Where do I start? (Part III)

On previous blogs related to this topic,  Where do I start? and  Where do I start? (Part II) I've mentioned several points relating to what your Telecom Agent can do for you.  Although not all Agents will offer all points discussed in my blog, these points are a list of topics to pick and choose from that you find are most important to you and your business. 

1. An Agent can manage your telecommunication contracts. They can help you review/audit your invoices so that you are better prepared for your contract negotiations. They can also review your contracts to hi-light any clauses that you might not necessarily regard as a flag. It must be said that contracts should also be reviewed by your internal Legal Department for their due diligence. Once your contract has been signed, your Agent can track for any renewal dates to help you renegotiate prior to expiry. More about this in a later blog.

2. Your Agent can assist with your Billing and Chargeback Management. By optimizing your usage policies you can increase your telecom savings, billing irregularities. Your Agent can also guide you in finding the right TEM/WEM provider. Oops another acronym. TEM and WEM (Telecom Expense Management and Wireless Expense Management) are widely known acronyms in the telecom industry and these are not only descriptors of the telecommunication vernacular but are also much valued service providers who are a fully integrated wire line and wireless Telecom Expense Management software suite and managed services portfolio that provide enterprises or SMBs the ability to comprehensively manage their current and planned unified communications environments. I will offer some opinions in a later blog regarding TEM/WEM services.

3. Your Agent can with or without the support of a TEM/WEM solution, assist with your claims recovery. They can identify errors in your invoices, follow up with vendors to handle missing or misapplied payments and even negotiate with vendors for late payment charges. There are basic free etools that can be used to assist with this process, although these are restricted to the telco/vendor’s services only. Keep in mind that there is a point in time where it is best to seek the services of a vendor who has the means to provide you with more robust portfolio. See point #2. Your Agent may be able help you if that is the direction that is best to meet your needs.

The topic of finding a Telecom Agent, can be daunting.  I hope that the points I am outlining in my blog are giving you some idea of what services can be offered to you. 
Your comments on any topics are always most welcomed. 

Quick fixes to telecom services

You definitely would like to cut back on costs as most of us do as we struggle through our economic times.  Finding savings is time consuming.  We want quick fixes and we want them now.  There are ways to get some quick returns if you take a few simple steps.

One is to pull all services together.  Build an inventory of your wireline, wireless, data, network, Long Distance invoices and any known contract details into a spreadsheet.  Make note of who the invoices belong to in your organization and the monthly costs. 

This would then move you into the second step which is the visibility needed to focus on these expenses.  You might be surprised at how quickly something stands out from a cost perspective or that a particular office has been closed for some time. 

I've completed these simple steps for clients in the past and have always found it to be an eye opener for clients.  Not only does it provide my clients with the visibility needed into their telecom spend, I always find it to be a great sense of accomplishment of a job well done.                                                 

There are of course pressures that require a more in-depth analysis of your services.  Some that come to mind are the scheduling and reviewing of telecom contracts, reporting and tracking the spend, optimizing wireless rate plans and features, centralizing invoices.  Even with the knowledge that these pressures are still valid and still need to addressed, the first few steps noted above will give you some quick returns. 

If you decide to engage the services of an expense management software solutions to control your costs, the above steps will be required documents in the overall process and the time spent initially will not have been wasted. 

If you are having a problem with the lack of independent experts to assist in the process of cost reduction, I can definitely lend a hand.

Where do I start? (Part II)

In an earlier blog,  Where do I Start? I talked a little about what your Telecom Agent can do for you. The following are a few more items for you to ponder.

1. An Agent will do the digging for you and will bring you options that meet your needs. They will research services/products and costs savings opportunities.


2. An Agent can manage the Vendor. Once you have established who your vendor will be, you can task your Agent to act on your behalf. This can be accomplished by funnelling all MACD through your Agent. (moves, adds, changes, disconnections). MACD?....Sounds like you may be ordering a hamburger but alas NO, this is one of those many acronyms that is thrown into a rather large bucket of other telco/vendor managed USOC (Universal Service Order Code). I’ll talk more about USOC in a later blog.

For now, just keep in mind that these codes are what the telco/vendor uses to link up to the billing platform to produce your invoices. Through your Agent, this will become a single ordering processing system which will allow for business continuity in order processing, order integration with the telco/vendor and facilitates the streamlining of all billing. Your Agent ordered it, and you can rest assured that you are being billed correctly and your Agent can easily explain the charges to you. The Agent becomes your single point of contact for all telecommunication services helping reduce your administrative hassles.

Ask for references from your Agent and do call these references to get a sense of what the Agent has completed for them. Word of mouth can go a long way in beginning to build a long term relationship with your trusted Agent.