Personalisation powers Verizon’s growth despite churn
Verizon is leveraging personalisation and loyalty to fuel its growth, even as it faces short-term customer churn. CEO Hans Vestberg credits AI-driven tools like MyPlan and the Verizon Access loyalty program with creating more seamless and personalised customer experiences.
MyPlan, now extended to businesses as My Biz Plan, lets users tailor their subscriptions and receive custom offers. First-quarter 2025 wireless service revenue rose 2.7% year-over-year to $20.8 billion. Executives remain optimistic, calling the churn “transitory” and pointing to recent innovations as key to building long-term loyalty and sustainable subscriber growth.
Government aims to slash driving test backlog with new measures
The UK government plans to add 10,000 driving tests monthly to tackle soaring wait times, now averaging 20 weeks. Measures include doubling specialist trainer numbers, offering examiners overtime, and tightening booking rules to stop bots from hoarding slots. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander admitted the target to reduce waits to seven weeks won’t be met until summer 2026.
Despite record testing last year, demand still outpaces supply. The DVSA will accelerate training for new examiners, while consultations in May aim to improve the booking system. MPS welcomed the plans but questioned their feasibility and impact on persistent delays.
Rethinking profitability with precision
Gartner advises chief supply chain officers to adopt a six-step cost-to-serve (CTS) model to clarify true supply chain costs and profitability. Traditional accounting often misses the hidden costs tied to customer and product complexity. This CTS model helps map indirect costs, define scope, link costs to drivers, estimate per-activity costs, and reveal transaction-level profitability.
The insights enable CSCOs to renegotiate unprofitable contracts, refine product portfolios, and drive operational improvements. By highlighting cost impacts across logistics, storage, and service, CSCOs can align strategies with accurate profitability data, ultimately boosting business performance amid economic uncertainty.