Corporate Mobile Plan Overspending Continues to Rise
On July 22, 2009, Christy Petty and Rob Van der Meulen from Gartner said that "80% of enterprises will overspend on their wireless cost by an average of 15%."
Why is it important to look back at data from nearly 10 years ago? It's simply because that data held true before that article was written, and even more so now nearly a decade later. What we have found with our clients dating back to 2004, is that only part of the above statement is true. 80% percent of businesses will overspend on their wireless services, but the overspend is much greater. We have found that companies overspend by 20-35% on average and anything less than 20% is considered semi-well managed.
The surprising thing is that two of the three areas Gartner listed in 2009 as focal points of savings are still key to managing wireless costs in 2019. Rate plan structure and active account management are two of the keys to managing your costs.
Wireless carriers change and update rate plans 1-3 times per year, you can adjust your rate plan structure every month with no penalty from the carrier. The issue becomes how do you know what is the correct plan for your company, and how do you structure it in a way that provides the lowest cost per user?
Actively managing a wireless account means reviewing usage on both a weekly and monthly basis. Wireless is different than other services, usage can change dramatically based on the time of year and new users added to the account. By monitoring your account weekly you can prevent any overage by proactively adjusting the account before your bill is affected. Reviewing each bill monthly will allow you to notice trends in usage, as well as discovering lines that are no longer being used and adjust accordingly. Realizing some of this sounds obvious, the statistics prove that it continues to be far more challenging for companies to keep these costs minimized. There are a few reasons for this. First, there are only so many hours in a day and the task of managing the cellular plan is time-consuming and typically falls on the desk of someone who already has a full plate. Secondly, a lack of expertise contributes to the overspending. Devices and their capabilities are very dynamic while carrier plans are rarely the same at the beginning of the year as they are at the end of the year making it very difficult for a staff member to keep up with the changes and understand all the nuances of each plan. Lastly, the carriers service, accessibility, and knowledge of their own plans is inconsistent at best and often not tolerable.
If you have found yourself frustrated and are interested in minimizing cellular plan costs, there are ways to do so without changing providers.
Lost & Found is an AD Procurement service provider specializing in invoice auditing and rate negotiations, including cell phones, bank fees, utilities, & more. To learn more about how they can help you save money on your cellular plan costs, reach out to Jeff Lavoie at (800) 280-8544 ext. 111 or jlavoie@lostandfoundcorp.com.