Get the Best Telecom Deal for the Best Price

Our Principals Have Experience in successfully getting significant telecom savings and improved contracts for many Fortune 500 companies including:

We Make Clients More Profitable by providing unique telecom cost-out and sourcing solutions i.e. a silver lining to the “dark cloud” of telecom expense, through an expense reduction process that includes:

Strategic Pricing and Negotiation – combining our experience and intellectual property database of pricing and contracts across most telecom carriers we are able to target pricing and terms that are leading-edge in today’s marketplace. This information lets us give accurate assessments of our client’s gap to market, develop the best strategy to obtain optimum savings results and to drive the negotiation process. Rather than simply asking carriers to lower their rates we are able to provide them with specific price points and targets that are credible, aggressive and based on “real-time” information.

Audit and Optimization – due to the complexity of telecom billing and services there are frequently billing errors that go unnoticed or uncorrected. We have the ability to dig into past billing in great detail and audit to ensure accuracy and compliance with the contract terms. If we find any errors we can work to get them corrected and the proper refunds or credits issued. In addition as companies change, users come and go, locations open and close etc. we have found that as we build the detailed inventory of services and spending we also notice opportunities to reduce spending and increase efficiency through optimization. Examples of optimization might include finding services that are no longer needed or need to be “right sized” or wireless users that should be on different, more cost effective, rate plans .

Best Practices, Policy Development and Risk Mitigation – Many of the benefits of our services do not appear on spreadsheets and invoices. We are frequently asked by clients to share what we’ve learned about how other companies may approach certain issues. Working across a broad spectrum of clients and situations we have a gained a deep understanding of their requirements and solutions and are able to provide insight and feedback on best practices and policies on areas such as carrier management, wireless usage policies and risk mitigation.

We Perform Assessment and Analysis to identify key areas for improvement. Data collection and evaluation focuses on:

Inventory / Demand Set - You can’t manage (or negotiate) what you can’t see. The first step in our assessment process is to collect the billing information for all in-scope services in order to build a detailed inventory that accurately reflects the full scope and detail of telecom services i.e. the demand set commonly referred to as the Book of Business or “BoB”. We use this “BoB” to perform benchmarking and analysis throughout an assessment or engagement.

Contractual status, Rates, Terms and Conditions – Billing and spend information is only half of the picture that we consider in our analysis.Our assessment includes detailed evaluation of current vendor agreements to determine areas for improvement, key business requirements and the strategy necessary to obtain the best results. Some of the critical areas we look at include:

• Commitment level and structure
• Rates, discounts and rate assurance
• Risk Mitigation (e.g. Market Rate Reviews, Business Change etc.)
• Service Level Agreements (SLA’s)
• Carrier and Account Team performance

Technology Goals and Initiatives – In order to effectively maximize the benefits of any agreement, sourcing strategy or carrier relationship we need to understand not only our customers’ current requirements but also their “ technology roadmap”. Part of our assessment process includes taking the time to learn about future telecom targets and plans so that our strategy and engagement results in giving clients the flexibility to manage their business both today and tomorrow.

We Develop Optimal Strategy based on:

Negotiation Leverage - We provide strategic recommendations that blends several factors to provide the best possible sourcing approach and leverage in any project. Some of those factors include:

• Timing and term of current agreements: We recommend allowing at least 9-12 months lead time prior to expiration in order to have a credible option for potential change and to maximize leverage
• Current and Future Spending: These days it’s not just about the volume of spend but also about the mix of services, geographic requirements and growth potential. It is critical to be able to know what aspects of your spend appeal to which carriers based on those carriers’ footprint and capabilities.
• Past, Present and Future Carrier Performance Capabilities: Any successful strategy must address vendor performance. Many times we hear that account team support or billing accuracy are important issues to our clients. Along with implementation, coverage and technology concerns we seek to leverage and address these issues within any strategic negotiation.

Client Culture and Requirements - Every situation and every company culture is different. Part of our strategy development includes taking into account the policies, preferences and priorities of our clients to formulate the strategy that will best meet our client’s goals.

Vendor Relationships – In almost every project we find that vendor relationships play a key role in defining a customer’s objectives . Many things that don’t appear on an invoice or spreadsheet have a definite impact on client satisfaction and so we also address these areas in our strategic goals. Issues we address include:

• Account team support and responsiveness including escalation paths
• Billing accuracy and remedies
• Implementation timelines with penalties
• Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
• Pro-active technology information and planning

We Deliver Better Results Faster by cutting through carrier red tape and delay tactics by using:

Real Time Intellectual Property – The telecom market changes frequently and continuously. At any given time we are involved in many projects across several carriers and geographies which enables us to use our up-to- the- minute information about pricing, carriers, technologies, terms and conditions to drive negotiations and deliver leading edge contracts for our clients.

Carrier Contacts – It is a common carrier tactic to delay sourcing projects in order to maintain revenues and margins. Also, there are frequently internal carrier bottlenecks that can slow things down. Throughout our years of experience we have developed the credibility and personal relationships with key sales and pricing executives at carriers and other vendors which allow us to minimize delays and escalate issues to the right people. This effectively reduces the time it takes to finish projects, resolve negotiation issues and begin obtaining savings sooner.