1. Scenario overview
Plan packaging is the step that turns an operator product into a product you own. It is not data plan design, which defines tiers and billing logic. After you buy a base tariff from an operator, you package it as your own branded plan: name, tier, price, and whether it is on sale. The core is the mapping: which operator tariff each of your plans points to, so a subscription provisions the right one.
Packaged plans are what plan subscription and plan changes sell and switch. Margin is the gap between your price and the operator’s cost. Design answers how the tier and the billing work. Packaging answers how an operator product becomes a plan you can sell.
2. Core capabilities
Operator tariff mapping
Each of your plans maps to one operator tariff, and you can map across more than one operator. At order time the platform provisions the operator named in the mapping, so the plan actually takes effect. The same plan can point at different China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom tariffs when coverage needs differ.
Multi-tier, multi-cycle pricing
Several tiers, such as 1GB, 5GB, and 10GB, and several cycles — monthly, quarterly, or yearly — with prices you set. Margin is configurable: the gap between your price and the operator cost is gross profit. Use a margin rate or a fixed markup so the offer can differ by channel.
Listing and price changes
List or unlist a plan, and change its price, to control what can be sold. Once it is off sale, new buyers cannot take it, and customers who already subscribed are left as they are. A price change can apply to new orders only, while existing orders keep the old price. Limited-time promotions are supported.
Ready for sale
Once packaged, the plan is available to plan subscription, plan changes, and the rest of the selling flow. It sits next to plan design: design defines the product logic, packaging puts a sellable plan on the shelf.
3. Packaging flow
4. Packaging, design, and subscription
Packaging, design, and subscription play different parts in how plans are run. The differences:
| Dimension | Plan packaging | Data plan design | Plan subscription |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it covers | How it becomes something you can sell | What the plan looks like | How the user buys |
| What it does | Operator mapping, pricing, listing | Tiers, cycles, billing logic | Choose a plan, pay, provision |
| What it produces | A sellable plan for orders and changes | The product logic | An order and a provisioned plan |
| What it depends on | Plan design and operator integration | Designed on its own | A packaged plan that is on sale |
Together they are the plan operation chain: design defines the product logic, packaging puts a sellable plan in place, and subscription is how the user buys it.
5. Typical use cases
- Your own branded plan: Buy a base tariff from the operator, package it as your brand, and sell it to end customers. Margin is the gap between your price and the cost.
- One plan, several operators: The same plan maps to different China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom tariffs when coverage needs differ, and it fits multi-operator management.
- Different prices by channel: Give agents and distributors their own packaged plans and prices.
6. What you gain
Plan packaging on the SimtoLink IoT Cloud Platform gives you a plan catalog of your own. Operator mapping keeps provisioning accurate, flexible pricing leaves room to differentiate and to keep a margin, and listing controls what can be sold. With plan design and plan subscription, that is the full chain for running plans.
7. Implementation notes
Design the tiers and the billing first, then set packaging and the operator mapping. Price for both cost and competitiveness, and keep the margin configurable. Listing controls what can be sold, and a price change should account for orders already placed. With several operators, one plan can map to a different tariff on each. SimtoLink can help with the packaging setup and the mapping.