Defense Telecommunications Services – Washington (DTS-W) provides telecom services for Department of Defense (DoD) offices in the Washington, D.C. area. As a fee-for-service government organization, DTS-W receives no appropriated funds from Congress and generates revenue through its services.
In 1996, Congressional legislation allowed other providers to bid for this work. DTS-W engaged Booz Allen Hamilton to meet the demands of a newly competitive environment.
To remain competitive, DTS-W had to streamline its organization; address heavy regulations from the DoD, Department of the Army, and Federal Communications Commission; and adapt to shrinking customer budgets.
Booz Allen helped transform DTS-W’s operations, develop a roadmap to overhaul its business practices, and modernize IT systems and processes. Initiatives included eliminating stove-piped divisions to facilitate more flexible use of resources; streamlining staff levels while avoiding layoffs; aligning training to strategic objectives; installing an integrated call center; and adapting a proactive customer relationship management approach.
More than a decade later, Booz Allen and DTS-W’s customer-focused business model has reduced overhead costs by $75 million. Customer satisfaction increased from 45% in 1998 to 91% in 2008, and employee satisfaction has increased as well. DTS-W’s new financial asset management system has saved customers $149 million. And despite increasing competition, DTS-W’s customer base continues to grow: Almost 40% from 1997 to 2008.
DTS-W’s transformation has put in place the people, processes, systems, and structures to create a business model that supports continuous improvement.
Download a PDF version of the case study entitled, "Transformation for Change: Defense Telecommunications Services – Washington."
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