Telecom expense management (TEM) is the process through which an enterprise’s IT and accounts payable/finance departments work in sync to acquire, provide and support any corporate fixed and mobile communications services.
“We are trying to simplify your financial control by reducing costs and increasing productivity with workflow management,” says Anthony Buono, enterprise solutions specialist with Simplify Inc.
Buono says there are benefits to telecom expenses management as well as facility management, including reduced operational costs, life-cycle management, and improved productivity and control.
“Our industry-leading software platform (Advocate) is the core benefit of Simplify’s services and we strive to deliver to our clients a full lifecycle management solution,” he says.
Smart Business learned more from Buono about how businesses can benefit from TEM and facility management.
How does TEM reduce costs and help workflow management?
Basically, the IT/telecom team orders products and services, while the finance team approves invoices. The teams typically work hand-in-hand, and the TEM solution works to bridge any gaps. Instead of chasing after each other to ask questions back and forth, the application automates some of the process work they would do, such as approving invoices.
Typically, many companies choose to contract a third-party service provider in order to utilize an application that controls and leverages the automation of the invoice management process. Additional services play a key role in a complete solution, including sourcing, ordering and provisioning management, inventory management, contract management, usage and dispute management. The goal is to develop a customized workflow to complete a telecom lifecycle management solution that includes reporting and business intelligence.
Why is TEM applicable to businesses with multiple telecom vendors?
Last year, in Magic Quadrant for Telecom Expense Management, technology research and advisory company Gartner Inc. wrote ‘For most organizations, fixed and mobile communication services are among the top five business expenses, but (organizations) often do a poor job of managing processes relating to communication spending.’
This is one key area that companies need additional help with, especially organizations with multiple telecom carriers. They may obtain assistance with the up-front services to help save money on telecom carrier options, but those organizations are typically left handling the invoice process. Where multiple carrier invoices are standard, a TEM solution is the perfect fit to streamline the workflow for the invoice management process. If a company has one invoice, it’s manageable. But if they have three or four carriers, it gets more complicated.
Based on client feedback, Simplify has added layers of services to our custom application called Advocate that include Enterprise Cost Management.
