Most businesses at one time or another outsource due to limited internal resources. But what happens when you aren’t in control of your vendors terms, cost of services or even quality of work? How much is that costing your business?

We recently came across a company that used 3 companies for network support. One company was more expensive than the other one and took longer to complete work needed, but the quality that was performed always met their standards. Because they had a limited schedule and were more expensive the company had to at times opt for a couple of other vendors that did not meet the same quality of stands. They did not show up when scheduled, had poor work habits and didn’t complete the job fully so they had to make several trips. Sometimes they would return with a different technician which presented other issues like familiarity with the systems, software, project or service.

In many cases they were also overcharged because they would charge the company for multiple trips or charged to fix other issues while they were there without informing the company first. We have also come across companies like this where they feel they must continue for one reason or another working with certain vendors due to relationships or knowledge of equipment or software or just general familiarity with the business itself.

These vendors know this and unfortunately some of them take advantage of the company’s inability to find someone else. Do you have vendors like this? What have you done if anything to resolve the issue?

Vendors inability to perform to the standards agreed upon in a contract can be costly, involving losses of hundreds of thousands of dollars. So, it’s important that businesses know how to deal with these circumstances.

With a Vendor Management Solution contract experts can negotiate a fixed rate for a particular service. The contract terms must be met ensuring that both parties are aware of what is expected and any variances will be flagged and the vendor will be held accountable for any charges and changes outside of the agreed terms.

If you have questions about any of our VMS benefits contact us today at 866-504-4050 to learn more about our Vendor Management Solutions

I fixed one of my outside sprinklers this past weekend. It wasn’t completely broken; in fact, it performed its main function okay. The timer went off, the water came out and the plants got wet. But apparently the PVC had become brittle and a significant leak began to occur draining resource in some areas and over watering where the leak was occurring– nothing major, we were probably losing 50 gallons of water 3 x per week.

The bad part was this must have gone on for many weeks,  because it wasn’t noticed until there was a hole blown through the earth.  So, once I noticed the issue, I had the sprinkler repaired by an expert so I was sure it would be done right. I asked him if there was a way he could have detected them sooner, and he defined a process and procedure on how they detect leaks and repair them before the customer like me received a giant bill. My expert also said why not all customers have them, it was good to check on e a year for a fee, or monthly fora smaller but more regular checking to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

After the repair, and my conversation with the repair company, I thought about what that leak meant to me. It was only about a little water, so it didn’t seem like much of an issue. Then I started to do the math: I was losing near 150 gallons of water per week. That was 600 gallons of water each month, or 7200 gallons a year!  Every day that I didn’t repair it, another 20 gallons of water lost. What a waste. And…It hadn’t dawned on me that the water I was losing meant money out of my pocket. (I get my water bill only once a quarter, so out of sight, out of mind). Then my water bill came: The utility devised a new rate based on the amount of water used. I was now paying for that leak in two separate places, and paying big over an $800 jump in my bill!!!

My sprinkler dilemma reminded me of how many organizations handle their telecom billing. For instance, most companies don’t notice their bills have changed and wonder why their bills are higher. The difference starts small and goes on in multiple areas of their business.

These charges are…Hidden in landline services, misunderstood on Internet rates, never noticed at the setup of the original billing, in 3rd party slamming and cramming charges,and many other areas.  And even when a “leak” on a bill is noticed, trying to work with the provider to get it removed is cumbersome and frustrating at best. (Not as nice as working with my professional irrigation company).

Yet…medium and large companies sometimes lose hundreds of dollars a day, thousands a week, $10’s of thousands a month and yes even $100’s of thousands of dollars per year with these billing errors!!!

Hopefully you won’t let your Company suffer these expensive and wasteful  “leaks” , and you will make sure you get an expert to help you ensure it won’t continue to cost you money that you’re not even aware of losing.

By Todd Larsen CEO Limitless Technology~CRS  April, 24th, 2013

Limitless Technology~CRS

Delivering expert results on: telecom auditing, telecom contract management, telecom expense management, and telecom billing optimization services.

www.limitlesstechnology.com