Client Profile
Acting as a Communication Service Provider (CSP), the client is a managed infrastructure solutions provider that empowers enterprises to modernize, protect, and manage their mission-critical applications and data using its resilient cloud platform.
Its portfolio spans cloud, connectivity, and managed security services, delivered under strict compliance frameworks.
We couldn’t allocate cost per line. We had to do it at the whole invoice level, which caused a lot of manual work. If we contracted the client for a year, but we had the circuit for five years, or vice versa, that mismatch would cost us money. We needed the right tools and process to prevent that from happening.”
At a Glance
Challenges
- Inefficient Cost Allocation
- Contract Visibility & Validation
- Dispute Management Overload
Outcomes
- $300,000 cost savings in one year
- 84% reduction in late fees
- Improved workload & productivity
- Better financial & operational visibility
- Reduced friction with finance and engineering teams
The Challenge: Managing Scale
After consolidating multiple legacy business units through a series of acquisitions, the company inherited a vast and complex network inventory across its connectivity operations. By 2023, it faced mounting challenges in cost allocation, contracts, vendor disputes, and billing accuracy.
Inefficient Cost Allocation
Like most accounts payable (AP) systems, the company’s AP platform was not designed to handle the nuances of telecom billing. Multiple cost centers existed within a single invoice, but charges could only be allocated at the invoice level, forcing time-consuming manual work.
Contract Visibility & Validation
The Access Cost Management team sought to verify that circuits had active, in-date contracts to prevent mismatched terms between end-client agreements and carrier contracts, which could result in lost revenue or excess costs.
Dispute Management Overload
Disputes on billing errors, surcharges, and contract terms had become excessive and cumbersome for internal stakeholders. The company needed a knowledgeable team to centralize information and take ownership of disputes.
We needed a team. Instead of growing it internally, we wanted a package where all the information and assistance in one place without having to fight for headcount.”
Objectives: Efficiency, Accuracy, and Scalability
The company set out to optimize its telecom expense management processes with a focus on efficiency, accuracy, and scalability. The goal was to eliminate inefficiencies, strengthen vendor relationships, and create a foundation for sustained operational growth:
Establish a scalable, centralized platform to manage dispute resolution, reporting, and future expansion.
Improve visibility into inventory and vendor relationships to support better decision-making and strategic planning.
The Solution: Partnering with AMI Strategies
In 2024, this Communication Service Provider (CSP) partnered with AMI Strategies, a leading telecom, technology, and utility expense management provider specializing in cost control, contract compliance, and inventory visibility, to address these challenges. The partnership focused on:
Line-by-Line Allocation
Replacing invoice-level allocation with precise, per-line cost assignment.
Contract Mapping & Validation
Ensuring every circuit was tied to an active contract and matched to the correct client agreement.
Dispute Management
Leveraging AMI’s team to proactively find and resolve billing errors, manage carrier communication, and recover funds.
Unified Visibility & Reporting
Centralizing contracts, costs, allocations, inventory, circuit routing, dispute status, and credits received into one platform for complete transparency and faster decision-making.
The Results
Inventory Cross-Verification
With inventory this large, the company had no reliable way to reconcile what it orders from carriers against what it has committed to its own clients. AMI’s process now cross-checks the two sides circuit by circuit, surfacing mismatches — a line billed for five years against a one-year client agreement, for example — that previously went undetected. That visibility has given the team confidence in its margins as the inventory base continues to grow.
Significant Cost Saving
$300,000
recovered in one year
Drastic Reduction in Avoidable Fees and Credit Dispute Handling Time
Stronger Internal Relationships
Improved Workload & Productivity
Significantly reduced the comapny’s internal workload overseeing this aspect of their product portfolio.
Better Financial & Operational Visibility
AMI isn’t just a vendor — they’re part of my team. We talk apples to apples, not apples to oranges, and that makes all the difference.”
Conclusion
Through its partnership with AMI Strategies, this Communication Service Provider (CSP) has transformed a fragmented, siloed environment into a consolidated, streamlined, and data-driven operation. By centralizing inventory, contract validation, cost allocation, and dispute management, it not only saved hundreds of thousands of dollars but also reclaimed time, improved internal relationships, and gained near-complete visibility over its telecom environment.
