Finding the right telecom solution often starts with wireless expense management — getting a grip on the mobile plans and devices that drive so much of today’s spend. Are you still struggling to figure out your telecom solutions? Are you outsourcing your telecom solutions, or are you doing the ‘DIY’ method? There are many ways for creating telecom solutions that will best fit your needs. Below is a guide to services that telecom expense management providers, such as Valicom, offer and what you can expect from each of these services.
All of the services listed below have a general management process. This includes set up, contract negotiation, auditing, acceptance of the invoice by the client, followed by bill pay. The nature of this process also changes dependent on what type of devices are being dealt with.
Related from Valicom: video blog choose right telecom solution for your business.
Wireline Expense Management
To put it simply, “wireline” means “not wireless”. In other words, just a regular telephone. Which is very relevant in this day of wireless everything! We’d bet that every desk in your building still has a phone sitting on it. Imagine the potential cost savings of proactively managing that environment. Because of this, telecom is one of the “top 5 corporate expenses” and is an area that’s rife with over-payment. Put that money to better use, and stop paying for services you don’t use.
Wireline Telecom Solutions Include:
- Wireline Telephone Cursory & Comprehensive Invoice Auditing
- Benchmarking
- Contract Compliance
- Inventory Management
- Wireline Invoice Processing
- Network Optimization
- Network Diagramming
- Procurement and Order Fulfillment
- RFP Management
- Reporting/Standard Customized Reporting
- Test Calling
- Vendor Management
- WAN Efficiency Studies
Related from Valicom: video blog take control bloated telecom spend.
Wireless Expense Management
It seems as if companies are experiencing an explosion of wireless devices and mobile expenses keep skyrocketing. As a result, managing voice and data plans, wireless invoice auditing, and wireless plan optimization make telecom expense management an enormous task for those who try to do it in-house. Industry analyst Gartner frames TEM around fixed and mobile telephony alike — and wireless is where spend is climbing fastest.
- Wireless Cursory & Comprehensive Invoice Auditing
- Benchmarking
- Contract Compliance
- Inventory Management
- Invoice Processing
- Wireless Optimization
- Procurement and Order Fulfillment
- Wireless Carrier RFP Management
- Policy Development
Telecom and Wireless Inventory Management
Let’s not forget inventory management! At its core, telecom expense management is maintaining a detailed, up-to-date telecom or wireless inventory:
- Organizing and updating telecom and wireless inventory data
- Listing all devices, plans, circuits and lines you have
- Tracking all telecom orders and changes
- Interpreting and entering CSR data
- Properly associating telecom inventory with locations, users, GL Codes, etc.
To help you accomplish this efficiently and effectively, telecom expense management software has been created. Due to this, many TEM software providers have a database for storing your telecom inventory of lines, circuits, wireless devices, and other associated inventory. This software helps to keep everything organized and easily accessible.
Related from Valicom: telecom expense management solution small and mid-sized teams can start with.
Bringing Your Wireless Expense Management Together
In conclusion, TEM software can help manage your telecom inventory either through on-demand subscription service or as part of an outsourced telecom audit process. And by having a good handle on your telecom inventory, you can work to control telecom costs even better. Strong wireless expense management — backed by clean inventory and the right software — is how you keep mobile spend from running away from you. As they say, “You can’t manage what you can’t measure”.
