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About Network Radar
The Network Radar module helps you organize and manage partner network data. It provides up to date, OnNet and NearNet connectivity listings from network partners and enables users to search for new networks to leverage.
Network Radar helps you organize, automate, and engage Partner, OnNet, and NearNet networks. It allows carriers to manage OffNet relationships with other operators by visualizing circuit inventory, building reach, and searching for new networks to leverage.
Network Radar helps network providers stay current with their OnNet and NearNet connectivity offerings from network partners through automated building lists. And, it helps identify new network partners based on location data and needs.
Network Radar helps carrier relations align themselves to revenue contribution by speeding up the process of responding to serviceability requests and making it easier to add the right partners to increase total deal flow and win rates.
Working with Supplier Manager
In Network Radar, Supplier Manager page enables you to view all your Network Radar as well as External and Internal API connections in a single location within the platform.
To access Supplier Manager:
Click from the navigation sidebar.
Click under the .
Result: The Supplier Manager page displays.
By default Supplier Manager page displays listing of your configured suppliers.
For each supplier listed, the following data fields display:
Field Name
Description
Supplier
Indicates the name of the supplier, i.e., the origin instance name or external API name.
Supplier Id
This field enables you to assign a custom Id to a supplier. This is an alphanumeric field and editable.
Countries
Lists the country/countries in which the supplier has a presence.
Currencies
The currency, or multiple currencies, bonded to the supplier pricing data.
Product Categories
All products available from the supplier, for the customer instance.
Access Mediums
The medium used for connectivity to the building or specified location.
Valid values include:
Coax/HFC
Copper
Fiber
Wireless – Fixed
Wireless – Mobile
Wireless – Satellite
Other
Quoting Method
Internal API – Data is provided by internal Connectbase API
External API – Data is provided by an external 3rd party API
Instance Data – Data that was loaded by the customer into their own instance.
Direct Import - Pricing data imported from the supplier instance.
Internal API - Market Data Insight: Shows the flag set in the instance settings on the back end and uses the Connectbase proprietary market data for quoting purposes.
Internal API - Supplier Carrier Data: Shows the flag set in the instance settings on the back end and uses supplier data for quoting purposes.
Status
The supplier status, Active or Inactive
MSA
Master Service Agreement: Yes/No
Pricing Source
The platform does not currently track where the pricing data is derived from (the customer’s instance name, a different instance, loaded by another Connectbase customer (Supplier), or from Connectbase product data).
This field, when populated, will enable visualization of both the pricing source and an indication of who provided the pricing.
Serviceability Source
The platform does not currently track the source of the serviceability data (whether it is derived from the customer’s instance name, a different instance, loaded by another Connectbase customer (Supplier), or from Connectbase product data).
This field, when populated, will enable visualization of both the supplier data source and an indication of who provided the data.
Building List/Pricing List -> Customer
Internal API -> Customer
External API -> Supplier
Serviceability Confidence
Indicates whether the serviceability data for the instance is based on buildings or geography. Multiple values are allowed (i.e., extracted from the customer instance, as well as different instances, retrieved by internal API, or not. For external APIs, this field is always set to "Buildings".
Building List/Pricing List -> Buildings
Internal API -> Buildings/Geography
External API -> Buildings
Serviceability Update
The last date a list was uploaded by the customer (New Received on Network Radar Buildings), or Real Time (External APIs), or Check Locations (Internal APIs or other customer instances).
Building List/Pricing List -> Date (yyyy-mm-dd)
Internal API -> Check Locations
External API -> Real Time
Preferred Supplier
Toggle to ON (blue) to flag this supplier as a preferred supplier.
Supplier Penalty
This is an optional feature that enables you to Blacklist (block) a supplier or Suspend (temporarily block) a supplier.
If the supplier is flagged as blacklist or Suspend, you will have to select Enable to reactivate the supplier.
Expanding the supplier record details
To expand supplier record details:
To the left of the field, click the 
sign.
Result: The dialog box expands to show the following five tabs:
Company tab – Displays the name, address, and contact information for the supplier.
Contacts tab – Where applicable, provides the first name, last name, title, escalation level, email, and phone information for the key contact.
Building List tab – Displays the supplier’s building list.
Pricing tab – Where applicable, enables you to import/export the supplier’s price list.
Hierarchy tab - Where applicable, enables you to view, add and/or edit parent supplier
Note
Above tabs are only visible if the supplier is manually added in Network Radar and has shared their building/pricing lists using List Manager. If the provider is connected through internal API, only Hierarchy tab is available when expanding the supplier record.
Working with Circuit Manager
Circuit Manager is a user entitlement feature. If your user id is not configured for Circuit Manager, this menu is not visible to you. If you need access to Circuit Manager, contact your designated Customer Success Manager.
The Circuit Manager page enables you to view, add, edit, upload, and delete circuits. Additionally, you can select a circuit(s) and add them to your Favorites list. The default Circuit Manager page can be accessed from within Network Radar menu as shown in the below example:
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About Configure, Price, Quote
The Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) module provides a systematic workflow that enables you to create, design, and distribute pricing quotes for new or existing customers. CPQ provides choice options for wholesale, channel, or enterprise markets, as well as a complete suite of customizable criteria, including media type, bandwidth, and geographic locations.
Our enriched, location data eliminates stagnant Excel spreadsheets by providing real-time visibility to intersection positioning and competitive dynamics, placing users with the optimum advantage of knowing their on-net, near-net, and competitive opportunities.
In Quoting , you can choose from one of two methods for generating your quotes:
You can create a quote from an account containing multiple deals/addresses using the CPQ process flow.
You can create a Quick Quote for one or more addresses to simply obtain pricing without having to complete the CPQ process flow.
Adding an account
From the Accounts page, you can use the Add Account function to search for an account or add a custom account.
Select from the navigation sidebar.
Click .
Result: The Add dialog box displays. From here you can search for an existing account or create a custom account.
Do one of the following:
To do this
Complete these steps
Search for an existing account to add
Click in the field.
In the Type to Search bar, type the name of the account.
As you begin to type the account name, an auto-populate list displays for selection. Once the account name is selected, the button is enabled.
Add a custom account
Click in the field, then press the keyboard Space bar. The Create Custom field displays at the top of the list.
Click and enter a name for the account.
The Add account dialog box displays and contains the same fields as the Search for Account, but also indicates that this is a Custom Account within the dialog box as shown below.
The remaining fields are optional, but where populated, are carried forward with the quote. These optional fields enable you to capture and store metadata that is important to your individual business structure.
If Custom Fields are configured for accounts within your instance, they display as options for selection from the dropdown list. You can select the custom fields you want added to the account and provide a value for each custom field selected.
Note
When entering an address, enter the complete and exact street address for your location; the 5-digit zip code is optional. For example, 1800 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States or 1800 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA. For international addresses, google search for the 3-letter ISO code for each country or countries in which you have included addresses. Validation will fail if the ISO code is incorrect.
Where applicable, you can select a preconfigured to be applied to this account.
Select the to be applied to this account.
Click .
Result: The newly added account displays in your account list.
Manage CPQ accounts
Perform the following actions to manage your CPQ accounts: share an account, remove an account, viewing account reports, and refreshing accounts to clear cache.
Adding deals
Limitation: A single deal can have no more than 2000 locations.
If a deal surpasses the 2000 locations per deal limitation, the deal will automatically split into multiple small deal batches, with naming convention "deal_name-1", "deal_name -2" etc.
The deal counts the combination location counts of supplier name, access media, connection status, etc. to distinguish differences as unique location counts (addresskey +secondary). This number is indicated in the Counts with Duplicates field (formerly named Location Counts).
Please note that our location counts may include system duplicates of access medium, connection status, and supplier name. This means that locations with different supplier names, different connectivity status, and different access medium.
Managing deals
Once a deal is created and associated with an account, you can perform any of these additional functions within a deal:
Each of these functions is described in the sections that follow.
Generating a Quick Quote
If you want to generate a quote to get a quick view of pricing without creating an account or deal, you can use the Quick Quote function as described below.
Note
To generate a quote for a deal containing one or multiple addresses, follow the CPQ process flow. See the CPQ process flow diagram for details.
To generate a quick quote:
Select from the navigation sidebar.
Either enter a complete address or latitude/longitude coordinates into the field or enter (or copy and paste) one or multiple addresses into the field.
Note
Although you can only enter a single address using auto complete for a Quick Quote, the Enter Multiple Addresses Here field enables you to add parsed addresses, which provides greater flexibility and granularly for the address(es) you want to price.
Click .
Result: The address(es) is validated and displays a green checkmark if valid or a red x if the address could not be validated.
Select (check) the address/addresses from the validation list to be processed.
Choose the configuration. See Process Flow Step 2: Choose the Configuration Criteria for details.
Click the button.
Result: The Select Account/Select Deal/Create New Deal dialog box displays.
Optionally do one of the following:
To do this
Complete these steps
Connect pricing to an existing deal
Click the dropdown arrow in the field and select the Account Name.
Click the dropdown arrow in the field and select the deal name.
Click .
Connect pricing to a new deal
Click the dropdown arrow in the field and select the Account Name.
Click and type the name you wish to associate with the new deal.
Click .
Managing (WIP) Work in Progress
From Quoting > WIP, view your assigned work in progress and/or view global work in progress for quotes using the WIP submenu.
My WIP acts as an Inbox to provide visibility into work that has yet to be completed. It may also allow you to assign tasks to other users or to yourself, based on your user group permissions. User group permissions are set by the Administrator of your instance. Options include: [CPQ] Assign Quotes to me and/or [CPQ] Assign/Reassign Quotes to any user.
Note
If you assign users to the user group "Company Users (Default)" and not "Default Group" those users will not have access to the Global WIP menu.
Custom fields are viewable within the Global WIP and/or My WIP grid, if the user group permission is enabled by an Admin.
Additionally, where applicable, the WIP pages include My Activities and My Blockers. These features must be enabled for your instance by an internal Connectbase Administrator. There is also a user level entitlement that must be enabled per user to define who can create activity rules.
When Activities is enabled for your instance and your user credentials, the following appears in the WIP submenu:
My Activities – Displays activities that are pending to be completed by the logged user. Additionally, when an activity is pending, an email notification is sent informing you that a quote is pending action from you.
My Blockers – Displays activities to be completed by other identified (Assigned to) users, thereby blocking the completion of the quote that is assigned to the logged user until the required activities are approved.
Managing CPQ Projects
Using Projects, you can combine and manage multiple quotes together as a single project, provided those quotes have not proceeded beyond step 3 in the quoting process. This feature enables you to better manage large projects.
From Quoting > Projects, you can add, edit, delete, and share projects.
Bid Manager (CBM)
The process of gathering customer requirements for products and services, selecting telecom vendors who can provide those services, sending them a request for proposal, and then allowing them to submit proposals can be an inefficient, arduous, and oftentimes broken process for connectivity providers.
Bid Manager (CBM) allows users to source bids from all possible suppliers, solve fallout issues, and address complex pricing needs when you need to request ICB pricing from one or more carriers. Bid Manager or CBM along with CPQ offers a single platform to initiate , track, and archive all quoting activities. CBM supports both CPQ-to-CPQ and CPQ-to-non-customer flows. Some common use cases for using Bid Manager include:
When locations do not return a price result in CPQ but the carrier footprint does reside in the Connectbase Network Intelligence.
The location is far enough off net for a carrier that they will not estimate a price to deliver service.
A request for individual case business or ICB pricing is needed for high volume opportunities.
5 or 10 locations within a single quote fall within a single carrier's footprint warranting special discounted rates.
From within Step 3 of the CPQ process flow, you can send a request for availability and pricing of specified locations and configurations to select providers.
Note
CBM is a user level entitlement for CPQ customers and will not display within the platform without the assigned permissions. If you need assistance to gain access to CBM functionality, contact your Connectbase Sales representative or your dedicated customer success manager. If you require technical assistance or wish to report an issue to the Connectbase Support team, please log into the Connectbase Customer Support Desk Portal at https://support.connectbase.com and submit a support ticket.
CPQ Process Flow
Prior to completing the CPQ process flow to create and distribute a quote, you must first complete these tasks:
Add an account. See Adding an account.
Add a deal(s) to the account. See Adding a deal to an account.
Add an address(es) to the deal. See Adding/Importing addresses to a deal.
Note
If you want to generate a quick quote for one or more addresses to obtain pricing only, you can bypass the account and deal creation for now and simply use the Quick Quote function. See Generating a Quick Quote for details.
The following diagram outlines the tasks required to complete the CPQ process flow. Detailed steps for completing each of these tasks is provided in the sections that follow.
Note
As you work through a quote, you can click on the process flow icons that appear at the top of the page to go to a specific step in the flow. The active step in the flow is highlighted.