Davis Ulmer Sprinkler

Challenge
As a growing company, Davis Ulmer Sprinkler has a large inventory of wireless devices within multiple cost centers and subsidiary companies. Yet, there was no real consolidation of wireless services or overreaching policies that applied to all centers, in large part due to the acquisition of smaller companies and their inventory of devices and wireless services. The challenge for WBG was four-fold:

1) bring uniformity to their billing in terms of rate plans and features

2) eliminate multiple bills

3) renegotiate a new set of rates based on their industry and line count

4) help develop a set of policies to create reasonable guidelines for managing the growing account.
Strategy
There were multiple strategies involved in the process which took two to three months to initially implement. Those strategies continue to evolve as the business expands:

A) review Davis Ulmer’s Verizon Wireless invoices – examining usage, overage and ancillary charges.

B) update the inventory of lines – correcting names, cancelling unused lines, aligning Cost Centers to the appropriate people

C) coordinate the transfer of wireless services for recently acquired companies into the Davis Ulmer name – plugging them into the proper rate plans and features

D) contact local representatives from Verizon to explore various rate options, discounts

E) work closely with the Davis Ulmer CEO, COO to compare current rates against Verizon’s new offerings

F) collaborte with the COO on the development of a “Wireless Employee Policy” to set expectations for proper device use.

F) develop a monthly wireless report/review to be submitted to the CEO and COO – providing a dashboard of their services/expenses broken out by category (i.e. voice, data, roaming, equipment, texting, ancillary charges). The report to also include “action items” for addressing any outstanding issues tied to the review (i.e. removing features, changing rates).
Results

1) Reduction in expense per handset due to renegotiation of their contract – saving them thousands of dollars each year.

2) Updated list of directory names, eliminated phones with “zero use”, cleaned up device inventory.

3) Standardized rate plan selections, features selections and equipment purchases.

4) Created wireless policies that are enforced at all levels.

5) CEO and COO are updated each month on their wireless expense, again, broken out by category, allowing them to; review their expense trending, identify areas that need to be addressed and forecast wireless expenditures for the coming year.