Lucent Technologies: Provisioning and Postponement

In June 1998, Lucent Technologies had the opportunity to win a major contract to supply a Y2K compliant network to Saudi Arabia. The Lucent facility that managed business with Saudi Arabia, and manufactured products for that region, was in Spain. In order to win the contract, Lucent would have to be able to deliver the product, a sophisticated digital switching system, within three weeks of receiving the details of each sites’ requirements. (The contract would require delivery to many sites.) Using the existing process, it took 23-25 weeks to deliver after receiving site details. The case describes the Lucent production process and capabilities, and provides data for discussion of ways in which Lucent can meet the customer’s requirements. Teaching Notes Available