implement add-a-line, new line, upgrade, and other scenarios using APIs. Next, we automated our testing process using Cucumber. Along the way, we established development and DevOps standards to ensure future projects could be completed more quickly and easily.

Our team delivered additional value to our client by

• Designing a scalable, reliable infrastructure that can recover from disaster

• Delivering high-performance APIs that can handle peak loads during new mobile launches and retailers’ holiday sales events

• Designing Swaggers for prepaid and post-paid services

• Building architecture diagrams with end-to-end flows from customer request to order fulfillment for various capabilities

• Working directly with partners in leading capabilities walkthroughs, running the Swaggers, and engaging them in adopting the APIs

• Providing technical guidance to development teams in prioritizing the stories, unblocking them from technical challenges

New possibilities for partner-delivered services

Our client’s new standardized APIs and stateless architecture layer empower them to

• Onboard new partners quickly

• Increase customer sales

• Improve capabilities and experiences for partners, which in turn enables them to improve their own customers’ experience

Following the deployment of this new API layer and corresponding process, our partner successfully onboarded two major retailers, both of which launched pilots and then went fully live. As a result, customers can now activate our client’s services at new locations, and the program continues to expand. This successful project and our knowledge of this organization’s processes, technology, and long-term strategy have made us a trusted advisor for future projects.

Making life easier for partners and customers

As a widely recognized leader in delivering quality customer service, our client is dedicated to ensuring positive interactions—not just for customers, but also for the partners who play an intermediary role in providing service. The unified API layer we delivered enables them to improve the entire partner experience, starting with onboarding, enabling partners to serve their own customers better and strengthening their mutually beneficial relationships. As for customers, they can expect the same quality of service at partner retailers as they do at company-owned locations, with the convenience of one-stop shopping at some of their favorite stores.