Mala has not only saved us a considerable amount of time… but has also helped Carillion to substantially reduce expenditure
Steve Floyd
Carillion Group Telecommunications Manager

Organisation Background:

Employing over 50,000 people, Carillion is one of the leading support services and construction companies in the UK. Their business focus is to provide organisations with facilities management and support services, with all solutions tailored to the needs of the individual customers. Carillion has expertise in sectors including health, education, rail, defence and commercial property.

Business Challenge:

Rapid company growth; telecoms data in paper format and limited resources During a period of fast company growth, Carillion faced the challenge of managing a multitude of construction projects all differing in size and complexity. With no inventory or record of the lines and services in use, telecoms data was historically managed through the phone bills, most of which were in paper format. The primary function of the relatively small telecomms team was to ensure that all new developments received the required services and support, and that costs and budgets were tightly monitored at all times.

Solution:

MalaXtract® utilised to create an inventory and provide true visibility of the telecommunications estate; mala Zero Dial employed to identify unused lines Using MalaXtract®, an inventory of all services was created and the large number of bills consolidated into several BT OneBills. This provided Carillion with a clear and up to date representation of the services in operation and the costs attributed to them. Importantly, it also delivered a single view of the discount packages attainable and with Mala examining each bill, ensured that any discounts were implemented correctly.

Mala Zero Dial™ was employed and post code tracking utilised to identify those lines in use that were no longer required, previously overlooked when building projects reached completion.

Each month a set of management reports, detailing all costs and cost analysis, are delivered to Carillion to assist in the management of the telecommunications estate. Through the MalaTCM™ process, Carillion are able to monitor telecoms expenses, track any changes and maintain both a top level and detailed view of their expenditure.

Results:

Cost savings delivered; telecoms portfolio rationalised and telecoms misuse highlighted Mala have been working to deliver cost savings across all Carillion telecoms assets including specific company projects. Primary results achieved to date include:

• A reduction in the number of lines rented following the handover of building projects upon completion.
• The monitoring of Premium Rate services has highlighted areas of telecoms misuse resulting in cost savings and greater control of budgets.
• Analysis of the Mowlem estate, following the recent acquisition by Carillion, identified those lines that were no longer necessary and should not be transferred to Carillion ownership, delivering significant cost benefits

Customer Perspective

Mala Communications has not only saved us a considerable amount of time in understanding our telecoms costs but has also helped Carillion to substantially reduce expenditure and put us in control of our telecoms budget . Their in-depth analysis has put us firmly in the driving seat and enabled us to manage our services more accurately and efficiently, and most importantly, cost-effectively. The information is always supplied in a format that is easy to understand and suits the way we work. The clear presentation of inventory, costs and issues has increased our understanding and enabled us to make more informed business decisions. The Mala team are always helpful and have been available to handle specific telecommunication analysis projects for us.
Steve Floyd (Carillion Group Telecommunications Manager)

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Mala Carillion Case Study.

Mala has provided us with a core component… to our drive for improved financial management of our telecommunications costs
Steven Jewell, Milton Keynes Council,
Head of IT and e-Government

Organisation Background:

Covering one of the fastest growing districts in the county of Buckinghamshire and with a vision to create a city where people will thrive financially and emotionally¹; Milton Keynes Council is responsible for the welfare of over 220,000 citizens. Their remit is to provide a comprehensive schedule of services to residents including housing, planning, education and social services.

Business Challenge:

Council budgets under pressure; numerous sources of telecoms data and uncertainty regarding supplier charges Charged with keeping control of telecoms cost in an environment where council budgets were under significant pressure; the telecoms administrator faced a difficult challenge. With no up-to-date inventory of services and much of the documentation still in paper format, Milton Keynes Council was unsure if they were being charged accurately for the services they were using. It was also difficult to ascertain whether the discounts they had been offered were being applied and if the rates they were paying were the best ones available.

Solution:

Inventory creation and management through the deployment of MalaXtract™ and identification of unused lines Mala Communications were initially asked to commence a 3 month trial to demonstrate their capability and generate some initial cost savings for the council. Using MalaXtract™, an inventory of the most recent bills was created. Paper records and legacy spreadsheets were then compared with the inventory to ensure that the bills accurately reflected all existing products and services currently in use. This provided Milton Keynes Council with a single and detailed picture of their present spend. It also enabled the service usage and associated charges to be allocated to the appropriate cost centres where previously there had been either incorrect or no charge back information. In conjunction with this, all BT paper bills for voice and data were consolidated onto the appropriate BT OneBill. Analysis of lines enabled the Council to identify services that were no longer being used or had previously been cancelled but for which Milton Keynes Council were being still charged.

Results:

Cost recovery and cost reduction targets improved; greater control of telecoms spend and billing processing efficiencies achieved Mala Communications continue to work with Milton Keynes Council to ensure that telecommunications expenditure remains a correct illustration of telecoms usage in the organisation. Key results achieved to date through the implementation of Mala services include:

• Creation of a detailed spend profile for every department, with inventory items now being accurately represented and readily analysed for detailed customer insight
• A reduction in the number of bills being processed saving both time and money
• Overall telecoms budgets now under greater control through cessation of unused lines, identification of any telecoms misuse and accurate chargeback to cost centres
• The collection of refunds from cancelled orders that had not been implemented, refunds from incorrect historic charging by suppliers and the recovery of money held “in credit” on vendor accounts has assisted Milton Keynes Council in nearing their cost recovery and cost reduction targets

Customer Perspective

"Steven Jewell, Head of IT and E-Government has commented that Mala has provided us with a core component of a methodical and disciplined approach to our drive for improved financial management of our telecommunications costs. Taken together with other works and our technical changes we are now seeing significant cost reductions and service improvements implemented across a large, decentralised and complex telecommunications infrastructure".
Footnotes:
¹ Excerpt from Milton Keynes Community Strategy – 2005

Download a PDF version of
Mala's MKC Case Study.

With a relatively small telecoms team, Debenhams faced a challenge… With Mala undertaking the day-to-day administration of all telecoms bills… the telecoms team were able to focus on providing higher levels of service
Paul Munday, Debenhams, Network Services Manager

Company Background:

Debenhams is a leading department stores group with 139 stores including 7 Desire by Debenhams stores, across the UK and Ireland with approximately 10.1 million square feet of trading space and around 21,500 employees. The stores are located in various locations, including town centres, high streets and shopping centres and cover a wide geographic and size range.

In addition Debenhams has 30 international franchise stores in 14 countries outside the UK and Ireland, with a further 15 franchises scheduled to open by the end of the 2008 financial year. Debenhams is also extending its customer reach by making direct sales through its internet website.

Business Challenge:

Rising costs; multiple data sources and lack of clarity regarding telecom spend With a relatively small telecoms team, Debenhams faced a challenge when it came to cross-referencing telecoms bills with their inventory of products and services. Their telecom costs were rising even though there was no determinate reason why and the telecoms information for their national network of stores was held on multiple spreadsheets making it difficult to analyse. Unsure if all of the latest discounts negotiated with their supplier had been implemented, the team wanted to clarify this as well as confirmation that all of their existing lines were being utilised.

Solution:

Inventory management with MalaXtract™, ZeroDial™ to identify unused lines and circuits and Ledger plus for bill consolidation and payment MalaXtract was implemented to create an inventory of all phone lines that could then be reconciled against the supplier’s bills. This gave Debenhams full spend analysis illustrating the usage and costs of all services and also highlighted any misuse internally. All lines were then analysed, using ZeroDial™, to identify which ones were no longer required or should have been removed from bills. Finally, supplier invoices were consolidated into media files (rather than on paper). These were checked automatically for accuracy, the appropriate cost centre and charge back information was assigned and then the files were produced to enable input into the Debenham's payment system.

Results:

Reduction in costs; control of costs and billing process efficiency improvements With Mala undertaking the day-to-day administration of all telecoms bills to check accuracy and highlight any issues and proposed remedial action to Debenhams’; the telecoms team were able to focus on providing higher levels of service to the business including selecting the best suppliers to provide that service.

Results that were attributed to the implementation of Mala’s TCM solutions included :

• Direct costs of individual services were reduced due to costs being regularly monitored
• With the cessation of unused lines, overall telecoms costs were reduced
• Automation of the billing process not only saved money but also improved efficiency
• General remedial issues like missing discounts, wrong billing periods, mis-billing or missed billing were identified and then handled promptly, by Mala, with the supplier whilst keeping Debenhams informed of progress.

Customer Perspective

We are constantly being asked to take on more projects by the Company and manage more services. It is reassuring to know that Mala are there, not only to manage our inventory, bills and costs, but to provide us with the answers to many of the telecoms questions being raised by management.
Paul Munday (Network Services Manager)

Download a PDF version of
Mala's Debenhams Case Study.

We within NHS Lothian Telecomms continue to be extremely happy with the quality of service provided by Mala Communications.... we certainly have received good value for money as a result.
ALan Hush, Head of Communications.

Organisation Background

Established in 2001, NHS Lothian is the umbrella organisation for all Lothian health services. Formerly comprising three NHS trusts - Lothian University Hospitals, Lothian Primary Care and West Lothian Healthcare – the dissolution of these in 2003/04 has resulted in a single health authority overseeing the planning and delivery of all the region’s local health services.

With a population of around 800,000, NHS Lothian is responsible for the care of the second-largest residential population in Scotland. Annual investments of around £1 billion a year in health care services, are aimed at preventing ill health wherever possible, and are provided by local health centres and hospitals.

Business Challenge: Multiple suppliers, fixed line contract novation and lack of clarity regarding cost allocation

With a telecomms estate spread across multiple suppliers and numerous accounts held with each supplier, NHS Lothian experienced difficulties when trying to understand their bills and the charges applied. Bill accuracy was in question and the telecomms management team recognised a need to undertake a service review in order to ensure all products and services were still required and any unnecessary or erroneous charges were removed.

Preparations were underway to novate all fixed line services to a single supplier and a thorough understanding of all services currently in place was imperative.

Additionally, cost allocation models were unable to efficiently verify appropriate and proper use of services across the NHS Lothian voice telecomms estate, and potential cost savings remained hidden.

Solution: Creation of an inventory utilising mala Xtract to isolate cost savings and assist with strategic planning

Through the deployment of the MalaTCM™ service (Telecoms Cost Management), Mala Communications were able to create a single, detailed inventory illustrating all of the current expenditure for NHS Lothian’s voice telecomms estate. This ensured that the customer had a clear and up to date representation of all systems and installations across the organisation, assisting with both cost reduction and planning for future telecomms initiatives.

Furthermore the MalaTCM™ process provides NHS Lothian with monthly management reports outlining spending patterns and cost analysis in both top level and in depth formats, allowing them to monitor and manage their telecomms usage and identify any gaps or potential developments in their service provision.

Results: Cost savings delivered, fixed line contract novated to single supplier and spend analysis enables telecoms misuse to be identified
NHS Lothian and Mala Communications continue to work together to guarantee that telecomms expenditure across the estate is a true and appropriate representation of the services utilised. Key results achieved to date include:

• Detailed management reports coupled with guidance and advice from the dedicated team at Mala has provided NHS Lothian with the information needed to plan their fixed-line service novation.
• Reducing the number of suppliers involved in fixed-line delivery has permitted economies of scale to be reflected in contract negotiations as well as reducing the complexity previously experienced through the sheer magnitude of bills received.
• The merger of multiple accounts onto single service provider bills has allowed NHS Lothian to take greater control of invoicing and removed the margin of error for billing inaccuracies.
• Billing analysis has also facilitated a reduction in the level of telecomms misuse across the organisation. Increased levels of control now allow NHS Lothian to continue to monitor usage and prevent the incurrence of expenditure from non-business related activity.

Customer Perspective
Alan Hush, NHS Lothian commented that “We within NHS Lothian Telecomms continue to be extremely happy with the quality of service provided by Mala Communications. Your monthly reporting delivers all of our expectations and your guidance regarding all issues highlighted has proved to be extremely valuable; we certainly have received good value for money as a result of our contract with you”.

Download a PDF version of
Mala's NHS Lothian Case Study.

We have found that using Mala to process our "BT Onebill" is a good way to quickly identify redundant lines and equipment and build an accurate inventory.

Using Mala to process the 'BT Onebill' has proved to be a good decision for SIS. Mala's analysis allowed us to have a much better understanding of SIS' call spend than the BT Account team could hope to put together and this proved very valuable when negotiating a Customer Commitment rate.

Taking Mala's advice to change to monthly billing has made it much easier to track telecoms expenditure and therefore made budgeting more straight-forward.

Mala's knowledge of BT's billing processes is excellent and this has allowed SIS to make substantial recoveries. Experience has taught me that even when you get the account straight, something as simple as a cease & re-provide will be enough for BT to undo your good work. Using Mala to check the bills ensures that lines remain on monthly billing, you must stay vigilant as the BT default is quarterly.

Mala's reports clearly identify un-used lines and maintenance charges for equipment that you may have forgotton about.

We have found Mala's billing service to be very cost effective, importantly you get to work with a team of very able highly committed and customer focused people that actually enjoy processing Telco bills.
Mick McNulty Telecoms Manager

Sorry you have had to wait so long for this testimonial, I have been busy investigating areas of concern highlighted by your company! I am more than happy to tell your potential customers of the highly professional service you provide.

Working with Mala has always been a painless process, provided by very friendly, professional people who are willing and able to give me exactly what I want and not what they want to give me.

It is my experience that Mala not only promise to deliver but they deliver the promise time and time again.
Jo Wiggins Communications Support Officer

WS Atkins asked Mala Communications to assist us with the billing from our service provider. As a large, diverse and complicated company we needed the dedication and professionalism that Mala Communications could provide in order to determine what services we had historically purchased and to check that our service provider was providing the services requested. Mala Communications assisted WS Atkins to achieve the following results on our account.

Throughout the close working relationship WS Atkins has built with Mala Communications we have found them to be thoroughly professional in their approach to their work. They have provided regular reports on our bills which are always clear and concise and they have followed up their reports with regular monthly meetings to discuss their findings. In short, Mala Communications have exceeded our expectations in all areas where we have asked them to work with us.
Greg Ruddick Telecoms Manager

Mala Communications provided Point to Point with a better understanding of our cost base and therefore a better budgeting capability.

Additional client comments

"They reduce the cost of their clients telecoms spend and give them piece of mind that someone is managing this expenditure on their behalf. Paul Fegan runs Mala and brings his many years of experience to the process of saving his customers money.” (June 26, 2004)

"Very professional service with excellent analysis and management of billing that drives out supplier errors and overcharges.” (October 28, 2005)

"Paul is extremely diligent, hard-working and professional. He has maintained focus on core capabilities. Mala provides a valuable analytical and advice service to support clients (large and small) in managing their telecoms resources and expenditure more efficiently and profitably.” (October 28, 2005)

“I have know Paul and his company for quite a few years now. Both he and I are members of the Communications Management Association (formerly the TMA) and Paul was responsible for setting up the CMA's Billing specialist interest group. I have no problem at all in endorsing Paul and his company.” (October 28, 2005)