Top 10 Telecom Expense Management Resolutions for 2011: "
Cheers to a new year and another chance for businesses to strive to reduce telecom expenses. The top 10 telecom expense resolutions for 2011:
- Don’t rely solely on audits. A telecom audit can be an important part of your cost-cutting efforts. But a comprehensive, integrated TEM solution is necessary to maximize telecom savings over time.
- Get wireless expenses under control. Wireless usage is growing rapidly, yet it is the least well-managed and controlled of all telecom spend categories.
- Utilize your consultants expertise. Effective telecom expense management requires specialized skills and training; most enterprises do not have in-house personnel who are fully conversant with the latest TEM tools and analytics.
- Convert paper invoices to electronic form. Invoice management solutions are effective to the degree that the information is made available electronically. Electronic receipt and processing of invoices helps you automate validation and approval processes, improve accuracy, lower costs, and reduce late payment penalties.
- Implement wireless corporate usage standards. Procurement of wireless devices and plans is often handled in a decentralized, ad hoc manner. Process and policy design helps you document best practices for cost accounting, procurement, cost allocation, and provide a framework for wireless management processes.
- Take early payment discounts. The Aberdeen Group reports that roughly half of surveyed companies incur late payment penalties. Reach for the low-hanging fruit – take the early payment discount, and turn those expenses into quick savings.
- Renegotiate contracts. No other TEM capability has greater potential impact on your telecom and IT spend than the ability to negotiate effectively with providers and source telecom services and products at the most favorable rates.
- Provide results visibility. Make sure that senior executives view the TEM program as a profit center rather than a cost center. Being able to convey the overall program value to senior management on a regular basis is critical to sustainability.
- Track both hard and soft dollar savings. In many cases, and especially for BPO solutions, the greatest savings come from productivity improvements. One way to estimate the value of process automation is to consider the dollar savings in terms of reduced full-time equivalent (FTE) labor requirements
- Verify all telecom invoices. Recent studies show that approximately 5% of all telecom service charges are in error. Don’t pay for what you don’t use!
Presented in the format of the famous John Wiley & Sons For Dummies global book franchise, this concise reference for the rest of us is a specially created PDF (also available on request in printed form) from TnT Expense Management highlights the features, advantages and benefits of an enterprise Telecom Expense Management initiative. You will benefit through being able to: