Telecom Expense Management: Case Studies

How Customers Have Successfully Implemented Veramark TEM Solutions

The Medical University of South Carolina


Challenge

  • State turned over ownership of the telephone system to MUSC
  • University had to deal directly with carriers for the first time
  • New solution needed to capture and charge back telecom costs

Solution

  • MUSC upgraded their call accounting software to VeraSMART TEM Suite
  • New solution includes VeraSMART Call Accounting, Inventory Management, Invoice Management, and capabilities for data import and export
  • On-premise installation was completed in one day


Results

  • VeraSMART collects and consolidates telecom expenses and charges them back to the departments that incurred them. 
  • VeraSMART reporting engine sends billing reports to responsible managers
  • "What used to take hours or days now takes minutes...Our previous process for creating monthly chargeback bills…was very time consuming and tedious. Now, it's just a matter of entering one-time charges, importing the invoices, re-executing the end of period processing, and running the billing report."

Read MUSC Case Study >



Highmark Inc.,  leading healthcare provider


Challenge

  • Non-profit health insurer was manually processing carrier invoices
  • Multiple spreadsheets made it difficult to keep track of new and disconnected services and to make sure billing was accurate
  • Reporting was especially difficult

Solution

  • Highmark selected VeraSMART on the basis of functionality, ease of use, cost
  • Veramark solution allows Highmark to accept invoices in electronic form and load them directly into the VeraSMART database
  • Invoices enter a workflow process that sends them through a review and approval chain, enforcing best practices at each step of the way

Results

  • System automatically alerts staff members to billing variances – such as new services, charges above or below threshold, and 3rd party billing
  • VeraSMART notifies Highmark immediately when taxes appear on their invoices, saving time and money
  • "Veramark has definitely made it easier to track variances in our telecom invoices." 

Read Highmark Case Study >



Major National Retailer


Challenge

  • Telecom network fragmented and decentralized
  • Outsourced invoice processing performing poorly
  • Not satisfied with telecom audit performed by consulting firm


Solution

  • Review and audit
  • Focus on long-term process improvements and TEM best practices
  • Vendors selected on basis of network spend prioritization


Results

  • Initial review and audit saved $3.5M
  • Engagement grew to full service TEM for all recurring invoice management and audit functions
  • Dispute and optimization efforts are generating millions of dollars each year through cost avoidance or elimination




Energy Provider 


Challenge

  • Telecom network of global oil services company is due for review
  • Decentralized network spans dozens of countries and carriers
  • Millions of dollars in annual spend is at stake


Solution

  • Contract review initially covered three Canadian providers
  • Subsequent international contract review consisted of evaluating invoicing for twenty-five international telecom vendors across Europe and North Africa
  • Tariff review of the monthly spend for Canada's two largest providers evaluated rate elements down to the universal service order code (USOC) level


Results

  • Canadian contract review identified hundreds of thousands of dollars in annualized savings derived from audit, cost avoidance, and optimization
  • Rate negotiation resulting from the international contract review delivered
    six-figure savings
  • Tariff review of Canadian providers identified term agreement and billing errors resulted in savings for the year approximating 83% of the monthly spend for one of the Canadian providers; tariff pricing optimization for local services for both providers identified six-figure savings opportunities



Financial Services Firm


Challenge

  • Company desired greater control of its telecom master contract and more competitive pricing for services
  • Goals included: reduce cost of telecom services covered by the master agreement; increase ability to hold providers accountable for quality of service; ensure that Ts&Cs were flexible and minimized risks
  • Contract expiration only five months away required aggressive timetable


Solution

  • Online RFP process used to rank and evaluate vendor responses
  • Benchmark study evaluated market prices and pinpoint pricing targets


Results

  • New contract with incumbent provider resulted in a 50% savings over the old contract while reducing commitment level to 60% of the client's current spend
  • Provider agreed to concessions with respect to Quality of Service (QoS) management, allowing our client greater control
  • New contract provisions offered risk protection and increased network flexibility 



Service Firm


Challenge

  • Company faced expiration of its contracts for voice and data network services
  • Wanted to reassess its processes relating to the engineering of the network, procurement of services and operational and cost management practices
  • Specific goals: determine the most efficient network backbone architecture; implement a strong sourcing process to drive down the cost of services and improve the terms under which services are purchased; accelerate the company's ability to manage its network and vendor performance


Solution

  • Assessment indicated the need for more updated network architecture and sophisticated measurement tools in order to maximize and maintain optimal levels of network Quality of Service (QoS)
  • Online RFP process to solicit/evaluate solution proposals and rank vendors


Results

  • Restoration of network operational efficiency and cost controls
  • New sourcing solution reduced network costs by more than 60%



Major National Retailer


Challenge

  • Customer had lost control of their network, which included thousands of nationwide locations and wireless devices, over $100 million annual spend
  • Poor inventory management; lack of visibility
  • Manual invoice processing
  • Multiple applications and databases
  • Lack of internal TEM expertise


Solution

  • Historical audit to identify opportunities for savings and process improvements
  • Based on the audit, defined new workflow, integration, and reporting requirements, as well as integrations necessary for ongoing TEM processes
  • Implemented TEM SaaS solution with managed services
  • Critical improvements to inventory, invoice, and usage management


Results

  • Audit and solution implementation completed in four months
  • Over next nine months, solution yielded $5.7M in verified savings and credits
  • Additional benefits in process improvements and ongoing optimization efforts



National Financial Institution


Challenge

  • Customer needed call accounting and allocation to help manage their call center
  • Previous solution was expensive due to constant service requirements
  • Other solutions failed to provide the needed report capabilities 


Solution

  • Customer utilized Veramark call accounting to gain visibility into their network, monitoring the system for security/legal reasons, cost allocation, and reporting
  • Solution was expanded to include invoice management, dispute resolution, and wireless and wireline provisioning
  • User defined fields (UDF) and reports were configured to reflect the company's unique business processes and address their needs for allocation and budgeting


Results

  • Solution allows client to validate invoices against line and circuit inventory and charge back the costs
  • They use UDF to fine-tune their inventory management capability
  • Solution has cut call accounting and invoice management costs in half
  • Automated invoice validation has reduced the spend error rate to less than 1%
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