A telecom expense management (TEM) program is based upon an accurate telecommunications service inventory. The telecom inventory is the foundation for a number of different telecom management activities, such as tracking moves, adds and changes, carrier spending levels and network optimization. Without an accurate telecommunications inventory, your TEM program will only be partially effective. By following these three inventory related activities, you can get the most out of your telecom expense management program.
1) Track MACDs. A MACD (Moves, Adds, Changes, and Disconnections) order is one of the most complicated activities for an expense management program to track. Carrier provisioning systems create numerous service classifications that create different inventory management and telecom billing assurance challenges. Typical status types include (we will use customer oriented terms here, not standard carrier terms): ordered, installed but not turned up, in service and billing, cancelled but still in service, disconnected awaiting final bill, and disconnected not billing.
These different network service statuses need to be tracked for each service order placed so your team can determine when a service is usable and responsibility has passed from telecom carrier provisioning to customer care, when you should expect to see the first billing, when the carrier should stop billing you for a service and so on. Without an accurate telecom inventory and a telecom inventory tracking system, the challenge of managing telecommunications changes is immense.
2) Managing your carrier spending level is another important aspect of an effective TEM program. Accurate telecom inventory records assist you in managing carrier spend by showing you what you can move from one telecom carrier to another and how that will effect your spend with the respective carriers. Further, an effective telecom expense management platform will allow you to monitor your telecom carrier spend to ensure that you remain in compliance with telecom carrier contracts.
3) Accurate inventories also allow a telecom team to conduct communications network optimization reviews. By comparing services across your locations, costs across telecom carriers, types of service for different users, etc, the telecom team can ensure that their end-users have a consistent experience and have access to the most productive telecom resources. These optimization reviews, especially when supported by a TEM platform, are a quick way ensure that spend and technology are allocated across the organization efficiently.
When an accurate inventory supports a telecom expenses management program, the level of analysis, the effectiveness of the program and the expenses reduced can all be maximized. A TEM platform specifically designed for such activities allows real time and repeated analytics to support the telecommunication group’s efforts.
