Validate Your Expenses
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No. 3: Validate your expenses
Ideally, your telecom expenses should be checked against either current employee lists or locations. There are too many situations where companies continued to pay for wireless devices belonging to former employees or for locations that are closed. Look at the high-impact areas first on the invoices, such as the most expensive circuits, long and expensive calls, "high talker" wireless users and zero-usage devices.
For example, one Fortune 1000 retailer found they had over 50 devices with no usage, but monthly charges of close to $40 each. Upon investigation, it turned out that the charges stemmed from phones procured for a department that did not need them. No one cancelled the phones and they were billed monthly for over a year before the discovery, which totaled over $26,000 in wasted dollars.
No. 4: Negotiate contracts better and monitor expiration dates
Knowing what telecom assets you own and leveraging the information for volume discounting is only half the battle. The other half comes from smart negotiation tactics and an awareness of when contracts are up for renewal. Pay attention to the fine print for auto-renewal clauses, which are easily removable but often overlooked.
For example, a local store of a large retail chain contracted circuits from a provider without notifying IT, and filed the paper contract away in a desk. No one was tracking the contract expiration date and it wasn't until it resulted in a $23,000 per month overage on the invoice that the contract was renegotiated and tracked.
There are many tools and services available just to help with contract negotiation with service providers. Take advantage of technology and "reverse-auctions" where carriers can bid for your business in an online session. Better negotiation of contracts can produce significant savings, often in the millions, depending on telecom spend.
