Are you one of these? This article's for you!
- Carriers
- Telecom Service Providers
- Communication Service Providers (CSPs)
- Virtual Network Operators (VNOs)
- Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs)
- Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) Providers
- Data Center Providers
- Colocation Providers
- Infrastructure Providers
- Network Wholesalers
- Network Aggregators
- DIA Resellers
- Managed Service Providers (MSPs)
- Broadband Providers
- Enterprise Network Providers
- Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
- Wholesale Bandwidth Providers
- Peering Providers
- Ethernet Service Providers
- Dark Fiber Providers
- Telecom Infrastructure Resellers
- Wholesale Internet Providers
- Carrier-Neutral Network Providers
- Wholesale Voice Carriers
- Fiber Optic Network Providers
- Wholesale SD-WAN Providers
- Wholesale MPLS Providers
- Hybrid Network Providers
- Cloud Connectivity Providers
- Regional Network Providers
- OTT Providers (Over-the-Top Providers)
- CLECs (Competitive Local Exchange Carriers)
- ILECs (Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers)
- IXCs (Interexchange Carriers)
- CDNs (Content Delivery Networks)
- PON Providers (Passive Optical Network)
- IP Transit Providers
- WISP (Wireless Internet Service Providers)
- LPWAN Providers (Low-Power Wide-Area Networks)
- IoT Network Providers
I know I'm leaving money on the table... I just don't know where
How AMI Gave a Telecom Service Provider $5M Reasons to Celebrate
The Off-Net Balancing Act in the Industry
As a Carrier or Telecom Service Provider, finding the sweet spot between optimizing margins and maintaining quality in your off-net telecom inventory is a constant challenge. One often overlooked opportunity lies hidden within the vast array of carrier invoice line items that frequently go unvalidated. These items are typically shielded by a series of labor-intensive processes, making it nearly impossible to spot billing errors—let alone recover credits from the carriers at fault.
As your sales grow, the complexity of these invoices—and the effort required to validate their accuracy—grows as well. This creates a challenge that in-house tools alone struggle to meet.
In this case study, we highlight the significant impact of AMI’s Invoice Lifecycle Management services on a carrier aggregator responsible for managing carrier circuits on behalf of their enterprise clients. Leveraging AMI’s cutting-edge technology and expertise, this data center client was able to effectively navigate the complexities of carrier invoicing, correct billing errors, and achieve substantial savings—exceeding $5 million to date.
Client Profile
This AMI client is a key player in the technology infrastructure ecosystem, supporting a wide range of corporate customers, including many Fortune 1000 companies.
Their Challenge
As a carrier wholesaler (VNO), this company aggregates and resells network circuits to its end clients. This role requires managing a complex array of carrier invoices for multiple end customers across thousands of corporate locations.
Supporting clients with multiple locations means dealing with a high volume of change activities. As clients open or close locations or transition from legacy network technologies, the related carrier circuit invoices are inundated with changes. This made it nearly impossible to maintain accurate timing and cost validation with their existing in-house tools.
Before partnering with AMI, their process for handling carrier invoices was labor-intensive and manual. They lacked a streamlined method for receiving, auditing, managing inventory, tracking expenses, analyzing data, and billing clients efficiently.
The company's objective was to find a partner capable not only of automating their Accounts Payable processes and facilitating rebilling but also skilled in identifying those elusive billing errors. Ideally, this partner would also take responsibility for recovering erroneous charges from their carriers.
AMI’s Solution
Within 90 days, AMI successfully implemented a solution to manage approximately 500 invoices across 50+ carriers, totaling over $70 million in annual circuit spend.
AMI’s automation tools, including SmartCMDB™ and SmartAudit™, were deployed to retrieve, import, allocate, and analyze invoices for the wholesale services obtained from other carriers. These tools automated a wide range of processes, including invoice receipt, error identification, and charge allocation.
This solution not only freed up internal resources but also eliminated manual entry errors, significantly improving efficiency and accuracy. The client gained access to a comprehensive, centralized platform to monitor expenses, analyze trends, and address discrepancies swiftly.
By taking full responsibility for recovering erroneous charges, AMI enabled the client to focus on their core operations while gaining assurance that their carrier invoices were accurate and optimized.
Results Since Project Start and Impact
Operational Efficiency
After partnering with AMI in 2021, the client streamlined their invoicing process, reducing manual effort and eliminating errors associated with data entry. The automated systems ensured that all carrier invoices were promptly validated and analyzed, providing a clear view of expenses and billing discrepancies.
Cost Savings
The advanced capabilities of SmartCMDB™ and SmartAudit™ enabled the client to uncover hidden billing errors, recover overcharges, and optimize their carrier inventory. These measures resulted in cost savings exceeding $5 million, a testament to AMI’s proficiency in managing telecom expenses.
Scalability and Flexibility
AMI’s robust solution empowered the client to keep pace with their growing sales and the increasing complexity of their operations. By handling a diverse range of carriers and customers across thousands of locations, AMI ensured the client could maintain high service levels without additional resource strain.
Improved Client Relationships
With greater accuracy and efficiency in rebilling and expense tracking, the client was able to provide transparent, timely, and reliable billing to their end customers. This strengthened trust and fostered long-term relationships with enterprise clients.
What Have You Done for Me Lately? 2024 Results
Ongoing savings continue as AMI analysts discover and dispute circuits with delayed disconnections, incorrect billings for new services, improper late fees, and more. Between January and November 2024, more than 200 disputes cases have been successfully negotiated with this client’s carriers, resulting in over $746K in credits that have been verified on actual invoices.
Projects are also underway to facilitate the integration of the NOC ServiceNow outage tickets to the AMI dispute process, as well as the integration of Salesforce quote and order into the change validation process.
Want to Learn More?
- Telecom Procurement: Think Beyond the Deal to Capture the Real Telecom Cost Savings: True telecom cost savings go beyond negotiating favorable renewals. Learn how continuous expense management—such as contract monitoring and invoice validation—recovered over $5M for four AMI clients in August 2024 due to improperly implemented carrier renewals.
- Overcoming Spreadsheet Syndrome: A webinar addressing the common pitfalls of manual data management and best practices around automating the invoice lifecycle across all of technology and telecom vendors.
Final Thoughts
The challenges of managing off-net inventory and carrier invoices are complex and ever-evolving. By leveraging AMI’s cutting-edge Invoice Lifecycle Management services, this client not only overcame these challenges but also realized significant operational and financial gains.
This case study underscores the value of partnering with a seasoned expert like AMI, who brings the technology, expertise, and dedication needed to transform invoicing from a tedious burden into a strategic advantage.
David Sonenstein - Vice President of Product Strategy
AMI Strategies
With over 20 years in the industry, David helps orchestrate AMI’s vision for vendor hyperautomation. While contributing to AMI’s adoption of automation technologies, system integrations and technology frameworks, his research focuses on enterprise market and technology trends and where automation solutions can help organizations achieve their desired business outcomes. He currently serves on the executive board of the Enterprise Technology Management Association (ETMA) and is an associate of the Technology Business Management (TBM) Council.
