Success Story: Auto Dealership Case Study
A Connecticut based auto dealership with multiple locations needed to identify the voice and data services in order to optimize services and costs by location. Their annual telecom costs were approximately $200,000, of which $36,000 was for wireless devices. This customer also wanted an inventory of their telephone systems to analyze the costs associated with their hardware maintenance. The audit project began with building an inventory that identified several savings opportunities. In addition to reducing their costs, they wanted to create and implement standards throughout the organization.
SITUATION
This dealership had a variety of services from several telecom providers at each location. They were receiving multiple invoices and were unaware of what each invoice represented. IQ Telcom noted that the hardware platforms were not uniformed and several locations utilized different software releases. Costly maintenance agreements were in place with limited or no records of maintenance calls.
Wireless costs were very high based on the number of users and IQ Telcom noted that the plans in place were not appropriate for the environment
SOLUTION
IQ Telcom began with an audit to identify lines and circuits at each location. Ring tests were performed to verify where and how lines were answered and technicians were dispatched to tone & tag the unidentified lines. IQ Telcom immediately found dozens of lines that had been used for “dial up” services, which were no longer needed, and the technician noted several lines that were abandoned by the previous building owner which were still being invoiced. Alarm lines were identified and standard configurations for voice and hardware systems were created.
After analyzing 3 months of wireless usage, new contracts were negotiated and pooled plans were implemented.
RESULTS
After disconnecting unused and unnecessary lines and circuits, IQ Telcom negotiated competitive pricing from 2 providers. An inventory was created for each location and all costs were itemized and allocated to departments for budgeting purposes. The audit and optimization resulted in an annual savings of $43,000 for voice and data services. Invoice processing was also simplified with a consolidated billing platform. The maintenance agreements were replaced with an IQ Telcom Preventative Maintenance Program for an annual savings of $12,000 a year. IQ Telcom continues to provide help desk support, coordinate quarterly maintenance checks and monitor the telco billing on a regular basis.
The wireless users were moved to various pooled plans and unused phone lines were cancelled. These changes resulted in an additional savings of $5,200 a year. Total savings were over $60,000 which includes one-time credits of $14,000.
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