jor portion of all support systems. For ease of understanding, the expla- nations are given using activities in each process without reference to any standard models like eTOM. 20.2 Fulfillment Process The fulfillment process involves the set of operations used to fulfill a customer order (see Figure 20.1). These operations use a set of solutions like order management Fundamentals of EMS, NMS and OSS/BSS Sales Order Customer management handling Service Service Service planning and Inventory development provisioning management Network Network Network planning and development provisioning Figure 20.1 Fulfillment process. module, inventory management module, provisioning module, service configura- tion module, and SO on to complete the fulfillment process. Fulfillment spans busi- ness support systems with modules such as sales and order management and it spans the operation support systems with modules like provisioning and inventory management. It is first the operations of sales to work with the customer to ensure that an order can be placed. The order management system (OMS) then captures all relevant information from the customer to offer the requested service. The OMS also has the capability to support changes in the order based on customer requests. Though the OMS is mainly for the service provider, the customer also gets a restricted view of the OMS. This customer view of OMS gives information on the status of the order and ensures that the customer can also track and manage the order. With this functionality, in case the order is not completed on time, the customer can take it up with the support desk and resolve any issues including a change or cancellation of order. There is usually a presales and sales activity before the order, though some services can have a direct order, such as service orders that can be placed online from a Web site. When placing an online order, the customer enters all the relevant details that the service provider can work on to offer the service requested. Once the order is comple