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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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